#my goodness this is gaining traction

[p0th]

[sirskinnyjeans]

something something time powers

[torchickentacos]

Posts that are like "if you reblog without this condescending addition then [threat/guilt tripping/etc]" baffle me so much because like... how are you going to verify that someone purposefully reblogged without that specific thread addition? It's such an empty claim. You cannot prove that a person went out of their way to ignore a specific reblog addition. Posts go around with like 5 different post-addition variations, that's just how tumblr works??? forever confusing and mildly annoying honestly.

[stealingyourbones]

Dude the joy of going “I really like this idea that I have but also want other folks having fun adding onto it.” And then doing everything I can to have folks get intrigued and it working is the best experience ever. Successfully giving other folks the same brainworms as I makes me so incredibly happy

[willows-unnamed-rpg]

Post 1) Overall idea - turn based pirate rpg/ttrpg system

TLDR: I am working on a ttrpg system as a basis for a turn based rpg that is magic, piracy, and exploration. A focus on wealth and growth plus a vast world (hopefully). I am inspired by alot of things, mainly horror and pirate media, so the intent is a more darker setting

Ok onto the post :)

I figured if I actually want to get this bloody game in production I might as well start with a long post detailing some initial thoughts with some hope of any amount of actual engagement (doubtful that is). This thing has lived in my brain for weeks now and it has officially kept me up at night now. Figured I should post something out into the world. Now I guess I should have some form of organizing

Why a turn based rpg

Honestly, it's what I love. I grew up playing RPGs and I love table top RPGs. I figured it was this or action rpg and I don't want an action rpg. Granted it might fit the genre more but also I'm the one making it the thing so I get to call the shots (until someone else hops in if I ever get someone else)

I also Game Master several table top games currently so I have an understanding of combat flow and narrative, I am just used to others adding to the story rather than it being all me (since ttrpgs are inherently collaborative works)

I have some ideas for the system, something I want to go into detail when I am less sleep deprived, but in short I want it to be classless but still guiding the player to general play styles, like mage or tank. I know pirates and magic, but the whole magical dungeon diving fits exploring ancient ruins for money (plus casting a big old fireball at a ship sounds cool as hell).

So a custom rpg system?

Yes. Like I want it to work on its own as a standalone ttrpg system. Since I should be able to make it translate well into a video game. I mean that's the hope. I won't be the first person to do this (look at all the d&d games from the 1980s on dos to BG3, it works)

The idea as said above is classless with point buying perks (kinda like fallout). Unsure if I want it to be a d20 system but I am absolutely going for high roll is better since low roll systems hurt my head (looking at 2e dnd, had to learn it for some dos d&d games and it took a bit of getting used to). But it's all subjected to change since it's literally this post and my brain

Pirates?

You bet. Look, the only good pirate games are Assassin Creed: Black Flag and Sea of Thieves and both are subjective. Of course the big problem here comes from the question of how much time do we put into ship combat to make it fluid. Especially with turn based rpg combat. And I know that will be the challenge. I will not back down from this point. I want ship combat. Even if it's just boarding other vessels. I want fireballs to light gunpowder holds and deal massive damage. I want artificers repairing the ship and manning guns. I want the player to feel at full control and be able to react while making choices that fit into the system. Without it being full on simulation.

As for the player exploration off the boat, that should be easy, like any other RPGs. Of course I have done ttrpg games not video games so I know it will be a pain nonetheless but that's learning and art.

So about that world for exploring

I want that to be it's own post once I nail down the system's mechanics but in short, kinda an Isekai (well not literally, the player isn't from another world, not yet anyway) but all the "Species" (no idea what I want to use for the word) are not native to the world, and so they have been invited over time to explore a long dead universe that they brought in their own beliefs. Does that mean human Christianity mixing with let's say elven nature faith? It's been in my mind as a neat idea but also *yikes* as well. I want to be sure that I consider everything, including cultures who were exploited during the age of sail so I don't propagate more harm. So that will require a lot of research and help from those communities. I also don't want to plop in fantasy races "just because" since they probably won't belong. We tend to see them because Western fantasy is typically "eurocentric", and this game will not be. Pirates were European sure but that ignores so many other groups (Barbary Pirate, Malagasy, South East Asian. Again I need to do more research)

I have tied in my own Mexican culture into my ttrpg games before but that's my own culture and in a small group. This is far larger and I need to give the world the respect it deserves.

What kind of art style?

I am not a very good artist so this one will be in the air until I settle, but I need to grow or get help. I would like something near realism (Honestly like how the Paradox Strategy games tend to do art, EU4 especially since it's the right period of time but again that's eurocentric so who knows)

I can't settle on a style when I haven't even made custom stat blocks for creatures or even know what creatures will be in the game yet. I will say, I love pixel art but I'm aware of exactly how much work it takes to make it wonderful. I have exactly zero skill in most art/drawing and what I do have need work, so best get to doodling to get better

The story?

On my main blog I usually write (though I am bad at posting, let's not make that a habit shall we?) but that doesn't mean I'm good at writing. Writing like drawing is an art, so I need to work on this and get help from others as it warms up. I don't want to disregard writing, it's an rpg, it lives by the narrative.

Other than exploring the world for money, I like the idea of it being focused on either one country or one city. A pirate republic. You could leave on expeditions and come back and those would be arcs. Do everything around town, hang out with companions, romance, and then to move the narrative along we build up to an expedition that changes the republic. Kinda like Dragon Age 2 and Kirkwall (not going into it here since spoilers for the game) but I really like this idea. You can see growth and change and get an impact on the narrative. Obviously this isn't anything new. But it's always a good time

My Inspirations?

That is a hell of a question. I have alot, ranging from Dark Fantasy/Gothic Horror with Ravenloft, Dragon Age, From Software's Library, Lovecraft's work (he isn't gothic horror I know, Eldritch is different but also water monsters in a ocean setting hits good) to pirate media with One Piece, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and the actual historical pirates I know.

And Obviously with any game, Lord of the Rings and System Shock 2 despite how far apart both are and possibly irrelevant they are.

I don't have any current "required reading" minus The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings (and maybe The Dunwitch Horror?)

I guess my inspirations lead me to a darker world, which fits real pirates well

[penofwildfire]

I stand by my claim that the best and funniest way for Christmas to exist in Ninjago is by being introduced by another realm. I'm serious. Christians love sharing their holiday (or forcing it on others just a bit) so if there was a realm with something resembling Christianity they'd popularize that shit within the first year of the Merge.

[serious-goose]

foaming at the mouth at the garden of earthly delights GO promo poster

[magic-can]

THE MOST MYSTERIOUS SONG ON THE INTERNET HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[queer-crusader]

In praise of Dead Man's Chest,

a rather forgettable follow-up of Curse of the Black Pearl, i wanted to quickly list the moments where the vibes are truly off the charts:

when Bill Turner comes to tell Jack his time is up and gives him the black spot

visiting Tia Dalma. Her telling of the origin story of Davy Jones' heart, the fact that she has the same music box on her table in a brief shot, Barbossa's boots (still dead? resting?) on a bed in a different room as monkey Jack investigates. (Hell, when her cabin comes into view we hear the same tune we heard when Barbossa died!!) "Him heart." "A touch... of destiny" ma'am i fucking love you

Will being sent to search the Flying Dutchman but he's only sent to a wreckage that has fallen victim to the kraken. One crew member still desperately trying to hoist a sail, Will barely able to snap him out of it. Bodies everywhere. Lashing rain. A body dropped from great height, its face torn off by the kraken's suckers, just a membrane of skin that is still pulsing as the man desperately tries to breathe beneath it. I feel like this is Will's "you'd best start believing in ghost stories, Turner. You're in one!" moment

And then the Dutchman rises from the depths and its crew literally comes out of the woodwork!! Will dousing his sword in oil and smashing a lamp to fight with a flaming blade and see what he's up against!!

"Do you fear death? Do you fear that dark abyss?" (still thrilled i put this line on a pair of booty shorts in my black sails crack fic but thats an unrelated sidenote, this line just FUCKS) "All your deeds laid bare. All your sins punished. I can offer you an escape." BILL NIGHY DOES NOT PLAY ENOUGH VILLAINS

"Life is cruel. Why should the afterlife be any different?"

Jack looking at the scene unfolding through his looking glass. Jones looking right back at him. Jack putting the glass down and Jones being RIGHT THERE. VIBES OFF THE CHARTS

"You can't talk your way out of this one, Jack" yet HERE HE IS BARGAINING THE WORTH OF HIS SOUL. And he tells Will, who is taken as down payment, is in love, betrothed even. And the impact that has on Jones. Not to mention how the key theme of Davy Jones, a man whose story is centered around love and heartbreak, starts playing for the first time. Fuck

Recruiting new men (sorry, cannon fodder to give to Jones) and Gibbs asking a potential crew member (Norringtonnn) what his story is. "My story... It's exactly your story, just one chapter behind." FUCK THATS SUCH A GOOD SUMMARY OF NORRINGTON'S CURRENT STATE

THE ORGAN VERSION OF DAVY JONES' THEME. The way the giant coral tubes coming out of it remind me of the arteries and veins of a heart. The way Jones still cries while playing it - cutting out his heart clearly didn't have the full intended effect, despite his cruelty that followed. (Here's the coolest fucking IRL version of that theme btw. You'll realise exactly where the phrase "pulling out all the stops" comes from)

Wyvern, a man so long for his debt on the Dutchman he's becoming one with the wood. That fucks

LIAR'S DICE. There's an extended version of the scene and here is an analysis of why the long version fucks actually and how it's a masterclass on writing plot and character development subtly

"Let no joyful voice be heard! Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake... the Kraken."

And then when you see the true scale of it. The way it snaps a ship in half and pulls it beneath the wave. That kinda fucks

"The boy's not here. He must have been claimed by the sea. "I am the sea." Mr Jones i think that's a point of contention the root of which caused your relationship problems and everything that followed

Leaning into the chest and hearing an actual heartbeat

Jack abandoning the Pearl during the Kraken attack, then checking his compass and for the first time it works, telling him what he wants most. We don't see what it points to, but based off what he tells Elizabeth in the first film, my guess is the Pearl, which in his mind represents freedom

The absolutely HAUNTING memorial of Jack at Tia Dalma's cabin, underscored with the sound of Will's knife hitting the table over and over. The deep despair. Tia Dalma saying she knows how Will hoped to use the Pearl to chase down Davy Jones and save his father. The way she jumps on the slightest glint of them being willing to try and repair what has happened. She wants Will to go after Jones. Because after all, she's taken steps to help the crew for the inevitable moment Jack would lose and needed saving:

BARBOSSA'S BACK BABEYYYY AND LOOKING MORE ALIVE AND THRIVING THAN EVER

Special shoutout to the three-way fight in the chapel and on the waterwheel, it's silly and a little slapstick-y but it DOES have some cool choreography and really cool moments! Clearly an attempt to recreate the fight in the workshop from the first film, and while it doesn't succeed in the same way (not quite to the rhythm of the music like in the first film, little to no character development revealed like we saw in film 1), but the scenery is vibrant, the choreography is good, the ever-changing alliances fun and the scene IS memorable!!

[juniperhillpatient]

I am kicking my feet & giggling writing characters I love going through the most horrific shit I can conjure in my mind 🤭

[cakemoney]

i don't want to put my uninformed foot in my mouth or get involved with the Discourse but i've been seeing the two extremes of reactions to the korean low birth rates issue (on tumblr and twitter both) and i'm just kind of like. look. i feel like "low birth rates (in many countries but especially japan and korea as part of this conversation) are more broadly the result of capitalism/a culture of overwhelming overwork that makes social relationships and having families incredibly inaccessible to young people" and "low birth rates are very much a part of the current conversation about misogyny and social expectations for women in korea especially in the context of reproduction as 'unpaid labor' for women" are statements that can both be true

[badass-bitch-polls]

THE ULTIMATE BRACKET REVEAL

i have spent all evening on this. it's very late. i need sleep.

i'm incredibly sorry in advance for any unfair match ups! i used a random number generator to avoid bias towards my own blorbos, so if anything's op, blame the google number generator lmao

BUT YAY BRACKET REVEAL WOOOOO

FULL CANDIDATE LIST (below cut):

(alphabetically by media name...)

Jessy Thorn - ADACA

Hikari Kuina - Alice in Borderland

Loba Andrade - Apex Legends

Deunan Knute - Appleseed

Jinx - Arcane

Vi - Arcane

Sevika - Arcane (i accidentally put colette in my list twice and so only had 63 candidates, so since y'all loved sevika so much in the preliminaries i decided to add her in as a wild card!)

Azula - Avatar the Last Airbender

Katara - Avatar The Last Airbender

Lollipop - Battle for Dream Island

Moriarty - BBC Sherlock

Harley Quinn - Birds of Prey and DC Batman

Grell Sutcliff - Black Butler

Sakura Ogami - Danganronpa THH

Susie - Deltarune

Connor - Detriot Become Human

River Song - Doctor Who

c!Wilbur - The Dream SMP

Zora Salazar - Epithet Erased

Evelyn Wang - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Erza Scarlet - Fairy Tail

Sephiroth - Final Fantasy 7

River Tam - Firefly

Risa Hawkeye - Full Metal Alchemist

Olivier Armstrong - Full Metal Alchemist (the vote was so close that i thought both deserved to make the cut)

Megaera - Hades

Hornet - Hollow Knight

Mantis Lords - Hollow Knight

Vriska Serket - Homestuck

Snowman - Homestuck

Jolyne Cujoh - JoJo's Bizzare Adventure: Stone Ocean

Maki Zen'in - Jujutsu Kaisen

Vilanelle - Killing Eve

LL!ZombieCleo - Last Life SMP/Life Series

Mei - Lego Monkie Kid

Tony Stark - MCU

Vera Oberlin - Monster Prom

Lady Nagant - My Hero Academia

Nya - Ninjago

Aubrey - OMORI

Bossman Hero - OMORI

Annabeth Chase - Percy Jackson

GLaDOS - Portal

Buttercup - Powerpuff Girls

Death - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Colette - Ratatouille

Albert Wesker - Resident Evil

April O'Neil - Rise of the TMNT

Cassandra Jones - Rise of the TMNT

Catra - She-Ra

Huntara - She-Ra

Garnet - Steven Universe

Morticia Addams - The Addams Family

Ellie Rose - The Henry Stickmin Collection

Gideon Nav - The Locked Tomb

The Mandalorian - The Mandalorian

Eda Clawthorne - The Owl House

Five Hargreeves - The Umbrella Academy

Elendira the Crimsonnail - Trigun Maximum (the manga)

Mettaton - Undertale

Undyne - Undertale

Lord Dominator - Wander Over Yonder

Urbosa - Zelda BOTW

Revali - Zelda BOTW

[rintaroll]

OMG UR BACK hi this is syren if u rmbr me we didn’t talk much but HOW HAVE U BEEN

GOD I DO REMEMBER U i remember VIVIDLY thinking i wanted to be closer friends but u were barely online and i was a few months away from leaving tumblr 😭😭😭

[sidhedust]

Aw, it's sad to see how much better I've gotten over the months but I can't exactly be the kind of person I need to be to make an art career work. I could TRY a shop/print shop, but I have no long-term ideas to keep a shop running.

Once I draw a few fairy tale pieces, I'll be out of ideas lol

[his-tamine]

[Vent] - AEYRHHRHFNJD DAMN this day has been INSANE. Sooo much has happened today, it's honestly been a sensory nightmare. I got almost no sleep at all because I needed to be awake to do a bunch of things, so I was very very grumpy and exhausted... Finally, I get to sleep and chill. THEN, not long ago, I go make some microwavable stuff, and as I'm taking it out, I get BURNED. By STEAM. STEAM! It hurt so bad and STILL hurts, even though there's no visible injury. Bad days happen, but jesus can I pls just have one thing not go wrong today??? :,)

[orcelito]

sometimes i look at my overall stats on ao3 and im just like

what the fuck