#old insert now similar but revamped as a separate character

[floralkittygambler]

Hazbin OC - Lady Luck [WIP shit]

Just a dump of some Lady concepts and some of how she’s developed. Current design + Angel forme [above] Lady’s brief bio: Name: Lady Luck, Lady Age: Various [based on rebirth], most notably the ages 31, 38 and 55. [anyone who knows where these ages from, you know] Gender: female Date of Birth: Various Date of Death: N/A Cause of Death: Perhaps ‘they’ caught up- Race: White British/Irish ‘human’ turned feline demon [current ‘life’], ‘Deity’ Occupation: Fortune Teller/Medium, Lingerie model, part time barmaid and entertainer, only a hobbyist gambler Voice type: Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy [Fiona Belli, Haunting Ground - VA is Irish] Quirks, strange mannerisms, and/or annoying habits: [soon] Appearance: Grey feline demon [inspired by Russian and British blues], Green/Olive eyes, adding more soon lol im tired Personality: soon Sins/Vices: Alcohol consumer [non addict], past minor addiction to medicine, gambling [non addict], money hoarding, ‘playing god’ [unwilling], Witchcraft/magick [main sin]. Prone to wrathful acts, feelings of envy, moderate greedy habits. Sinned in other lives. Strong profanity, dark business, sometimes catalysts for chaos. Self hazardous. Melancholic. Virtues: Can be giving if convinced/interested, deep empathy/compassion, chastity [unintentional], though often impatient can be extremely patient for those in need. Protective of animals, children and the vulnerable but the opposite towards assailants. High tolerance against addiction.   Mental illnesses: Abilities/Powers/Skills: Thin and nimble, quick witted, ability to appeal [emotional], ability to debate, reading traits [acquired], magick/supernatural powers - connects to life/death cycle, monsters, psyche, deity levels. Card magick - throwing weapons, summoning weapons, evasive. Nature connected powers. Analysist. Great with children, animals, the vulnerable. Jack of many trades [incl. mixology, divination, board games, survivalist, etc] to allow more opportunities. More intelligent than she appears. Pickpocketing [magick assisted]. Basic magic tricks. Can speak pieces in some languages, including Latin. Performer/entertainer. Dancer [helps in fights]. Observant. Comforting and nurturing. Humorous. Willingness to stand up for and defend. Listener. Sniper aim. Weaknesses: Phobias [such as mirrors, safety/romance, vertigo/heights, etc], radiowaves [can be triggered by her creations or by her loss of composure], strong deity powers [actively denies and suppresses them leading to ‘charge up’. Emotions can stir them up signaling her difficulty controlling them. Can turn these against herself as well. Prone to overexertion which can easily be fatal. Can lead to great acts of wrath]. Intimacy. Can vary from too trusting to too wary. Grey moral compass [leading to passive inaction in some cases and aggression in others]. Lightweight drinker [in denial]. Drinks when anxious/socialising [often, though easily substituted]. Heightened senses [pro and con]. Easily distracted. Can be rude/jest harshly. Closed off. Handles drug effects badly. Over-emotions can lead to ‘possession’ from a ‘friend’. Exhausts easily. Durable and fragile. Panic [can calm others]. Avoids own issues [can admit and confront them however is closed off]. Overworks. Avoidant. Melancholic. Sadistic streak that’s hard to tame. Could be way better at illusionism. Vengeful. Frozen in past. Terrible runner. Chronic conditions. Low tolerance for certain types. Can often mishandle these violently. Surprisingly shy. Can only mask for so long. Materialistic to replace loneliness. Height: 5′8 - 5′9 [human], 6′5 [demon] Body type: Pear, extremely small bust with larger rear and wider hips. Dislikes: many, soon to list. People/humans, having to socialise, being picked up [esp like a cat], phobias, worms, ‘crawling blood’, perverts, Fears: soon, mirrors,  Goals: soon Relationships/Love interests: She has a potential interest, though she’s likely to approach first [or make a ‘first move’ per say] she most likely wouldnt confess feeling that she wasnt appealing to them. Definitely would make the effort to comfort and befriend [leaving Lady’s comfort zone] Hobbies and interests: Gambling, card and board games, playing games, tarot/divination of many kinds, witchcraft, magic tricks/shows, lingerie modelling [think more boudoir/classy or the playful takes of Bettie Page], botony/herbology, collecting plushies, faux smoking, drinking, overreacting to gameshows/tv shows, comedy stand ups, chocolate making, art and sewing, playing instruments [accoustic guitar, harmonica, lyre, inflatable saxophone, triangle, tambourine], mixology, learning new things, animals and caring for those who need it, fashion [often quirky or outdated], hula hoop tricks, dancing and singing [quite shy], teaching/educating children [especially in hunting/survival], taxidermy, sharp shooting, sometimes being nude [in safe areas], meditation, collecting, true crime files, star gazing, shadow puppets, laser pens, making jokes, berry picking, reading, snuggling, cats, money saving/spending, horror novels/movies, aerials, pole dancing [fitness], general fitness [in the yoga sense, not jogging], sci-fi, woodcarving [no skills], loves 70s and rococo fashion as well as classy looking fashion, playbunnies, aesthetics, nature. Laser tag. Comfy blankets. Nurturing other’s needs. Cute things. Trivial: - Was a virgin in her last life before becoming a demon, dreads sex demons like Val finding this out. - Covered in scars, both self inflicted and otherwise, these remain hidden beneath her fur. - Will go around topless or nude as her fur works as censorship. Even to the dismay of others. - Loves the 60s, 70s and 80s. - Regrets no longer liking cheese like she used to. - Enjoys stronger alcoholic drinks despite being a lightweight, her drunk self showing her softer and more optimistic hidden side. Often giggly, complimentary and cuddly. Occasionally verbally aggressive/wants to fight. - Some of her dreams include; starting a bar fight, visit a magic show, learn to spin plates, [finally] visit a Vegas style casino, own a garden/creatures sanctuary, find a meteorite, attempt to hold a lion’s mouth open for ‘Strength’, own her dream house and business away from ‘fucking everyone’, ride a dolphin, master juggling and magic tricks, create some new potions, slap the shit out of each overlord [etc] - Avoids love; from the topic to her history, though it’s implied that she doesn’t feel like it’s ‘in the cards’ for her as well as implied insecurity. - The memories of each of her past lives often collide, especially in the night, causing hidden distress - She was originally planned to have a power inspired by John Coffee where she could ‘alleviate’ other’s emotional suffering by CBT and physically ‘taking’ it from them, an ability that would land her a job at the Hotel. This idea has since been moved to another character. - She has a ‘baby face’ and is often called cute by others, leading her to be treated little more than an oversized pet. This is something that bothers her when not in jest. - Related to Dead Hand - Has had certain dealings with Valentino and Lucifer that she’s not proud of. - Lady Luck is an ironic name - Old design designed around my old cat Angel, new design ironically resembles our current cat Angel [taken over from Great Auntie. First was named after Buffy characters. Second... Idk] - [soon] [Temp: https://www.deviantart.com/pixichi/art/Very-Basic-Character-Sheet-for-OC-s-By-Pixichi-482645873 ] Old designs:

[thehallofgame]

Review: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Release: 2017 (Original Game, Fire Emblem Gaiden in 1992)

My Rating: 8.5

 Review Under the Cut,

              Fire Emblem is a huge series with a rabid fanbase and the release of Shadows answered a lot of prayers. Not only did it bring the previously Japan-exclusive Fire Emblem Gaiden to foreign shores; but the combination of a new series tittle: Fire Emblem Echoes AND a subtitle: Shadows of Valentia, leads fans to suspect this is only the first in a spate of ports and remasters of old tittles. While as of yet unconfirmed that could be a huge gift to newer fans of the series who’ve probably been baffled and amazed by the difficulty and steep price of obtaining any Fire Emblem game prior to Awakening.

              Barring the fact that the game Shadows of Valentia was based on was never released to international markets it also had several other reasons to recommend itself to revamping. The original Gaiden combined the tactical RPG elements that Fire Emblem is known for with dungeon crawling elements, featuring two distinct parties that can be switched between at will and a smaller, tighter cast of character than usual. While the story and themes feel similar (especially to fans of Awakening as Shadows takes place in the same world) the gameplay has a very different feel to both Fates and Awakening, yet remains just as good.

              The games opens in a remote village where two friends, Alm and Celica, are enjoying an idyllic childhood. Unfortunately Celica’s tragic past comes knocking and the two are separated, but not before promising to meet again. In the years after their separation an invasion by their sister kingdom to the north, Rigel, and an inheritance crisis in the twos’ homeland of Zofia lands the country in widespread famine and war. When an envoy of Zofia’s freedom fighters, the Deliverance, arrives in Alm’s remote village to ask the aide of Alm’s grandfather, a famous general, Alm gathers his friends and goes to war in his grandfather’s place. Meanwhile, on a distant island priory, Celica hears of the widespread suffering and war on her homeland and resolves to make a pilgrimage to the main temple of her faith where the Dragon Goddess Mila holds court. Mila promised her followers bounty and comfort, but her blessings have failed for years and the situation has become untenable.

              Both heroes gather friends and allies to their respective entourages, and later armies, and set out on their quests. Alm’s is a continent spanning war and Celica’s is a journey of spiritual discovery. Both are needed to truly rescue the country of Zofia, and the entire continent of Valentia, from suffering. The two have also never forgotten their affection for each other and secretly hope to meet again in their travels.

              In long tradition of this series the two soon bear the fate of their world upon their teenage shoulders, and the tone of the game gradually darkens as they come to face the destruction of the world as they know it.

              Eschewing the player-insert avatar and sprawling parties of the last few games Shadows takes a less cluttered approach to telling the story. Alm and Celica each have their own tale that while related, are largely separate, as are their parties, enemies and ultimate goals. Each has their own cast of recruitable characters, about 20 per party, though some are purely optional or possible to miss entirely. Yet because of this comparatively small cast every character can now be fully voiced. The game introduces a mechanic to toggle an auto-play on dialogues on and off so the player can either sit back and listen, flip through them as fast as they can read or skip them entirely by pressing the start button. However, unlike the last few games each character can only build support conversations with a select few others, if at all. The support conversations are fewer and mostly shorter than in previous games, but largely more exciting for their rarity. The supports are also tied in with what act of the game the player is on, so characters will only talk so many times a chapter. This relieves the distracting importance that support building was in previous games, and allows the game to expand the primary characters’ stories more thoughtfully, as does the smaller number of characters. Unfortunately this means some characters get left in the dust, or some characters the player thinks should be able to build supports with one another do not.

              Without the influence of pairing up characters that dominated the battlefield in past games the combat focus shifts more to balancing range and cover advantages. Cover in particular plays a more pivotal role in this game as it confers massive bonuses to avoiding attacks to friend and foe alike. Meanwhile the familiar weapons triangle of recent games is not present. In fact there are no axe-wielding classes to form one point of that triangle, only swords and lances. Bows are also different. They now have five tile, or further, range but are not the instant KO they used to be to fliers without a character first gaining a special ability. Likewise, the spell system is vastly changed. Both mages and clerics start with only one offensive spell in their repertoire (and the basic healing spell for the clerics). As they level up and class change to more advanced classes their abilities will expand and they will learn new spells. Certain spells are hugely effective, especially against undead or armored enemies, but they come at a price as in Shadows mages must sacrifice HP to cast spells. The largest single addition to combat is an item called Mila’s turnwheel, which lets the player step the battle back action by action. This allows the player to correct stupid mistakes on their part or repeat the enemy’s turn to avoid those frustrating enemy critical hits that take out a party member.

              This all amounts to a very different feel to combat. Rather than forming walls of characters to march on enemies players in Shadows will be better served to arrange their armies around cover and rely on their mages and archers to soften difficult opponents. And the opponents will be difficult. The game’s advancement curve is fairly steep, though not unfair or truly punishing. Players will need to keep an eye on how their characters areprogressing, and in many cases will be forced to class change their characters before maxing out the 20 levels of growth possible for each class. The base game allows for up to three class changes. Several early-game characters begin as villagers which can then be changed to any base class. After that every character is locked into a path of two further promotions in their respective career, each representing a massive increase of power. This makes up for the very low stat growths associated with each normal level up.

              A sizable amount of character progression and power also comes from their weaponry. In this game characters only have one inventory space which can be filled with a healing item, stat boosting accessory or a weapon. Characters can still attack without an equipped weapon, but equipping one does lead the character to learn several, often powerful, weapon specific abilities and attacks. Blacksmiths in every town will take a player’s money to make their weapons more powerful or evolve them into new, often stronger, weapons.

              Dungeons throughout the world offer opportunities to grind experience and fulfill side quests. The can be entered at will from the world map and the player takes control of either Alm or Celica who will be accompanied by nine other party members into the dungeon. From there they explore, smashing pots and crates for items, finding and drinking from sacred springs that give small, permanent stat boosts and finding enemy encounters. Enemies are represented by three dimensional models roaming about the dungeons, striking them or being physically touched by them will initiate combat with the enemy in question and any others in sight. The view then switches back to the same tactical rpg grid as the pitched battles encountered on the world map.

              After the player fights their way through the dungeon they will usually encounter a shrine to Mila. There the player can kneel in prayer and class change any eligible members in their party, offer up food or drink to reduce the stat-reducing fatigue that develops the longer the party fights in the dungeon or activate Mila’s turnwheel to review the contents of memory crystals found throughout the world. The crystals reveal past story events and character backstories. They turn out to be a very nice way to expand the plot without breaking up the game’s pacing to segway into a flashback.

              Shadows is, throughout all its several playstyles and plots, constantly an aesthetically pleasing game. The music that plays upon booting the game is haunting and beautiful, accompanied by a short cutscene of Alm and Celica together as children that only becomes more bittersweet as the game progresses. This is enough to let the player know they’re in for a treat and the game keeps it up. The art is heavily updated from its original appearance in Gaiden. Whilst characters retain their signature characteristics their designed have been touched up beautifully to reflect a more modern interpretation of fantasy apparel. Each character’s art is rendered with a slightly pen and ink look to them, and colors are softer than in recent Fire Emblem games. It was clear great attention was paid to paying tribute to the game’s origins and the end result is a beautiful storybook feel. Likewise the game’s music is very beautiful, but never overwhelming. It usually creeps in and the player will occasional realize how lovely the melodies are that are floating behind battles and emotional cutscenes.

              When this came out I was pretty shocked at the lowish scores it was receiving at big name reviewers. I still don’t understand why that is, but I know now that any misgivings I had about preordering Shadows were unfounded. This game is great. In the end I actually prefer it over the flashier and cramped Fire Emblem Fates. Shadows is charmingly old fashioned but updated in all the ways that really matter. It came together beautifully and the story is equally enjoyable and heart wrenching, with some good twists thrown in just to keep things interesting. I can’t recommend it enough to Fire Emblem and RPG fans alike. Trust me, it’s worth sitting down to play before you trade your 3DS in for a shiny new Nintendo Switch.

[myaekingheart]

I haven't written one of these up in a while but considering I had a lot dreams last night and the night before, now is as good a time as any to compile them all here. The first two were from the night before last, the third was probably also from the night before last but I feel like I had it during a nap or something, and then the rest were from last night.

In the first dream, I was in a grocery store. Everything was white and yellow and I don't really remember why I was there but I'm pretty positive I remember walking around with my boyfriend and I was pushing a shopping cart. It was pretty much like a typical grocery store run except when we got to this one section, there was a tall refrigerated shelving unit (like the kind where you find cheese and lunchmeat and shit like that) on one side of the aisle and a long refrigerated basin like where you find seafood and sometimes ice cream. Someone spilled something in the aisle and all these kids were running around playing. Maybe they were using it like a slip-n-slide? Maybe it was just their excuse for a free-for-all? Who fucking knows? I just remember the few people who were there (the store was pretty empty) were playing all in that one aisle and I, at one point, knelt down and joined them or something.

The second dream was very vivid and kind of inspiring? I dreamed that I made a new Rapunzel braid on a whim, this time doing things a little differently than the last time and fixing mistakes I felt I made in my current one. I remember thinking this project was so much easier now that I had the experience I did and everything went so smoothly, and the wig looked so good at the end of it. It was consistently thick and the braid was neat and tight and I was gluing flowers everywhere and it just looked so perfect. My only complaint was that it was kind of short (down to my knees rather than the floor) but that was mainly because I remembered when making my current wig, I had to attach an extension to the tail of the braid to make it long enough. All in all, though, it was really inspiring and made me feel like I could make another braid if I really wanted to, that I had the capacity and experience now to fully construct a perfect Rapunzel braid (because as much as I love my current one, there are definitely things I wish I had done differently or wish had turned out differently). The only negative about this dream was I remember someone, I think it was my mom, making a little remark about it but like it wasn't anything too big, just knocked my confidence down a notch but other than that, it was fine.

The third dream was really hazy and I don't even know if you'd call this a dream so much as a vision of sorts, because I didn't envision anything different than where I really was. I just remember waking up and my boyfriend was out of bed and in the living room. I was laying there half asleep and could overhear him on the phone with someone, probably his mother, quietly talking over some very vague, early-stage plans for proposing to me. Maybe he was trying to sort out money, like how he'd afford the ring or something. It was all so realistic not in the sense that everything was super vivid but in the sense that it just felt real and as if it was plausible, even though I know there's a very slim chance this actually happened. It probably just came to me in my subconscious because I feel like pretty much everyone I know is getting married and so weddings have kind of been on my mind frequently. If it was real, however, then holy fucking shit. I know I have visions of the cliche Christmas morning proposal bullshit but like I know it's not gonna happen, at least not now, because money and other priorities are a thing. Either way, I guess a girl can still dream.

Last night was when the bulk of my strange dreams hit. The first was basically a revamp of Dirty Dancing and was really strange, yet kind of enjoyable? I remember being at this community pool at this resort standing with some other people before Dalton Rapattoni and his mother. His mother was making introductions or whatever and saying that Dalton was the new dance instructor for the resort and that he'd be teaching us. I kind of remember them both pulling some dance moves but what ensued afterward were some very hazy visions of me and Dalton spending time together, sort of like some kind of affair, like we were laughing a lot and hanging out frequently. There wasn't so much romance, I don't think, as there was just friendship-like stuff but I think we did kiss at one point. I just remember the scenes of us hanging out were really vivid and realistic and they kind of gave me a good feeling inside? But then again, I was feeling good in general last night so it might've just been that.

The next dream was really intense and kind of confusing? I don't remember the beginning very well but I remember sitting on the floor in a large public restroom with a bunch of other people. Apparently we were on a school campus down south in my hometown that was put on lockdown, though for what reason I don't quite remember. It was definitely something far more unorthodox than a nearby shooter, though. Like a gorilla attacking the school or a massive spill or something like that. Either way, I remember sitting on the bathroom floor with a bunch of other people. We were in there for hours and I was starting to get pretty bored. I remember wondering if I could break my laptop out but being unsure if that was allowed until I saw a guy sitting across the room on his and decided it would be fine. Before I could pull it out of my backpack, however, there was an announcement that the lockdown was lifted and that everyone was advised to evacuate the premises as soon as possible. I panicked a bit because I had gotten separated from my boyfriend in all the commotion and knew there was no way I'd find him in the crowd, but one of the girls in the bathroom with me turned out to be my boyfriend's sister (he doesn't have a sister, she only existed in the dream and her name was Ally and she looked exactly like my old best friend's younger sister) so I stuck with her after she introduced herself (as if my boyfriend and I were in an early stage in our relationship in this dream, even though we were still living together at this point). I think at some point during this, I called my dad, too? I remember having some sort of communication with my dad, like as we were exiting the bathroom or something. But anyways, before we knew it, we were suddenly in a Walmart with everyone else scrambling to gather supplies for whatever massive disaster was upon us. While we were there, I ran into a friend of mine who I was quite frankly very shocked to find because he lives in a completely different state and has never even been to my hometown. Anyways, he was delighted to see me and Ally and I relayed to him that we were far from home and I couldn't find my boyfriend so my guy friend offered to drive us up north back to my place since he was heading in that direction to get back to his home anyways. I agreed and we parted ways for a bit so Ally and I could finish our shopping and then we would be on our way. As we were exiting the store with our bags, I remember Ally say something like "I really like [insert guy friend's name here]. He's a nice guy" to which I replied something along the lines of "Yeah, he is. While I'm not as passionate about him as I am about your brother, if [insert boyfriend's name here] never got together, I probably would've ended up with him instead." This conversation ended just as we got to my guy friend's truck, which was a large black van with blacked out windows. It honestly looked very questionable and if I hadn't known the owner, I would've just assumed it was a pedo van and steered clear of it as much as possible. But since I did know the owner, Ally and I climbed inside (her in the backseat and me in the front). The van honestly reminded me very much of one my dad used to have as a kid, especially the inside, and so stepping into the front seat filled with me a fuck-ton of nostalgia. We turned on the air and I think the radio and my guy friend and I said something to each other and then we were on our way and that's where this storyline trailed off.

The next dream was especially random-- I nearly forgot about it-- but it happened regardless so here goes. I was walking with my mom and my cousin's twin girls, specifically, but I'm pretty positive there were some other people there, as well. The outside of the building we were approaching looked like the community hall of my grandmother's church but as we stepped inside the glass double doors, the interior looked very similar to the auditorium at my high school: big room with chairs everywhere and a stage at the back wall. At the front of the room, right as you walked in through the doors, was a girl dressed in a rather low-quality Elsa costume. At first I even thought she was bald but it turned out she just had really pale, thin hair that was pulled back tight against her scalp and then cascaded down into a braid over her shoulder. I could tell she was quite frankly a crappy Elsa but my cousin's girls, along with all the other children that were there (I only distinctly remember one of them in particular), were absolutely enchanted by her. The twins ran up to her and she instantly pulled both of them into a hug and was talking with them and shit like that, usual character performer stuff. The real plot twist was that during this interaction, I somehow got roped into being Anna even though I wasn't even in a costume (the closest thing to Anna I had was a pink knit beanie that I made back in high school) and yet somehow there I was, acting like a ditzy Disney princess in jeans and a t-shirt and a beanie, looking very unprincess-like. And somehow the kids weren't phased by it??? Even with me being majorly passive-aggressive towards Elsa. I don't know, man, it was just really bizarre and I personally don't want to ever dream a thing like this again.

The last dream was again, very bizarre and random. I feel like it was somehow linked to the bathroom dream, like an alternate timeline or something? There was this giant gorilla wreaking havoc in this beautiful mansion-type building. Everyone was freaking out, he was destroying rooms, just totally out of control. I think, if I remember correctly, I was caught in his crossfire about to be crushed when I discovered I had the ability to speak to him and was able to calm him down and make him stop what he was doing. Granted, it wasn't speaking like human to human speaking but rather I'd speak to him and he'd understand and listen to me. But anyways, I guess I calmed him down and then next I knew, my dad and grandma were guiding us through this series of fancy libraries in the building. And I mean, these were STUNNING libraries, like the kind you find in foreign countries with crown molding and marble floors and lots of windows that let in tons of light and oil paintings on the ceiling. We walked into one that was all very pastel yellow (like bananas, go figure). It was in this room that my grandma led us to an alcove in the wall displaying framed pictures and a couple books on little easels for formal display. As we approached, she motioned to the items on display and said that my mom had picked out a movie for us to watch, and lo and behold, on display in that alcove, was a poster for Beauty and the Beast. I remember glancing to the gorilla, thinking how much he looked like the Beast himself, and I almost made a comment aloud about how "Don't you think that's a little stereotypical/racist/inappropriate/ironic/whatever?" but I held my tongue and just thought that to myself instead. And that's basically where the dream ended. Why gorillas have made a recurring appearance last night, I have no fucking clue. Viva la King Kong.