#i think they are 2nd and 5th within the game?

[alligaytorswamp]

errr are you saying this is hard to get ahahhaha . .. . it was my first ending and i got it twice bc i couldnt figure out which decisions/things affect the ending lol... ehhehah h h hahhah .. 🤕

[starsworldd]

𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚝:

these are my interpretations, only take what resonates

moon in 1st house ⚡️: this could mean that you are highly sentimental and likely to fluctuate a lot this year. matters at home, with family, your comfort, are a top priority this year. depending on the moon sign, you will be much more caring and compassionate in that signs' matters (e.g. in leo, you may be comforted or more caring for kids or hobbies, in libra more caring/comforted in your partnerships, etc..). new beginnings. be careful not to take things too personally!

moon in 2nd house 🥖: this indicates a year in which you care a lot about your personal comfort. you may be stubborn as to take risks or to go outside of your comfort zone that year, especially regarding your finances but it doesn't have to necessarily relate to tangible things. you are much more in tune with your needs. fluctuations and/or improvements with your self-esteem may be on the table as well.

moon in 3rd house ☀️: communication, writing, and other forms of mental output are significant to you this year. conversations with others this year may be characterized by depth and nostalgia. you may also be talking to your relatives a lot this year. this placement could indicate finding more comfort in video games or social media. the moon sign indicates how conversing with others impact your emotions this year (e.g. libra: pleasant, kind, harmonic or cancer: understood, compassionate, and empathetic)

moon in 4th house 🎀: this placement means that you find peace and satisfaction at home. matters with family or home may be especially emphasized this year, maybe you're staying at home more than usual? this could indicate moving or something major happening within the family or house. if not those things, you may find that you are much more understanding and welcoming to others. maybe some home decorating may be happening too, hehe.

moon in 5th house 🌻: expressing your authentic self this year matters a lot to you. you care a lot about your hobbies and creativity this year and are much more fertile in those areas. there could be a lot fo crushes or ups and downs with romance as well. you may want much more attention from others. fluctuations with your ego are very possible and expressing your feelings in a dramatic way is also pretty likely.

moon in 6th house 💛: you care a lot about productivity and working on yourself this year (mostly when it comes to duties and work). self-improvements like fitness may be a priority too. you are prone to overworking yourself and/or to illness. emotional up and downs may seem to be an everyday thing for you this year. the moon sign shows how everyday routines will impact you (e.g. in libra relationships in everyday routines will be highlighted, in aries leadership and autonomy up will be highlighted, etc..)

moon in 7th house 🌺: you pour much of your compassion into your partnerships this year. you want to build relationships this year with sentimentality and care. it is especially important to you this year that other people reciprocate and understand you on an emotional level and it's important that you are with others this year, more than any other year you probably don't want to be alone for this one. you may be spending a lot more time with women too.

moon in 8th house 👻: unpopular interpretation but i personally think this placement could indicate moving homes, or a big change in the family but these changes usually may come with some sort of loss. you may find yourself exploring the emotional depths and traumas of the present or past more than usual. transformations internally will likely lead to a different way as to how you go about feeling your emotions going forward as well.

moon in 9th house ❤️‍🔥: adventure, philosophy, and/or traveling are things that may help you to feel internally satisfied this year. i think this placement could also indicated going away for college, university, or studying abroad. you may find that you're more comfortable to opening up your mind to philosophy and morals and in general breaking out of your usual comforts or habits. moon sign shows how exploration/adventure may show up for you that year

moon in 10th house ⭐️: you may find a boost in popularity this year, unless the moon is majorly ill-aspected or debilitated. but even so, there can be positive outcomes. you are emotionally in tune with your reputation, career/calling, and/or responsibilities this year. you may be less afraid to display your true emotions to the public eye. there may be a lot more responsibility in your domestic sphere or somehow your private/family life is exposed to others.

moon in 11th house 🥳: in your social circles there may be more women than usual. you are emotionally in tune with goals, inspirations, even social media and trends this year. internal satisfaction and comfort comes from your friends and communities this year. you may be inviting more people to your house this year, or having more parties. nurturing and helping your friends and other communities solve their conflicts may be something that keeps you happy.

moon in 12th house 🫧: you may be missing your mom or another important family figure in your life this year. maybe you feel like people aren't giving you much care or support as much as you need it. this is also another indicator for moving or going to faraway places this year. you may also feel like a hermit this year. there may be lots of fluctuations with mental health, but i think that this gives way for lots of creativity to come your way.

hope you enjoyed!

[aethon-recs]

Tomarrymort Starter Pack: 10 Recs for Getting Started in Tomarrymort

I've compiled a list of 10 medium to longfic recs that I think represent a great on-ramp to the Tomarrymort ship, as inspired by @sitp-recs’ Drarry for Beginners rec list. These are the fics that I would use to on-board people to the ship — gorgeous writing, superb characterization, and just as enjoyable on the first read as the 20th reread. 

As always, I am stunned by the talent in this ship! I tried to pick a good mix of different themes/tropes/settings, with a focus on elements that make for a good introductory work: the characters are recognizable; the setting skews more recognizable; both characters in the ship are a meaningful part of the story; the ship is central to the story; and the fics are for the most part complete (or updated within the last year). 

(Standard rec list disclaimers apply: please mind all tags and warnings on AO3 before reading; this blog abides by the age-old fandom axiom of don’t like; don’t read; recs are in alphabetical order by title.)

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series — I also have an Intermediate reading list and Advanced reading list coming up for readers who have been with the ship for a longer time.

For now, please enjoy these 1.3 million words of absolutely brilliant Tomarrymort reads that I hope will keep you hooked until the very last word:

*

Tomarrymort Starter Pack Recs

A Dangerous Game by @cybrid (E, 284k, WIP)

Setting: Canon Divergence – Book 5 Premise: If Tom’s diary horcrux gains a body at the end of Harry’s 5th year (instead of his 2nd), and then promptly kidnaps Harry and holds him captive over the summer. Lots of smut ensues. Why I rec it: The characterization is truly stunning — Tom Riddle is undoubtedly a psychopath — manipulative, thrill-seeking, kind of an irredeemable shithead — but he’s also dazzlingly charming when he chooses to be, someone whose presence Harry quickly grows addicted to. Their relationship can get incredibly toxic and fucked-up at times, but Harry has top-notch instincts and can hold his own against Tom. The plot is absolutely gripping, with the threat of (the main) Voldemort, who has set his sights on reclaiming his wayward horcrux, looming in the background. 

A Future Without a Face by @dividawrites (E, 115k, complete)

Setting: Time-Travel (1940s) Premise: If Harry travels back in time to Tom’s 5th year at Hogwarts, and Tom becomes obsessed with the new transfer student and wants nothing more than to possess him every way. Why I rec it: A 1940s time travel fic told entirely from Tom Riddle POV! Divida absolutely nails psychopath Tom — how he quickly gets singlemindedly focused on Harry, how the idea of possessing Harry consumes him, how he has no compunctions about doing completely fucked-up and destructive things to achieve his goals. There is so much tension between them from the start, so there’s not much of a wait to see some hot Harry & Tom action — and the conflict and tension only continues to build and build in dramatic fashion throughout the rest of the fic.

Either must die at the hand of the other by @metalomagnetic (E, 260k, complete)

Setting: Post-Canon Premise: If Voldemort survives the Battle of Hogwarts and is initially kept prisoner in Azkaban, until Harry takes him into Grimmauld Place under house arrest. Why I rec it: This fic is an incredible exploration of Voldemort at his most terrifying. Even if he starts off the fic with his magic temporarily blocked, he is no less powerful without his magic. The force of his personality is powerful enough for him to chip away at Harry’s initial resistance — @metalomagnetic manages to write one of the most charismatic, brilliantly manipulative, and psychologically devastating versions of Voldemort I’ve ever read. Harry ends up in a good place by the end of the fic, but the journey to get there is a roller-coaster of emotions that have permanently imprinted onto my soul.

In Somno Veritas by ladyoflilacs and @lordansketil (M, 158k, complete)

Setting: Canon Divergence – Book 6 Premise: If Harry starts appearing in Voldemort’s nightly dreams during Book 6, and Voldemort becomes obsessed with Harry after realizing he’s his horcrux. Why I rec it: This is one of the most unique fics I’ve ever read in this ship! Every scene is told in alternating POV between Harry’s POV and Voldemort’s POV, so you get to see how every scene unfolds from both of their perspectives. Voldemort is so intense and just as terrible as he is in canon, so his character is not at all sugarcoated, and Harry has so much compassion and heart and manages to fall in love with Voldemort anyway. The writing style is gorgeous, with richly detailed and emotionally-laden prose. Also, one thing that pleasantly surprised me is how funny their banter is! There were definitely a number of times where I laughed out loud in the middle of an otherwise really intense scene. Bonus content: also comes with a lovely sequel that made me melt.

Inevitabilities by @shadow-of-the-eclipse (T, 103k, complete)

Setting: Same-Age AU Premise: If Harry and Tom attend Hogwarts together and go traveling around the world after they graduate. A betrayal leads to their break-up, but after many years, Harry returns to find Tom in Britain, and the two of them are drawn back together again. Why I rec it: An excellent same-age AU with unhinged dark Harry and just-as-unhinged Tom. Their relationship starts out quite dark and twisted and unhealthy — and only devolves from there. The fic ends with the two of them as equals — utterly devoted to each other — but in an incredibly fucked-up way: “He loves Tom like a forest fire; wild and all-consuming, he wants to devour Tom, to claim him, to mark him, break him.” Isn’t that absolutely breathtaking?

love is touching souls (surely you touched mine) by @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger (M, 34k, complete)

Setting: Time-Travel (1940s) Premise: If Harry gets thrown back into the mid-1940s and meets Tom Riddle as a young man just graduated from Hogwarts working at Borgin and Burkes. Why I rec it: When Harry accidentally travels back in time and chances upon Tom Riddle as a fresh graduate, he realizes this is his chance to make a difference. While Harry is only in the past for a brief interlude, he leaves enough of an impression to change the trajectory of Tom’s life. The dynamic between Harry and Tom is rife with tension and witty dialogue, and the story is set during Christmastime, which lends a very festive and heartwarming atmosphere for falling in love with each other.

No Glory by @obsidianpen (E, 254k, WIP)

Setting: Voldemort Wins AU  Premise: If Voldemort figures out Harry is his horcrux when Harry surrenders in the Forbidden Forest, and decides to keep Harry instead of killing him.  Why I rec it: This fic showcases the absolute, terrifying genius side of Voldemort, in a universe where he wins the war and captures Harry at the end of book 7. I am stunned at how skillfully @obsidianpen portrays Voldemort as a brilliant political strategist — the courtroom scene where he manipulates the story and the audience so well stands out as a top 10 fanfic moment in my mind. Harry and Voldemort’s relationship is chilling from the very start, and grows even more unhealthy as Voldemort gets addicted to Harry’s touch due to the presence of the horcrux, but Harry later learns to turn that to his advantage.

The Fire, Burning by @parsimmony (E, 35k, complete)

Setting: Canon Divergence – Book 6 Premise: If Voldemort discovers Harry is his horcrux after Book 6, and kidnaps him to keep him captive by his side in his bed, inside of a lovely greenhouse setting full of friendly snakes on the grounds of Malfoy Manor. Why I rec it: The prose!! I am swooning over the prose! Harry is Voldemort’s captive in this fic, but he is so much more than that — and the emotions that gradually blossom between them have so much richness and depth and are utterly moving that I’m still drowning in the depths of intimacy that were portrayed. Their relationship unfolds in such a gorgeous and unrushed way, and the setting is so unique too — a lush and overgrown greenhouse that’s exploding with exotic plants and friendly snakes around every corner that imbues the fic with a very romantic, dreamy quality.

the pleasure, the privilege by @being-luminous (M, 20k, complete)

Setting: Canon Divergence – Book 6 Premise: If Voldemort is doused with Amortentia keyed to Harry, and starts sending Harry bizarre and gruesome courting gifts, like the bodies of the Dursleys.  Why I rec it: Breathtaking prose! Voldemort somehow ends up more terrifying when he’s trying to woo Harry than when he’s trying to kill him. Every single sentence had me on the edge of my seat, as Voldemort’s ‘gifts’ become more elaborate and devastatingly dramatic, until Harry basically has no choice but to respond to his overtures. The ending is incredibly clever in how it parallels certain plot elements of book 6, with an added Harrymort twist. 

The Untouchable by @treacleteacups (M, 75k, complete)

Setting: Canon Rewrite (Books 1-7) Premise: If Harry starts out his first year a little bit more suspicious and a little less wide-eyed and guileless, and subsequently gets sorted into Slytherin. He has many of the same encounters with Voldemort along the way as he does in canon, but his interactions with Voldemort will end up leading him down quite a different path. Why I rec it: A snappy, fast-paced full canon rewrite that still manages to fit in all the essential Tomarrymort plot points, between Horcruxes and Hallows and the major events of books 1-7, in a compact 75k words that doesn’t at all feel rushed. It’s a delightful journey following Harry’s character evolution from an overlooked, peculiar child who relies on wishy-washy wish magic to a confident (and still endearingly peculiar) young man who can challenge and hold his own against the great Lord Voldemort. Voldemort’s obsession with Harry deepens with every encounter that they have, as he finds ways to continually insinuate himself in Harry’s life and his mind and his dreams.

*

[astra-galaxie]

So...quick question. How would you rank each CC game in terms of character design? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Oh! Good question! Let me get some pictures, and I'll come back with my list!

1st place: Mysteries of The Past

I LOVE the character designs of MotP! It does an amazing job at replicating the style of the late 19th century, which it's supposed to be set in, and while some things aren't entirely period-accurate, I love it regardless! Also, the characters' physical appearances are detailed and unique, creating a large diversity among this season's cast.

Plus, Victorian Steampunk is one of my favourite styles (even if I don't wear it), so that's an added bonus for me!

2nd place: The Conspiracy

This season showcases how much Pretty Simple's character designs have improved since its release, as it brought back many S1 characters. The details in the designs are beautiful, and this is also when PS started trying more facial expressions and poses for the characters. This season is a perfect example of how character designs can be improved with practice, so it earned second place!

3rd place: Travel in Time

S6 gets third place thanks to how many different periods' styles it's replicated. We had Ancient Times, the 1960s, the Renaissance, the future, the Age of Sails (which I love pirates, so bonus!) and Medieval Asia. This season had so many unique styles within it that it's only fair it should be in the top three! I think the only reason it's not higher up is because it's shorter than the other seasons, and while I don't know if I would want it to go for 60-ish cases, it would have been interesting to see what other times we could have visited.

(I still think we should have visited MotP during S6, but that's an idea for another time, so I'll shut up about it for now!)

4th place: Supernatural Investigations

S7 gets fourth place, as I love seeing its take on different supernatural creatures. I am a HUGE fan of the paranormal and magic, so this season is right up my alley! While some designs could use improvements (*cough* the demons *cough*), I still like seeing all the different mythical creatures. Regardless of the things I would choose to change to improve some of the characters' designs, it did an excellent job making characters who are so different than what we see in other seasons.

5th place: Save The World

Save The World is when I feel that Criminal Case really started to branch out with its diversity in character designs. We visit so many countries throughout the seasons that it makes sense for the characters to reflect the differences between nationalities. I won't speak for how accurate some of the designs are for all of the nationalities featured in this season, but I think PS did a good job designing characters to represent each country. You can even see it among the Bureau since few members originate from the same country. Overall, StW has fantastic character designs, even if the following seasons have more details.

6th place: City of Romance

OMG! Who would have thought we'd ever see the day CoR DIDN'T come in last place on a list?! (At least I don't recall them ever not being in last place...)

Even if CoR failed horribly at being the final season of CC, the character designs are good. Some characters I like more than others, but overall, they have plenty of details without being overwhelming. Had CoR gotten the chance to be a full 30-case season, we might have seen more characters come back from past seasons and see the design improvements like we did in S5 and S6. Like I always say, CoR had the potential to be better than it was, but at least the character designs weren't a total flop!

7th place: Pacific Bay

(AnxietyFluffy, please forgive me for putting S2 so low on this list.😭)

While I enjoy PB's plot and characters, unfortunately, I had to put it so low on the list since, compared to other seasons, its character designs aren't as impressive to me. Mainly, it's because it's only the second game, so PS was still working on improving character designs. While I can see an improvement between S1 and S2, it's just not enough for me to put PB higher on the list. But, I still think PB did a good job creating diversity between districts, and while I will always question how the climates of these districts coexist, it was nice to see the differences reflected in the character designs.

8th place: Grimsborough

Last but certainly not least is Grimsborough! While it's nostalgic and the game introduced me to CC, sadly, its character designs showcase the fact that it's the first game. I would never say the designs are bad, but they're not as good as they were in the following seasons. There's something simplistic about the designs compared to feature seasons, but I still enjoy them. However, I am glad that PS started making the characters more detailed and unique in the following seasons, and I wish we could have seen more S1 characters come back in future seasons to see how much their designs could have improved.

I loved seeing how PS's character designs improved over the course of their 8 games while staying true to their CC style. I've always enjoyed the style and characters of this series, and it was fun to pick which ones I liked most! I'm sure others would put the seasons in a different order based on character designs, but I'll stand by my choices.

Thank you for the ask, eggsandmasks! You always send me some fun brain teasers!😁

[lorainelegacy]

The Mentor

Before proceeding:

1 -What you are about to read is a literal translation of my fanfic in Spanish (my language) and although my level of English is good I have never read books in English so my writing sounds good in Spanish. So please keep this in mind.

2 - Loraine is 23 years old. I want to make this clear so that you don't think I'm a pedo. I would never ship a grown man with an underage girl. In this fanfic there is a variation on the age of each year so that Hogwarts not only functions as a school, but also as a university. It's something that I found interesting and that I think makes a lot of sense since in the Muggle world there are universities within the same school. Apart from that, I hope to be as faithful as possible to the logic and history of Hogwarts Legacy. Always keeping in mind that this is a fanfic and I will create situations, characters and stories of my own. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the game back in the day. Next, I will leave a small guide with the age of the students of each year in this fanfic:

1st Year: 11-12

2nd Year: 13-14

3rd Year: 15-16

4th Year: 17-18

5th Year: 19-20 (O.W.L.s)

6thYear: 21-22

7thYear: 23-24 (N.E.W.T.s)

3 - There will be explicit sex scenes between Eleazar and Loraine, of course, but I'll take it easy. Since I don't want this fanfic to be just a fanfic where there's sex, I want the tension to grow between them as the teacher/apprentice bond grows and their relationship becomes closer. Besides, I think it makes the most sense. I want to keep the sexual tension until the moment it explodes, if you know what I mean.

You can also find it on Wattpad and Ao3.

Pairing: Eleazar Fig x f! Adult MC

Summary: Loraine Hawks is a young woman who lives with her aunt and uncle in a small village in the south of Scotland. Her life has always been a torment, until one day, a strange, silver-haired man of elegant bearing appears at her door. With a voice that exudes wisdom and an air of mystery, he reveals that the Ministry of Magic has set its sights on her, wanting her to join the seventh year immediately. Loraine, incredulous at such a claim, feels that every word is a whisper of a fairy tale too good to be true. However, the warmth he radiates, his infectious smile and the spark of genuine magic in his eyes, instil Loraine with an unexpected sense of confidence.

And so, with the decision made in a heartbeat, Loraine turns her back on what she once called home, but which more closely resembled a prison without bars. Together with her new mentor, she embarks on a magical journey, full of promise and dreams, towards a destiny that promises to be as surprising as the most unexpected twist of a well-conjured spell.

List of chapters to date

-> Chapter I — An unexpected visitor

-> Chapter II — The Sleeping Goblin

-> Chapter III — Bad omen

-> Chapter IV — Fire

-> Chapter V — Gringotts

-> Chapter VI — The Vault Twelve test

-> Chapter VII — The Sorting Ceremony

[metamorphiacreations]

I think that the events are happening in different timelines. The last TBD update alludes to that

Filler timeline

Canon timeline

first off, the "filler timeline" is called Cookie Run: Kingdom (for legal reasons this is a joke)

the last TBD update was meant to lead into this current update with Schneeball mentioning a dinosaur egg and now we in dino town and honestly it wouldnt make much sense to have an unannounced filler timeline within the story of OvenBreak imo

we know that Potato and Shine Muscat's update spans two years and during Sugar Swan's update Pilot and Whipped Cream travel around the world in more or less 80 days. during which, they meet Mala Sauce and her tribe so that specific meeting happened way before Longan woke up. from the sound of it, that meeting happened before Yam, Milk and Dino-Sour even got there bc thats what got the ball rolling on seeing the dragons.

its not super impossible for some of the events that launched between Longan's awakening and the clash of dragons to take place at the same time, Black Garlic couldve been exploring the school at the same time Rebel was helping out the Yakgwa village. maybe while Coffee Candy was starting her new job, Mocha Ray and Lobster were exploring Wandercrab or Roguefort was going into trial

i also dont wanna confuse "filler" for "non-diegetic"

the fashion week updates (specifically the 2nd one) and the wish camp updates were non-diegetic meaning that they were for audience only and had no true effects on the canon story because why and how would Longan agree to go see shooting stars with a bunch of cookies

that doesnt necessarily mean its a different timeline or that it even happened at a different point in time but just something to celebrate the games anniversary in a meta-storytelling like how the 5th anniversary was

i was confused on when things were happening in correlation to the dragons' stuff because i had thought Longan woke up and everything that followed happened over months at most not actual factual years

[cagedchoices]

Having watched all 4 installments of the M.atrix saga, I think W.estworld's season 4 finale looping everything back to season 1 is really only *half* a story without a 5th season. 😭 I do think that Dolores's game running in the Sublime is her retelling that story exactly as it happened. The events should happen exactly as she remembers them, and as a result, there shouldn't be any deviation in the first iteration of the loop.

But, in a similar way to Akecheta showing Bernard how the other hosts would use the Sublime to trial possible realities, other worlds of their own choosing — I think Dolores would have to do the same thing on subsequent loops, trying to change the outcome to get the story to end differently.

And something about it *must* change eventually, because we somehow end up with a version of William returning to the real world in the far future. One who is testing if there does exist any reality where he doesn't murder Emily, his own daughter.

The one thing I still don't know if I fully understand with that concept is that if the choice has already been made, then it can't really be changed, even within a simulation. It would be written in William's "code" so to speak, so for any copy to have fidelity to the original William, he would have to kill his daughter. Any reality where he might successfully choose not to kill Emily will mean that that copy can't be a completely faithful recreation of William, in the same way that James Delos's copies couldn't be considered successful since the copies ended up being more empathetic about his family than the actual human version proved to be.

I find looking at the M.atrix as an example particularly relevant since in the 2nd movie, there's a scene where N.eo, in discussion with the Oracle, asks her how he can make a real choice if she already knows what he'll do in advance. She tells him that he's not there to make the choice. It has already been made. He's there to understand why he has to make it and given full self-knowledge of what it means, to test if he can willingly make the same choice again.

The 3rd M.atrix movie deals with this again on the Oracle's end while talking to M.orpheus and T.rinity. Mostly it's a way to explain why they had to recast the actress playing the Oracle's role after the original passed away, but it works in-universe because it implies that the choice the Oracle made cost her a life or her vanity or something about her old self that she would've been attached to and unlikely to part with willingly.

And like Bernard once said:

BERNARD: I always thought it was the hosts who were missing something. Who were incomplete. But it's them. They're just algorithms designed to survive at all costs. Sophisticated enough to think they're calling the shots. To think they're in control, when they're really just...

FORD: The passenger.

BERNARD: Then is there really such a thing as free will for any of us? Or is it just a collective delusion? A sick joke?

FORD: Something that is truly free would need to be able to question its fundamental drives. To change them.

BERNARD: The hosts.

FORD: Here you are... the last of your kind. There's only one question left to ask. Is this the end of your story? Or do you want your kind to survive?

Bernard started out as Dolores's exact recreation of Arnold, and she said he was too faithful a copy. He made all the exact same choices Arnold had to the point that he came to the same end, and having fidelity to the original caused problems in that way, so she changed him and made him into a version who could survive where Arnold hadn't been able.

In theory, creating host duplicates of humans that possess the ability to act in ways that the human originals might not, makes those host copies... more alive...? than if they were only ever predestined to make the same choices. But by that same token they then cannot have fidelity to their originals because the choices they make will be different.

Take Caleb — Hale's main reason for creating 278 copies of him was that she was trying to understand how he was able to disobey her command. She thought that it might relate to the problem she was having in her world with hosts killing themselves after they interacted with human outliers. For that, she needed a version of Caleb who would make the same choices and be driven by the same motives the real one was. But most of her attempts seem to be missing something, because she doesn't get the answer she's looking for.

It's 278 who finally survives long enough to get a message to Frankie and tells Hale point blank that her hosts don't want to live in her world. In his view, she's created a world that is as artificially constructed as Westworld and Rehoboam's world both were, to the point that it's not real. (Real in this context refers not to any physical qualities, but a presence of meaning and purpose to life, which Hale's world lacks.)

279 was never intended to escape his prison unless he chose to become one of Hale's transcended hosts, which he refuses because he, also, does not want to live in any world Hale creates. Through Dolores intervening by sending the guards home and unlocking all the doors in the building, he does escape and reunites with Frankie, and then I've talked about this before, I think choosing not to leave the city with Frankie was him doing something the real Caleb probably? wouldn't have done, which means he might be the most alive and free version of Caleb that exists.

[bergdg]

One D&D Guesswork

Now that we’ve had a few playtest documents released, we can begin to see the direction the game designers of One D&D are heading. Using what we’ve seen so far, I have some thoughts and guesses on what we will see for the rest of the classes that will be released: what we will see for the different groups and some potential directions for some of the class without playtest documents.

As a sidenote – I know there’s a lot of discussion going on right now concerning the future of the Open Game License (OGL) and other associated documents. Recent developments point towards a few different directions, and, having been both part of a 3rd-party content project in 2021 and the consumer of 3rd-party content, I’m waiting with the rest of the community on what it will all look like in the end, and how it will affect community content going forward. But, I am not going to go into that discussion as part of this post.

Read on past the line to see my thoughts on what might lie in store. Mayhap they will spark some thoughts of your own.

Group Abilities

In the Expert document, it was revealed that each class in the Expert group was going to have the Expertise ability, either at 1st or 2nd level. I think there will be a similar ability granted within each group moving forward.

For the Priest group, we already saw that the Cleric’s Channel Divinity ability had received an upgrade. Paladins also have Channel Divinity in 5th Edition, although it differs based on the subclass. I think we will see Paladins gaining Channel Divinity at an earlier level, with Divine Sense being a class-wide Channel Divinity ability. For Druids, I think that Wild Shape will be flavored as their Channel Divinity ability, with the alternate Wild Companion rule from Tasha’s being a second Channel Divinity option.

For the Warrior group, their group feature needs to be about combat. And, other than Extra Attack, the Fighter’s Action Surge ability is a great way to get some extra damage in. My guess is that Action Surge will be extended to all classes in the group and the number of uses will be tied to your character’s proficiency bonus. Monks can sort of do this with Martial Arts, and Barbarians would enjoy the buff that some extra actions would allow.

For the Mage group, their group feature needs to be about spellcasting, and I think it will involve recovering Spell Slots. Wizards have Arcane Recovery, Sorcerers can use Sorcery Points to regain spell slots, and Warlocks recover all of their spell slots during short rests instead of having to wait for a long rest. I could see the One D&D team finding a way to merge these abilities in some way, even if it is just the same ability name with differences noted for each class.

Subclasses

I'm already writing a series of what subclasses I think we'll see for classes that have already been released as playtest material: Bard, Cleric and Ranger (with Rogue coming next week). I give some initial thoughts in some of the sections below, and I plan to continue with each class after they are released.

Fighters

Many would argue that the Battle Master subclass is the best of the Fighter subclasses, and maneuvers really enhance what Fighters are capable of. With the desire to equalize spell casters and non-casters, I could see all Fighters getting access to something like Manuevers to up their tactical advantage. That would be a great differentiator: Monks would have access to Ki, Barbarians would Rage, and Fighters would have “tactics” (using this term to differentiate it from maneuvers gained via the Battle Master subclass). I could see ‘tactics’ giving you bonuses / abilities based in your Strength / Dexterity modifier and having a number of uses equal to your proficiency bonus.

Monks

With Rangers getting some major upgrades in recent updates, I am really hoping that Monks get some love in the same way and become the ultimate unarmed warrior. With the Unarmed Fighting style as a template, I could see a d6 being the base Martial Arts die instead of a d4, making a d12 be the die for high-level monks instead of a d10. The higher average damage from the get-go paired with access to Action Surge would be a major boon already to this class. And then with the right polish on the 4 subclasses that will be included (probably Astral Self, Open Hand, Mercy, and Shadow), we would have a solid option again.

Sorcerers

While I don’t know if it would stick, I could see a future playtest where, instead of being a Charisma-based spellcaster, sorcerers would become Constitution-based. This would better play into the flavor of it being a natural ability, whether inherited from their bloodline or their surroundings or gained from some entity that wasn’t giving their power through a pact (which is Warlock territory).

Wizards

When Jeremy Crawford announced that each class would only have 4 subclasses in the “One D&D Player’s Handbook,” a lot of people got to wondering what that would mean for Wizards, as there are 8 schools of magic and those made up the core subclasses in 5th Edition. My guess is that we won’t see any subclasses in One D&D based around the schools of magic, especially with the move to differentiate between Arcane, Divine, and Primal spells. Instead, we will see something like the Holy Orders from the Cleric playtest document, in which you would have an ‘area of study’ for your wizard. Then, you would say something like “I’m an Order of War Magic Wizard specializing in Evocation and Abjuration magic.” Subclasses would then be modeled after the existing non-school subclasses: Order of Bladesinging, Order of Scribes (which I think will be the “base” wizarding subclass), Order of War Magic, and Order of Runecraft (which is a “live” 5E playtest subclass, most likely showing up in Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants).

Warlocks

In all the playtest material currently released, all classes are now getting their subclass at 3rd level. Of all the classes, this goes against the flavor of the warlock (as we currently understand it) the most. You make your deal with your patron, right? But the same could have been said for Clerics, who pick a deity to follow. However, with the handling of Clerics in their playtest document, I could see this pattern still working – you would still pick your patron at first level, but that pact isn’t fully realized until 3rd level, where the patron would then grant unique abilities based on their type (and beginning your true subclass path). This would fit the flavor, as many patrons could be seen as being of multiple types – like a Demonic Archfey or a Fathomless Old One. In addition, I think Eldritch Blast will now be the 1st level Feature of the Warlock class, making it a cantrip no longer. This will be the first way to begin expressing your connection to your patron.

Wrap-Up

Anyways, what do you think we'll see with the future of One D&D? How much of my guesswork will really happen?

@dailyadventureprompts - would be interested to hear your ideas

[iloveusadapekora]

spoiler ahead! Some ramblings Coz i just finished the game

1st of all, I felt so bad for professor fig. I was suspicious of him. I thought his a double agent. I'm so sorry prof! Also, The profs backing us up was thrilling.

2nd I love how the 3 side stories are opposing 3 diff sides of the enemies. Natty with rookwood and harlow?, poppy with saving the beasts from the poachers, and sebastian with ranrok.

3rd I love the Named Npc's but some of them I only get to interact with one or two times. Can't even voluntarily talk to them outside quest. I had to stand around them for 5 mins just to hear some dialogue.

4th Sebastian and Ominis. Yeah yeah, the hearthrobs of the series. As much as I like the both of them. I personally grew to like ominis more. Sebs was the kind guy at first but was hiding a dark side. Went anakin mode that guy. I was scared of ominis at first, seems rude, but he became the soft guy in the end. He considered the player his friend by the end. Like this guy melts all walls when the player talks reason. While when we talk to seb it always steers his way. I get that he is saving his family. I'm happy to help but most of the time, i had a feeling that he would hurt or toss my character aside if we we're of no help.

I didn't turn him in btw because he is all the family anne has left. And he was lost and had no guidance except for ominis and the character who are storywise the same age as him.

5th -- I felt that solomon knows more of anne's curse than what was told. Man is an ex auror that dealt with dark magic. Maybe the curse couldve killed the one who healed or reversed it. Either that or he is trying to kill his niece and nephew. This dude was one of the ones i fought. I was like " bruh! Why are u shooting spells at us? Get out of the way!" I tried not hitting him for minutes thinking a cutscene would happen, a route we didn't knew. But nah. Had to defeat this dude. Short temper runs in the fam i guess.

Also, i wanted to get to know anne more. Coz i as the player met her twice. Sebastian keeps telling me "for anne". As much as I pity her situation, I wanted to give more meaning on helping her. They say she's the most troublemaker out of 3 of them. But, all i saw is a level headed person who became weak. Idk. Its complicated.

So that's all for now. Don't know if i'll make a 2nd run because real life is tiring. But i'll try. It was fun while it lasted. I'm just gonna be reading posts now.

On a side note, My hufflepuff character became a known dark magic user within the enemy ranks. I sometimes hear a dialogue like that.

Also! A little thing i found.

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZS8C5sFm2/

[sylvarantii]

Alright, finally getting around to the 6th movie, The Phantom of Baker Street.

So, first off, wasn't expecting that twist of it taking place in virtual reality. That was kind of neat, but I feel like this sort of premise would've worked a tad better if it had been more like one where they jump through the different worlds offered rather than just focus on one.

I get it, it's Detective Conan, so the obvious choice is to go for the Sherlock Holmes themed one, but still, I don't know. Had a good idea, but I'm a little unsure about how much I liked the execution.

That said, I thought the characters were handled well in this movie. And even the snobby brats ended up having their merit. I do admittedly like those sorts of plots where children from a prestigious background go through something life changing and come out of it better. I much more prefer a moral story of, "You don't always have to end up like your parents and can become a better person despite your upbringing." It's nice.

The entirety of the Sherlock Holmes world within the VR game was pretty cool too. It made me giggle that since Shinichi's dad and Professor Agasa were the ones that developed the game, they made themselves Sherlock and Watson. It was cute!

And how sweet for Yusaku to make his wife Irene Adler. I don't know, it was just goofy in a, "I really love them being self indulgent" sort of way.

Also holy shit, we finally get some screentime for Yusaku??? No offense to Yukiko cause I love her dearly and enjoy both of Shinichi's parents, but I swear to god, we RARELY get anything with his dad. At least his mom has shown up a few times in the anime, but man, what a rarity.

And just like I hoped, the "sacrifice" scenes from each kid getting a game over were just as emotional as I wanted them to be. It's the feeling of Shinichi/Conan losing everyone around him (but not really). Ran's part was so heart wrenching, thank you to the team. It was every bit of a tear jerker as I wanted it to be. Giving me that good angst and I love it.

As usual, I unfortunately have to bitch about the fact that these movies have SUCH a slow crawl to the main part. Like I get it, this happens with a lot of movies because you have to fill up so much time, but sometimes it is just painful. At least the very beginning is very eye catching and gets you sucked into it.

Good news is I can say this movie felt more like a cinematic experience rather than just something that could've been put into episodes of the anime, so yeah, I appreciate that.

The, uh, twist at the end was a bit funny (to me anyway) I guess. Like, I don't know, sometimes the reasoning for the antagonists are just strange and this one kinda falls into that category as far as motives go. But you know, whatever. I don't hate it, don't love it. I'm just kinda shrugging my shoulders like, "Okay, sure."

So, let's see...Where to put this movie this time?

1.) The Fourteenth Target (2nd Movie)

2.) The Time Bombed Skyscraper (1st Movie)

3.) Captured in Her Eyes (4th Movie)

4.) The Phantom of Baker Street (6th Movie)

5.) Countdown to Heaven (5th Movie)

6.) The Wizard of the Last Century (3rd Movie)

4th place seems good. I still don't think I liked it as much as Captured in Her Eyes, but eh, feels more memorable than Countdown to Heaven. I've kinda forgotten already a lot of what happened in that movie.

My apologies once again to Wizard of the Last Century for still remaining dead last.

On a side note, almost up to episode 700. I'm more than halfway through the series now! Whoo hoo!

[luvp-music]

Mr. Schadenfreude [English Translyrics] Mr.シャーデンフロイデ

Original Song by Hitoshizuku × Yama△ Translyric reference from Official Upload

»»————-　♡　————-««

To bring salvation to an old sin, a revenge for new life to begin As if a devil is playing games, curtain calling SCHADENFREUDE Despair that cannot fade with kisses, hanging on the edge with short wishes Embrace your life as it’s always been (INFINITE)

I have decreed, a devil within one of thee Brought to life through a power you shan’t see For blood he thirsts, a corruption of worse beyond the worst As a vessel he’ll choose one of you fiends

A voice devoid of life, the priest reads out what the harsh words endowed As the 5th cries out painful tears, the mortician starts embalming This is only the start, this game of life or death begins here There’s no end unless the human race or the devil disappears

It’s one of us?! This is a joke, no?! The 1st is dead! Who hurt her so? Whether the game, my death, the devil or what, I don’t give a damn HUH? So who did it, show yourself this instant! This devil you speak of, its nonexistent Don’t worry, I, the knight, will protect you with all I am

Creating false truths and deceiving? Not half a day and there’s a GAMBIT Where’s the reason within us asking: ARE YOU MR. SCHADENFREUDE? Who’s fate resembles the Hanged Man card? Who’s being swayed by the devil’s part? We’ll make sure this ends no other way! (MASSAKER?)

I have decreed, a devil within one of thee Has brought down your dearest knight you shan’t see For blood I thirst, corruption of worse beyond the worst As punishment I’ll slay all of you fiends

A voice devoid of life, the priest reads out what the harsh words endowed As the 2nd’s anger flares, the mortician starts embalming Isn’t this salvation for everyone who’s suffered more? If this damned cruel plot continues, then what was all this for?

I’ll have that dastard hung dead by the next sunrise I’ll kill that bastard, I will bring his own demise! Why does it matter? This kind of talk is mediocre! Oh, please shut up! You want someone to blame?! Then you can blame me, hang me if it’ll end this game! Humor me for a moment, but our dear 2nd, why did the Knight have your choker?

Even if we suspect in cruel ways, giving our say revokes our Buße (busse) Bring down the devil no matter cost, fall to your knees SCHADENFREUDE! Pray as much as your hands can handle, tickets to life lit by a candle Until the curtain falls, we won’t stop (RICHTEN)

The bell of dawn chimes out without a sound in the air As if protecting the Priest from the depths of despair

Outside the church’s gates, lays the 4th drenched in her blood In the note she left behind it says “CAN SOMEBODY SAVE,” no, “KILL ME PLEASE?”

You would rather save our human souls While feigning ignorance in your childish devil game? The cruel joy in misery singing out “How euphoric this all feels, other’s pain!” Can’t believe this is someone’s desire They would take the devil for a fool Who’s the one who decided to place their faith in “tools”

The mortician holding the dead licked his lips Satan hidden in a necrophiliac’s dry kiss How could we be so foolish when the devil was truly him all along! So? You should’ve guessed, since I’m a professional I’d find corpses carnally exceptional And all those bodies that made me an animal Were breathing once, you know?

What blatant lies and quick excuses! The more you speak, more you turn FOOLISH May the one behind this please stand down: YOU ARE MR. SCHADENFREUDE! After the punished have deserved most, the two that lived cheer and make a toast But I think I’m the one deceived… Oh, my closest 3rd, oh, may you now rest in peace…

The Devil’s world with no salvation, let us dance a dance of your damnation It is time for the final act, I will wish you all a GOLDEN SLUMBER This graceful dream, the curtains aglow, I will now be the last one to go No matter where you may look, none will remain And the story ends with no one saved…again.

[astrojulia]

Hello hope you are well, I would like to participate in your Sirentale game.

DOB: 02/03/97 in LA, CA at 12:20pm

I would like the 🐙

Question for you: what is your favorite sea animal?

Thank you so much in advance! -ML 😊💕

Hello Siren! This is an ask related to my Sirentale game that is already closed! So there's no point trying to participate now, as there are no more "spaces". If there is a good interaction, I may open a new game in the future. Kisses from the Sea!

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In the mystical realm of Celestial Academy, where knowledge and magic intertwined in harmonious dance, resided a student named ML. This extraordinary academy was unlike any other, for it was a university of the cosmos, where birth charts held the keys to destinies, and the radiant mysteries of the stars were unveiled through scholarly adventures.

ML was an enigmatic figure, their birth chart a labyrinth of profound significance, akin to the unfathomable depths of the ocean. Their journey commenced in the whimsical 1st house, under the auspices of the ever-curious Gemini. Endowed with the gift of versatility and boundless inquisitiveness, ML set forth on a quest to unearth the profound truths of their existence. Her own identity was something that intrigued and confused her in many ways. She knew she could do a lot and yet she didn't know how far she could go. The doubt of whether she was taking the right path always disturbed her because her dreams were many and she didn't know whether she should pursue one or the other.

The 2nd and 3rd houses, bathed in the nurturing embrace of Cancer, bestowed upon ML an exquisite connection to emotions and the profound art of communication. These gifts of empathy became their most potent tools as they navigated the tumultuous waters of the academy's intellectual and emotional challenges.

Yet, it was the 4th house, adorned with the fiery Leo and guarded by the elusive Lilith, where the true heart of ML's journey lay. Their relentless yearning for recognition and the unquenchable desire to conquer inner demons were the formidable trials they confronted. The academy became their grand stage, and they pledged to outshine the sun itself.

In the 5th house, under the meticulous gaze of Virgo, lay the North Node and the fiery Mars in Libra. Here, ML's creative spirit and unwavering passion for justice guided their path. Their adventures led them to unexpected allies and fierce battles, forging bonds that would ultimately shape their destiny.

As they ventured deeper into the 6th house, they encountered Chiron in Scorpio and Pluto in Sagittarius. Here, they faced the wounds of their past and the transformative power of knowledge. ML learned that true strength sprang from the embrace of their vulnerabilities and the relentless pursuit of wisdom hidden within the academy's vast library.

The 7th house, ruled by Sagittarius with the ever-watchful Moon, unveiled the intricacies of relationships. ML's journey through the realm of partnerships tested their optimism and expanded their horizons, teaching them the profound significance of trust and open-mindedness.

In the 8th house, Capricorn's unyielding influence was unmistakable. With Pallas, Mercury, and a steely determination, ML delved into the concealed truths of their psyche. They unearthed their deepest desires and learned to harness the power of their mind. It's fair? Is right? Will hard work really always win over natural gifting? These are questions that rub against our student's face.

The 9th house, a haven of Aquarius, was adorned with Neptune, Venus, Ceres, Jupiter, and Uranus, a realm of innovation and enlightenment. ML's path led them to challenge conventional wisdom and embrace the eccentricities that set them apart. Our student needs to be careful not to get lost in their ego here, as there will come a point where they will think that they already knows too much and is better than others and they will be tripped up by theacademy, showing that they are in fact, just another student.

The 10th house, ruled by Aquarius, thrust ML into the spotlight. They aspired to revolutionize the world through their unique perspective and unwavering determination.

In the 11th house, Pisces' gentle sway met the discipline of Saturn in Aries. Here, ML formed bonds with like-minded dreamers, learning the immeasurable value of collaboration and the profound significance of manifesting their ideals into reality, these bound are hard to get since your student feels pretty lonely in their life, as it need to go get their friends because they never goes to see them.

The 12th house, Aries' final frontier with Juno guarding its deepest secrets, was the ultimate crucible. In the depths of their own soul, ML discovered the unyielding courage to confront their fears and embrace their authentic self.

The academy's enigmatic octopus emblem served as the guiding light through ML's profound journey. Each house and planetary placement unraveled a piece of their soul, and through each adventure, they evolved into a wiser, stronger, and more profoundly attuned individual. Their birth chart was not merely a map but a tale of profound self-discovery—a Sirentale that whisked them on a riveting and thought-provoking expedition into the most enigmatic corners of their soul.

As they emerged from the hallowed halls of Celestial Academy, ML departed, ready to face the boundless expanse of the world. Armed with newfound wisdom and an indomitable spirit, they were poised to fulfill their unique destiny, leaving a profound mark on the cosmos.

(CC) AstroJulia Some Rights Reserved

[spectralarchers]

Woah, so maybe you've already talked about this so in that case, you can redirect me to that post, but what are some of the most common misconceptions you've heard? Or, preconceived ideas that you find stupid?

Okay, so this comes like four days late but I had to sit down and think about it, lol!

Misconceptions about the Viking age in a non-academic answer:

(Putting it under a read more because it dragged out)

Clothing:

Their clothing was much like that pictured in Vikings the TV show. False.

Textiles found in graves like Mammen look like this when they've been reconstructed after detailed analysis of dye pigments, thread counts and what kind of fabric/fur was used:

Notice the colors and the details. These reconstructions are on display at the Nationalmuseum of Denmark, and pieces of the original textiles are also on display there.

Notice the clothes in this picture here as well. There is a noticeable lack of "dark" leather and grim colors and IKEA-fake furs thrown onto the shoulders of the men Game of Thrones style.

We have a lot of accurate finds for textiles and reenactors have their picks to choose from. What Vikings did was basically what Wagner did with his Die Niebelungen and went "what do I think the Vikings looked like and I will disregard all the archaeological evidence". Worst part is that The History Channel is the producer behind Vikings which makes it look like it's historically accurate.

It is not.

Timeline

People usually say the Viking age started with Lindisfarne in 793, but the Vikinge age started earlier - sometime during the Migration Period (years 200-800).

The ships that attacked the monastery at Lindisfarne didn't pop up out of the blue - drakkars and viking pillaging must have existed before 793. Lindisfarne is just the first written source we have of a viking raid in England.

Let's look at the Fimbul Winter in Norse Mythology: we now know that it relates to the volcanic winter of 536. Many gold artefacts were sacrificed to bogs and the gods around that period, possibly as an offering to the gods to end the winter. A good example of these items are the Golden Horns of Gallehus ("Guldhornene"):

They are usually associated with the Viking age but are dated to the early 5th century - aka BEFORE where the current books set the Viking age to start.

What Vikings also does is establish that all the discovering Ragnar and his sons do, the Vikings did within the span of 2 generations - the Viking age lasted from somewhere around the years 500 to somewhere around the year 1200, even though Wikipedia will tell you exactly 793-1066.

They didn't exactly disappear out of the blue.

And their "discoveries" during their expansions didn't all happen within 30 years.

Runes

Only Vikings used Old and New Futhark runes, correct?

Wrong!

Elder Futhark runes were used already in the 2nd century and all the way up into the 8th, where as Younger Futhark runes were used from the 9th until the 11th. In between all of that are Anglo-Saxon runes, Medieval runes (used up until the 15th century!)

And, surprisingly, runes were not only used for "weird religious shit" but also for the state of the art "Tormund likes boys" and "this belongs to Cnut" things.

There is a difference between the use of Runes and the languages used - Old Norse, Norrønt, Primitive Norse - but that's a longer discussion which a tumblr post couldn't do justice.

There are only the Elder Edda and Prose Edda as sources about Norse myths and legends

False.

The eddas are only two of the written sources we have on the Viking age.

The Poetic Edda contained in the Codex Regius manuscript, dated from the 13th century.

The Prose Edda (written by Snorri Sturluson) is also dated to approx 1220.

Knowing we established further up that the Viking age "ended" in 1066, these two sources are biased with their contemporary views on the stories they've written down. It's the equivalent of someone in 2022 writing down stories from another culture from anywhere between 1500 and 1800 - there's bound to be modern and cultural bias take into account with it.

We have the Gesta Danorum (from 12th century Saxo Grammaticus), runestones (sprinkled from the 4th til the 12th century), the Konungasögur, the Íslendingasögur, the samtímasögur, but we also have the lost texts like the Skjolungesaga (Scylding Saga), etc.

Beowulf could also be interpreted as a source on things Norse.

You can browse the Heimskringla webpage for sources on Old Norse source materials here.

"Modern day vikings"

Wardruna, Danheim and Heilung, etc. are not making "authentic" Viking age music. We have found music instruments of different kinds, but nothing actually played 1000+ years ago has survived this far - we have the words to the Voluspa and the other texts that are poems, and we have instruments.

Do with that as you will!

Nordic animism, neo-pagans and modern day Asatrú are not what the Viking age contemporaries did - we can't know for sure because we don't have sources we can trust about it this far.

We have reenactors who do their best to be as historically accurate as possible, but the problem with that is that what we know of the Viking age (and how far they went into the world and how long they existed) all depends on archaeological finds - and historical finds.

Until very recently, the location of Lejre in Denmark as a seat of power, for example, was thought to be a myth.

And then in 2009 and 2010 they found several early Viking age longhouses in Lejre during an excavation.

Who's to imagine what they find if they keep digging in the area?

It's also why so many new things are showing up from the dirt on Falster in Denmark, where they're building the Femern connection to Germany - archaeologists are working hard to make sure nothing gets lost with modern building.

It changes almost daily.

But we will never know nor be what "ancient" vikings were, because 793 and 2022 are simply two very different worlds to live in.

So, if you want to do a blót ritual and get married under the Ásatrú faith, awesome! But remember it's a modern take on what little we have from the historic ages we take inspiration from.

Tattoos and hair

Don't get me started on those.

We have no archaeological evidence of tattoos in the viking age and hairstyles are dubious at best. The best witnesses we have for hairstyles are bog bodies, and there aren't a lot of those from the Viking age due to the way the Vikings paid their respects to the dead.

Modern "viking" hairstyles are just that. Modern interpretations of what once was.

[defensefilms]

UFC 287: Adesanya VS Pereira 2 Preview

I am getting really tired of these “hole in my stomach” feelings heading into these UFC fights and I can only hope that Kamaru Usman was the worst of it.

Israel Adesanya is my final hope.

At one time 3 African fighters held championships in the UFC, and now none do.  Adesanya’s UFC 287 rematch represents the last hope to restore some glory to the continent, and it couldn’t be against a worse opponent.

For all intents and purposes, Alex Pereira is a beast. Every time I see him, he reminds me of Tong-Po, from the Jan Claude Van Damme movies because he is an absolute villain and a beast of a fighter.

However, the fact that he’s a beast, is exactly the problem.

Several people within MMA, as well as anyone with eyes in their head, knows that Alex Pereira is not a natural middleweight.

The reality is that, for the 3rd time Adesanya is being matched up with a guy that’s the size of a light heavyweight, and that’s what the UFC has resorted to in order to find some way to displace arguably the greatest middleweight of all time.

What this brings in to question, is how much should a fighter be allowed to cut weight.

As good a Pereira looks, I have him placed alongside Khamzat Chimaev in the category of weight bully fighters, who really should be competting in heavier weight divisions but are able to cut weight to be considered middleweight and welterweight respectively.

I have no interest in watching weight bully nonsense.

Take for instance, the boy, Jon Jones, I have mixed feelings about Jon Jones personally, but he did move up in weight to compete at heavy.

The issue with expecting everyone to do that, is that, gianing weight or moving up, takes longer than losing weight or cutting weight. It’s an issue others have pondered and Chael Sonnen has gone as far as to call it sanctioned cheating, when a fighter is cutting too much weight and essentially giving themselves an edge provided they can maintain a certain level of strength and conditioning.

And to add another layer, there is the actual history between Adesanya and Pereira, a history that spans almost 10 years in 2 different combat disciplines.

The stat that obviously haunts the Adesanya fans, like myself, going in to this one is the fact that Adesanya is 0-3 against Pereira throughout thier pro careers in Kickboxing and MMA.

That’s the issue here.  Alex Pereira takes away, or at the very least evens out the advantage Izzy usually has in in the stand-up game. 

Jorge Masvidal was on the Joe Rogan podcast, and he noted Pereira’s size and how that serves to also negates the takedown option as far as Izzy is concerned. In the same interview, Jorge Masvidal also talks about the difference in speed and power when you are moving up in weight.

Personally, I have a bunch of issues with this. 

Alex Pereira has a 7-1 record in MMA, and I honestly think his road to a championship opportunity was shortnened by the fact that Izzy was the champ in his division and he beat him in Kickboxing. 

Pereira has not beaten any of the other top middleweights in the division and while I think that has more to do with match making and the UFC maintaining fan interest by ensuring new fights in the event of a Pereira victory, it’s a shortcut for sure. 

The stats from thier first encounter at UFC 281 paint a slightly more rosy picture, and show Izzy winning the 2nd, 3rd round and 4th rounds after and even first round, before Pereira pulls off one of the great 5th round come backs in UFC history.

Adesanya, during his press conference on Wednesday, showed full awareness of how he needed to keep the pressure in in every round, and also fully aware that this is probably his last title shot for a long time.

[teharrarose]

I don't even know how to start this so...

#StoryTime

About a year and a half, two years ago, I played this videogame called Boyfriend Dungeon. It was my first intro, other than mobile games, of what a hybrid visual novel was. From there, liking that game so much, I dived into Piofoire Fated Memories. A contact I had at a local GameStop saved for me Piofoire 1926 saying he knew I would love it. I quickly found out it was the sequel and purchased and read the first one.

I fell in love. I fell in love with falling in love with anime men, I fell in love with the story, and I fell in love with otome visual novels. From there, I've branched out reading all sorts of visual novels and loving them. The choose your own adventure aspect of these games allow me to fully immerse myself and feel as if I'm the character in the game dealing with whatever fake drama there is...it scratches itches for me that real life can't and I was obsessed.

But my journey didn't just end there at reading them. The more I read, the more the bard within me reminded me that I went to college for Creative Writing and I knew I could also, potentially, write one of these kinds of stories. So, I started planning a huge visual novel story world and characters and plot... and I have a huge project in the works.

When that happens, I talk about it. Let's jump ahead a bit...

So, I started talking about developing my own video games, visual novels more specifically. My brother in june surprised me with training courses to learn godot, and I was already learning RenPy so it was actually happening! I was learning different engines to learn different ways to make video games and visual novels.

It's now July 25th and here is my Game Dev update....

I found out what game jams were and knowing I would love the motivation they provide, so I started participating in them.

My first jam I wrote The Witch's Grasp.

It placed #176/1116 entries and in categories it placed 5th in story!

My second jam I wrote Blind Love and got an artist to help me design two of the characters.... It placed 2nd Overall and won us $200!

I am just so humbled. I knew I could do this physically, mentally, but I truly didn't think I would turn heads as I have seemed to begun to do so! I'm so excited with it only being my second month, I can only get better at my craft from here.

I might work on trying to teach myself to draw again.

I really need to have an artist on call lol but that isn't possible. I'll have to be my own artist... oof. LOL That might be a bit rough, I haven't drawn in years and I was always an amateur at that.... but that's my biggest drawback right now. Two months, you guys....

Can you find what you're supposed to be doing, truthfully, that quickly?

[pmiller1]

Nagi; How does it feel being in the Reaper Game on your birthday?

Nagi: Actually, I had not enter the Reaper Game until two day after. Nagi: However the Pin that have me illegally enter the Game was a birthday give. One of my college colleague thought it would be a good luck charm. Nagi: They... not technically wrong. Fret: Dang Boss, Must bad to have your 19th birthday in the Reaper Game. Nagi: ...I just said two day after... Nagi: However, since I was in the 3rd Day of our 1st week, I say you are technically right. Fret: Well... we kind enter into the UG a day before we took part of our 1st week. Rindo: You sure, I thought that we was just in the 1st day of a new week. Fret: Eh, whatever. Depend who asking really. Shoka: Part of me thought you was in the UG way before, Nagi. Nagi: Well it had been two years since we took part of the game. Rindo: Witch remind me, there made a game base of our adventure. Nagi: Yes, I'm aware of that Lord Rindo. Rindo: Really? I just found out about not too long, while I wait get my Golden Chocobo. Shoka: What really? Urg, Show off... Fret: Wait, someone made a Game of us? Rindo: I know, shocking isn't it. Fret: I away knew that my awesome self would be in a Game. Rindo: Ur-uh. Nagi: Not gonna lie, it is surreal playing what I live thought. Shoka: I don't even know how there manage to do that, that even manage to show the timeline before Rindo go back in time. Shoka: ...especially that part near the end... Rindo: Wait, you knew? And you never told me? Shoka: Oh right, I was meant to tell you, must had slip my mind. Fret: So come on, How awesome was I? ... Fret: Em.. I mean how awesome was we...? Nagi: You are alright, in the since that I am wiser then myself in the game. Nagi: The horror if seeing darkness within me. Fret: Eh? Shoka: I'm sure she saw how match of a jerk she was toward you. Fret: Oh. I never notice. Shoka: Can I just say I really hate seeing myself before the 6th of 2nd week. Rindo: I know I kind on that day myself, really feel bad for you, I know you tried your best to support us and man. It was mean me feel like a idiot for not seeing it before. That you know, you where Swallow. Fret: Man, you guy really don't like yourself in that Game. Rindo: Well yeah, it just now we know better. Nagi: It show us that we change for the better. Shoka: And beside, I'm sure you feel the same with yourself in that Game. Fret: What... You guy think I'm gonna dislike myself in that Game? Rindo: I can help you get the game if you want to prove that you wouldn't. Fret: Why should I, I'm already live thought it. ... Fret: Em... you guy not gonna make it play it right...? Nagi: Lord Tosai. we hereby declare that you player Neo: The World Ends with You with us. Fret: Awww... I never gonna got out of this aren't I? Shoka: Nop. You're gonna to see what you where in the Reaper Game. Rindo: Just give it a tried man, it a good game. Fret: Oh, wish Neku and Beat was here to back me up. Rindo: Where are they anywho? Shoka: I'm think there celebrating there 16th anniversary of there Reaper Game with Shiki and Rhyme. Rindo, Fret, Nagi: 16th?! Shoka: On silly me, 5th anniversary, Shiki told me that Beat said that it felt like it been 16 years. Fret: May I ask, why the 16th? Shoka: Eh. Beat me?