#so the lore will be more consistent going forward lol

[molter-writes]

pleeeasssee miller i know you let the work stand on it's own but please tell us jsut a tad bit more about the valyerian sex magic!!!!

i meannnn

on valyrian sex magic

i am not the person to ask for the true asoiaf lore, of course; but there is obviously a pervasive source of magic across Planetos — accessible by many cultures in many different forms — and the "flavour" of the magic of each is very much a reflection, i think, of what GRRM wants us to glean about each. the Starks are themselves effectively the oldest singular consistent human organisation, if you will, that we actually meet in the books, and their magic is extremely rudimentary and primordial—they turn into animals and talk to trees. It's giving primordial man, it's giving Lucy—humanity as a symbiotic participant in (rather than an editor of) the natural world.

fast forward almost five thousand years: the valyrians are not tree hugging hunter-gatherers. they are the roman empire if the roman empire were composed of evil wizards. Their magic is dark, rooted in blood and fire—it was a tool of mind control, of asymmetric warfare, of wroth destruction. It required blood sacrifice and whips and horns and knives. It mated slave women to animals to produce grotesque chimeras. The entire thing is about the subjugation, not the embrace, of nature. Obviously until we have WoW or (lol) aDoS, we won't know—and maybe not even then—but the best prevailing theory in my view is that blood of the dragon is literal. Planetos has wyverns and, more importantly, firewyrms (flightless, firebreathing lizards) that the Valyrians almost certainly combined with human beings in some ritualistic hellcurse to produce the first dragons. this explains (1) the psychogenic bond between rider and dragon; (2) why nobody without valyrian blood can ride one; (3) the decline of the dragons correlating near-perfectly with the Andalisation (read: de-magifying) of the Targaryens; and perhaps most importantly, (4) why an animal that can fly hundreds of miles in a day would for some reason be found only on a single small isle in some random corner of a massive content that has volcanos and mountains and hot weather elsewhere. only one culture having dragons is like only one airport having planes.

much like the american NRA often asserts about guns, dragons are something of a sexual equaliser. part of why rhaenyra is so much freer than alicent when they're young is not merely because of her elevated social station (which is a principal part of it, yes) but also because she is in sole possession of one of the only six nukes in the world. At fifteen Rhaenyra possesses the power to go burn Riverrun to its foundation. I mean, if you thought Daenerys had firepower—regardless of D&D's absolute boneheaded visual mistakes in the show—Syrax is bigger than Drogon.

in any case i digress; i bring this up to make the point that while we do know valyria was a patriarchy of sorts, you can imagine a world in which a valyrian noble house would be headed (on occasion) by a woman because she is the most powerful imperial military leader because she is in command of the largest dragon. as a result, you can imagine a culture that embraces less patriarchal sexual and gender politics than do the Andals, and when take this inference a step further with the chimeras and the dragon-making and all the other frankensteinian blood magic, i just don't think it's that much of a leap to imagine that some dragon-wielding all-powerful female ruthless blood wizard in ancient Valyria decided—based on blood purity or necessity or ego or whatever—to impregnate some other woman. some maesters recorded that dragons appeared to change their sex—becoming able and unable to lay and fertilise eggs. Anyway, I just don't put genderbending and fempreg past the people who—if the theory is right—invented fucking dragons. It seems easier to do magic pregnancy than to do dragons. idk. melisandre gave birth to a shadow. nearly every ancient tradition on the planet can explore the miracle of virgin conception but we can't have lesbo baby?? why?? thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

[prydainroyals]

King Henry II, last royal portrait before his death in 1998

Born: 1915 - Died: 1998

Reign: 1932-1998

His wife, Queen Mother and Duchess of Sussex, Gwyneth

Born: 1938 - Still living

Married to King Henry II in 1958

He famously disliked sitting for portraits with her in the room.

Together their issue totaled 6 children, with only 3 of them surviving to adulthood-- Rosalinde, Duchess of Worcester (b.1960- ; abdicated, estranged from the royal family), Princess Anne (b.1967- ?), who went missing in 1992 and who has never been found, and King George X (b. 1969- ).

[toskarin]

what warband mods would you rec? I only ever played vanilla warband years ago and that was probably on fairly low AI settings, but I'm definitely intrigued by getting the full feudal clusterfuck experience as well as indulging in some nostalgia.

there's a few qualifications to these, because I usually like them for different reasons and I have something wrong with me, but...

< ! PREEMPTIVE WARNING ! > you should be running modules in Warband Script Extender even if they don't say they need it! people have historically been really bad about clarifying when it's expected

Bannerpage - vanilla for people who want More of it, and then more after that. it reminds me of a spiritual successor to Floris Modpack. an enormous expansion that's also a bit of a tongue in cheek what-if for "Bannerlord, except as continued development of Warband" with increasing complexity. this one will probably spoil you a bit on other modules just because of how many little enhancements it pulls on the native systems lol

Prophesy of Pendor - the premier feudal fantasy rpg experience. this one is brutally difficult and throws some battles at you with genuinely bewildering enemy force sizes. I'd feel fairly confident in calling this the most difficult of the major total conversion modules that maintain core M&B gameplay

Touhou Gensokyo Warfare~the Castiron Flame - this is straight up glorious kusoge and I love it dearly. it often breaks so severely due to its own design decisions that it creates a unique high-skill gameplay expectation that exists in literally no other mods, but also it can't really be called "core" M&B gameplay anymore. this module actually consists of three chinese mods (Touhou Tinder, Touhou Origin, and Touhou Beat), one of which is derived from a fork that was extended by /jp/, another which was just translated by /jp/ (a shoddy translation but not distinctly a 4chan translation, if that's a concern), all of which were merged into one mod and managed by a passionate and cool chinese mod team. none of this comes to a consistent artistic vision. every single character looks like kigurumi cosplay and they all look like they're from different manufacturers. this is my favourite module. I could play it for years.

Perisno - a strange bird of a module that I don't see mentioned much anymore. a shame, honestly, because it's quite fun if you like higher fantasy settings. a bit overconfident with its own setting lore at times, but that really just makes it more authentic as a high fantasy setting, doesn't it? anyway they funnelled the mod development efforts away to a standalone game in the setting because of that, and I wish them well, but you know how it goes with that sort of thing

Gekokujo Daimyo Edition - a modification of an older warband module that was originally a touhou hijack that was originally a mod for the non-Warband game made by japanese players annoyed that nobody in the western playerbase was making mods with a japanese setting. it's buggy, it's incomplete, it will explode at you randomly, but it's still pretty neat. there's really no other mod out there that gives you such a thorough "I HATE THE TANEGASHIMA I HATE THE TANEGASHIMA" experience. Sengoku Era, a successor mod, will probably replace it on recommendation lists when it eventually releases.

Warsword Conquest - this is the Warhammer Fantasy mod. it has all the problems you'd expect from that. that being said, the sheer level of detail in this mod makes it more than worth dropping in to check it out. some of the environments are gorgeous enough to make Warband feel like an entirely different game, and with a surprising variety of firearms, the average campaign ends up being a pretty wild ride

Brytenwalda - I'm not recommending Brytenwalda as an experience, because it's actually not that good a very interesting moment in M&B modding history. Brytenwalda is the birthplace of a lot of mod tropes that became standard in mods going forward, namely most culture-related systems and the modern standard for module graphics. it also introduced tripping and represents the moment people started making really annoying attempts at jury-rigging balance into the game before Warband Script Extender came around and actually allowed them to modify the lower systems of the game. still kinda neat if you like historical settings, and definitely foundational enough to warrant a look

Last Days of the Third Age - infamously hard-headed in a way that only a mod for a feudal warfare simulator rpg made by Tolkien nerds who insist on book>movie aesthetics could pull off, this isn't really core M&B gameplay and is very rigid, but it's another case of something being so detailed and passionate that it's a fun experience anyway.

Solid and Shade - this is actually the best hardcore survival horror experience made for Warband, which is a bit like saying that Harvester is the best FMV game ever made about waking up in a town named Harvest. the Harvester comparison is more than surface level. the writing often feels like Harvester. this is one of the only modules (hell, one of the only games even!) I've ever seen that successfully pulls off the concept of corrupting players with the promise of immortality. it's a horror mystery where every single character creation option affects your longterm gameplay... but to provide a fair warning, reading the developer's commentary on this mod will sour you on it. the developer is an edgelord who just kinda kitchen-sinked horror elements in a way that reminds me a lot of Revolution of Terror (the old Well of Souls mod). the compelling esoterica and atmosphere seem to have been achieved largely on accident

[glitterclan]

I've been really enjoying this blog so far, and the colony lore, as well as Falconshine's lore, have me interested.

Because of your good grasp on worldbuilding, I was wondering if, without delving into spoilers, the other three clans would ever get some more screentime or lore built around them?

For example, are there any cats within the other three clans who are related to any of our protagonists? And if there was a in lore explanation as to why certain cats chose certain clans, considering the territory is practically the same per each? And also how the four leaders were chosen (I'm assuming Starclan sought them out in particular.)

Really looking forward to seeing where this goes!

thank you for your message! admittedly i actually have not really thought much about the other three clans, but i am sure there are some relations between cats in the clans (maybe not familial, as i feel they would join the same clan. perhaps they were part of the same group?) it's hard for me to think about the other three clans because i don't want to just make up characters for them, i'd rather have them ran as generated clans alongside glitterclan. but i'm absolutely not going to run four clans simultaneously and keep track of aaaaall their crossing interactions. i'm sure i will have to show some gathering scenes eventually though, so i may just generate some leaders for that occasion...

there are minor differences in the territories! glitterclan is located on the south side and has access to the twolegplace, which nobody else really wanted. as such, glitterclan is most open to threats originating from the twolegplace. shineclan, glowclan, and sparkleclan likely have access to their own respective things as well, maybe like mountains, forests, or the beach that can offer more prey options. that being said, it seems glitterclan did get the short end of the stick territory-wise, lol

the leaders were chosen specifically by hareclaw, the starclan guide/the last spirit of the old starclan (i haven't visually included him in the story yet because i haven't really found a good place for him loool) i imagine they are all good-aligned cats with strong morals, though perhaps some future leaders will not follow this tradition...

it's a bit difficult to come up with consistent lore for a story that is based on randomly generated events. so, the lore i have created so far, at this early point in the story, is very barebones so that it remains flexible/open to any sort of change the game may throw at it. however i am sure as specific characters develop more, we will get more juicy lore! (for example, falconshine never really stood out to me in the beginning. but they had a loooot of interesting coincidences happen in their random events that led me to establish a backstory for them. hopefully this can happen with other characters as well!)

[catholicfacade]

So, your wip is fire 😳

The tiktok filming setup as a way to bring reader/Valentine into the world of Joost and his friends is such a a good idea. Something so believable and so very them. Like, it could really happen. I’m immediately immersed. You are incorporating a lot of little irl lore details that do a really good job of not letting me forget that I’m reading a joost fic. The way you include and build upon the stitch plushie is such a good moment of this. 

The way you explain joost’s immediate fascination with reader the instant he sees the tiktok is extremely satisfying. When self inserting here I felt so wanted �� (I know he is being horny not sweet at this point but what can I say). I really enjoyed how joost is displaying a hint of degradation kink lol. Real femdom enjoyer hours. Can’t wait to see if it’s their whole dynamic or just one aspect of it. Also let me just directly say that this jack-off scene was hot as fuck. Superior descriptions. Wowowowow.

Rewatching the tiktok on loop until you get low battery notification 😂

Him liking his own comment immediately 💀😂

Reference to Valentine not looking as lively in the one other video foreshadowing for learning about traumatic backstory???

I love how direct joost is about what the tiktok did to him in the flash forward bit at the end. Communication is important! 😤

I’m already so invested in the success of this couple.

Your summary makes it sound like we are in for a hell of a ride. I love me some hurt/comfort so I’m very excited for this. I can’t wait to read more 💛

omg i didn’t think i would be deserving enough to ever get an inbox like this !!! thank you soooo much my mutual in shining armor !!!

i love in fics when people reference something highly specific irl, like joosts clothing or lyrics or places he’s been! it’s always super immersive, i try and add in as much as i can!

trust me these two will be on some freaky bob ™️ type shit in the bedroom ;P joost jerking off is like…he’s literally such a man…he saw one beautiful girl online and had to go take care of himself??? boy please be serious!! 😭

joost and v are the literal definition of “it gets worse before it gets better” at multiple points in their relationship. no spoilers but their love runs so deep and so heavy, even when they’re so upset with each other, i think they get a little overwhelmed. but that’s for me to show you eventually…

i’ll be honest, i’ve never finished a chaptered fic in my entire life but i’m trying the hardest i’ve ever tried to make this one the one! i appreciate every ounce of support i’ve gotten thus far and i’m really working hard on trying to write faster and more consistently for you all <333

-ego⋆♱✮

[ps. i might drop another preview this wednesday for a much later part in the series to show how different their dynamic can be, so stay tuned !! 🪽]

[kindheart525]

What are your favorite kinds of stories to tell? What are your favorite type of characters to write? Favorite dynamics?

I love this question, thank you so much! Most broadly, my favorite kinds of stories to tell are the character-driven ones. I often tell my friends that I find it easier to write dialogue than describe actions in my MLP stories and I think that's a reflection of how interpersonal interactions are where I really feel at home as a writer.

I can write anything from friends to enemies to lovers but I think my favorite dynamics to explore are between family members. I am incredibly close with my family irl so I enjoy putting that into my stories. Even the less happy family interactions make for an emotionally-gripping exploration of the tensions and traumas that do exist within homes. The thread of generational trauma that runs through Bojack Horseman had me especially captured so I like to explore those themes in my own work. I am a mama's girl so mother-child relationships are usually my favorite within stories, particularly those that are very much loving but complicated like the Tempest Shadow/Raspberry Sorbet dynamic. I also like delving into a little relationship drama (like in Scootaloo and Terramar's arc) because that kind of angst is just so much fun to write. Marmalade Meringue's arc is among the upcoming arcs I'm really looking forward to because it has relationship drama AND family tension, both themes I love.

As for my favorite types of characters to write, I've consistently been drawn to the angsty/sad asshole types. Those characters who make terrible choices and are perhaps unkind to others but carry some deep trauma inside of them. Turquoise Edge, Galaxy Guard, and Firefly from the Kindverse were those types of characters to varying extents. I write Scootaloo like that in the Auraverse where she makes mistakes as a mother while also coping with internalized ableism and a shitty marriage. Rainbow Dash is also that character for me in the Kindverse and Thirdverse where things keep going wrong for her and she responds by pushing others away. Blueberry Sticks in the Auraverse is another one of those characters; her arc consists of the Sad Asshole trope AND familial drama which makes it another I'm especially excited about. Outside of the MLP fandom, I really enjoy Smiling Friends fanfictions that portray Charlie Dompler struggling with his vices and trying to become a better man despite his behavior harming others, so my enjoyment of that trope is more widely applicable. I like exploring this trope in a way that shows the angsty asshole really trying to make things better. When they succeed it feels all the more rewarding, and if they fail it's even more heart-wrenching in a good way.

I really like writing character driven angst as you can tell lol but I've also had fun writing the Dottieverse which in a lot of ways is the opposite of my pony projects. Sure there's some light angst, but it's mostly lighthearted and funny and told through doodles, shitposts, and lore dumps rather than full stories with dialogue. One thing it does have in common with my other projects is the heavy focus on character interactions, of course. Plus, I've been known to make shitposts and doodles alongside my pony arcs as well so that part isn't new. I'm going to try to make some more pony content in the lighthearted and informal format of the Dottieverse because I have really enjoyed that. It might make the angst a little less overwhelming if I have more of a balance in format and tone.

[cooking-with-hailstones]

I’m curious, what do you think about Zelda games and continuity in general? I know one point of contention with BOTW/TOTK is the “lack” of continuity which yeah, i get it. It could be better. However the Zelda series is not known for its continuity lol. Like, take OOT and MM for example. MM is supposed to be a sequel to OOT, right? Well, tbh it’s not a very good one. Besides the fact that Link is the same one from oot, and the happy mask salesman and skull kid return, it feels really disconnected from its predecessor. I think Twilight Princess fits more as a sequel to OOT than MM. I could go on and on but what are your thoughts?

Very good question! So yeah, I know that the Zelda games give 0 craps about consistent lore or continuity, which is fine! I think they put forward a lot of different and interesting ideas. As a fandom, and especially as writers, we can treat it like a buffet of ideas to sample and play around with.

You raise an interesting point with oot/mm. I think the difference between oot/mm is the fact that they have very little in common with each other. New map, new characters, a completely different concept. There's a lot of mechanics that are the same but it really feels like you're in a new universe with the same aesthetics as the previous one, and that's about it.

I think TOTK stands out to people because it is a direct sequel with only a few years between them in-universe, but there is very little story, lore, and setting continuity between botw and totk. If it were a whole new game with a new slate of characters and a new map, I don't think the discrepancies would feel as jarring. That being said, I really love totk as a game! It's fantastic and I've sunk at least 100 hours in.

However, botw remains my favourite game because: botw is a gesamkunstwerk. TOTK is not a gesamkunstwerk.

And now here's my very long tangent about this:

I'm sure I've seen a video talking about this idea before but basically, a gesamkunstwerk is a German term for "total work of art." Coined by the composer Richard Wagner (whom we do not like, but his ideas were very influential), a gesamkunstwerk is a large scale work where everything reinforces each other. It is "a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms, or strives to do so." So in opera, for example, this would be how the orchestra, the costumes, the text, the music, the set pieces, everything comes together to tell one unified story.

I believe botw is a good example of a gesamkunstwerk: the open world setting serves the narrative framework, the Sheikah technology is incorporated seamlessly into the game mechanics, the story is scattered throughout the world for you to discover, but everything is still centered around your final goal and the narrative arc you're meant to travel. You're meant to explore, meet people, hone your skills, then face off against the final foe that you've been staring in the face for the whole game. You're meant to discover the world, to do all these things, as the player and as Link. Everything in botw reinforces everything else. It's not a perfect game by any means but it is incredibly well crafted.

And while totk improves on all the things in BOTW, it loses the cohesiveness that tied the first game together. I find that totk fights itself in a lot of ways. It didn't commit to being a linear game but it clearly has a linear path in mind (hello dragons tears...I am so glad a friend of mine told me to do them in order) The integration of zonai and Sheikah mechanics made no sense to me. The sages... Good gravy the sages...

Anyways this turned into a much longer post than I intended, but I hope this all made sense.

[findingyourrootscomic]

Hi! I really like your comics in general, I’m not usually one to follow webcomics but yours are apart of the exception! I really like your artstyle and something I don’t really see brought up often. It’s amazing to go back to the first page of FYR and see exactly how much you improved in your art, anatomy and backgrounds. The first page is so different than the current page! And I think it’s amazing to see that growth within the comic! It’s also amazing how gradually you see the improvement, it shows that you’ve been consistently working on the comic and I respect that work ethic a lot.

Also, big fan of how you draw pokemon and how even pokemon of the same species have clear differences within them with color/patterns/size. Like RAUGHHH that’s my JAM when it comes to pokemon designs! It makes them feel like actual animals I could step outside and see!

I don’t really have any questions or stuff about the lore specifically, my question is more on the technical sense. I’m a big believer in the art itself is just as important as the characters and story itself. But how do you panel your comics? Do you have any tips? I have plans to start up my own comic but even though I’m an artist I’ve never really done a comic before ^^

Keep up the great work! I eagerly look forward to the next updates.

Thank you!!! Yeah, 6 years really makes all the difference huh. :'D I'm really happy w where my art has gotten, I think I've been improving faster now cause my bestie @zeropro started redlining my page sketches somewhat recently, for all my comics not just FYR. So thanks to her influence and help, I think the comics look really really good now!! I've been studying art p hard since I started comicking, I've come p far but I still have a lot to learn. Zero has taught me a lot. Thank you for helping Zero!!

I panel FYR just w a straightedge tool. When starting a page, I lay down the sketch and panel over it, I draw in the panels as pink and then turn them white after I finish the lineart and set up the colorblocking. CotL is different, on recent pages I actually changed how I panel the comic, I now use FireAlpaca's paneling tool to draw them. It's like super easy and way faster than what I was doing before lol. I believe Tinysweetbunny uses the same tool for Pipe Up. The panels are always one of the highest layers in the stack, the only thing that goes above them are generally speech bubbles and dialogue. Keeps it clean.

[diveyne]

BAND VERSE : ECLIPSE ( edited; OG here for comparison ) — setting : general modern au, and alternatively wherever pentakill originates from because pentakill seems to exist in a strange runeterra AU, not in the modern world. but, for all purposes, this verse exists primarily in the modern world, with low fantasy elements where otherwise inhuman races exist amongst humankind. that being said, this verse bleeds from the threads of my general modern verse, in which morgana is still centuries old, descended from a higher being, and has masked herself amidst humans following tragedy in ancient civilizations.

a year and a half ago, prior to HEARTSTEEL's reveal, i finalized the original lineup of ECLIPSE, but it's an idea that i created and have been continuing to create privately since december 2019. ECLIPSE exists as a rival to pentakill, although, it's less a rival against the members of pentakill and more one against her sister, kayle. obviously, HEARTSTEEL existing has caused me to do a lot of lore rewriting and retconning.

eclipse, often stylized as ƎCLIPSE ( with its logo using crescent moons instead of Es ), comprises of the following members:

— morgana, lead vocals ( read the hc here about morgana being a multi-talented classically trained musician though ) — sylas, drummer — aatrox, bass guitar — varus, rhythm guitar — vladimir, lead guitar all members contribute some level of backing vocals. varus does clean vocals, while aatrox provides the screams and death growls, but he also sings, occasionally. on a rare track or few, varus or aatrox may get their own solo songs, or are feature more heavily, but morgana is the primary vocalist of the band, and ECLIPSE is marketed as a female-fronted goth / metalcore band with haunting vocals. older tracks feature kayn, obviously, but remastered versions of those albums have been released on streaming platforms in recent years.

this was not always the original lineup, though. once upon a time, kayn ( @umbane, for all intents and purposes as far as tumblr rp goes, since they're my main kayn, but their kayn is exclusive to this verse. if you also happen to write kayn, well, we'll figure something out and can pretend kayn was never in ECLIPSE lol ), currently a member of HEARTSTEEL, was ECLIPSE's lead guitarist. he was not amongst the original founding members ( the founding core consists of morgana, sylas, and aatrox; eventually, the four of them brought in varus to play rhythm. before, morgana would play rhythm guitar on top of leading guitar during recording sessions, as she is a multi-instrument talent, and primarily does the songwriting, both lyrically and instrumentally. now it is more of a team effort ).

regarding kayn as their lead guitarist and resident scream king / backing vocalist, however, that was a long time ago and many heartaches long past, a painful history for all of them, most especially morgana and kayn. they were terribly close, once, but the growing turmoil within eclipse was far too much to bear. there was no way to move forward together as a cohesive group, not with how volatile kayn had become. morgana wanted to see it through, to make things work, to help her friend move past whatever it was he was going through.

she knew well of his past, and she isn't the type of person who gives up easily, especially when it comes to someone she cares so deeply about, but she was trapped between a rock and a hard place: letting kayn go to preserve the rest of the band and all of their dreams, or risk losing everyone and everything they've put on the line. the rest of her bandmates were pressuring her to drop kayn, and truly, she didn't want to. morgana desperately sought a peaceful resolution, a way to figure things out, a way to keep kayn and soothe the growing animosity within eclipse.

that's the thing when you put so many big personalities in a same group together, isn't it? of course everyone has their own voice, their own ideas and wishes and feelings they want heard. different ideas for what they should be doing, what they wanted to be doing, just how they should be getting things done... it was a recipe for disaster. they were all volatile. angry, hurt, saying things they shouldn't have said under the burning pressure of fire pressed to their feet, but aatrox and sylas were the most vocal of all in demanding that kayn goes, or they both walk. varus, smartly considering self-preservation to his own career as a musician, agreed. it brought morgana a pain she hadn't felt since the days of long ago when she and her sister fought so violently that it forever tore an irreparable rift between them that she still hasn't healed from, and likely never would. she didn't want to go through that again. she couldn't. she knew the dynamic was becoming a problem, but she just didn't want to let kayn go.

she loved kayn most out of all them, so much so that morgana spent years refusing to find his replacement. morgana records the lead guitar riffs and solos herself in studio, and while varus has offered to step up for shows and tours, she refuses, knowing that if she were to give varus the position, it isn't one she could eject him from once filled. eclipse has temporary fills on retainer that join them on tours, but they're never there to stay. there's a hole that will never be filled, another betrayal she won't be complicit in. morgana already betrayed kayn once, and she wouldn't do it again. but, whatever formula they have has been working for them. eclipse has gone on to become an international success with their dark gothic elements, catchy choruses and hooks, with their whimsical witchy sounds that are a blend of rock-metal and a hint of haunting folk and siren songs. morgana has the voice of a siren and sings the sweetest notes, but can easily switch to grittier, raw vocals. eclipse is an eclectic blend of haunting, enchanting melodies, compared to pentakill's classic rock / hair metal vibes.

with morgana's vocal talents and range and acting capabilities, she's been offered several roles on broadway, most famously having done a rendition of phantom of the opera. during off-times when she isn't working on a new album or singles, and isn't on tour, morgana will agree to small acting roles or roles in plays and musicals. it's another thing she's discovered she loves, a distraction away from the quiet and the spiraling columns of despair that wrap around her like an inescapable shroud of mist trailing after her everywhere she goes. despite the band's massive success, a part of her aches for the losses of her past. seeing HEARTSTEEL now has helped heal some of the guilt she felt, but even still, she doubts the hurt will ever truly fade.

seeing kayn's success in HEARTSTEEL pushed her to finally give in and seek out a permanent lead guitarist, because no band can exist without one. she excels in the studio, of course, because it's a position she's used to, having formerly been the lead in studio before ECLIPSE found kayn to begin with. but for the sake of her band's longevity and all of their careers, it was about time to find an answer to what she knew they all needed. it hurt to do, but eventually, they met vladimir, a legendary guitarist and self-made success, who somehow wasn't in a band of his own, but had a cult following online. vladimir posted original tracks and covers to youtube and tiktok, and seemed to be the perfect fit to their misfit crew. it took much convincing, both to have morgana reach out and for vladimir's acceptance, but he soon became ECLIPSE'S fifth and final member.

vladimir possesses his own flair, an air of secrecy and mysterious intrigue that makes it obvious what it was that drew people towards him, but his energy is far less chaotic compared to that of kayn's. for all kayn's flaws, he was a fun and lively personality to be around. morgana chalks it up to the unease of something new and someone she has yet to get to know, but so long as he can play their songs and fits into the musical dynamic they've forged and continue to write new tracks that align with their sound, she supposes she cannot complain.

[gemsofthegalaxy]

I am disappointed by some of the aspects of Arcane s2, mainly the downplaying of the plotlines involving Piltover vs Zaun and the lack of interaction with Sevika and between Ekko and Vi in the third act. I wanted a bit more depth there, I wanted better follow up- even though I don't think the entire conflict between Zaun and Piltover would ever be able to be resolved in a simple interaction and I do at least like Sevika being placed on the council, there could have been more to it. There also could have been more breathing room in the development of Caitlyn's changing loyalties and I would have liked more time with Mel and Ekko just in general because they're both very important characters who didn't get as much time as I wanted.

but man. watching videos on League of Legends lore and how it's apparently been super scattered for quite a while, rife with retcons and always following the money and where fans' attention is rather than ensuring a good narrative, I'm just glad Arcane exists at all. At the same time, I don't play LoL nor do I plan to and I really, really like Arcane as a story but I feel bad for the folks who have been following for years and years and now suddenly that Arcane is super popular the powers that be are deciding it's the ONE canon moving forward even though tons of the previous lore doesn't fit in very well with it. Like, i hope they do it well and things go smoothly but according to all the videos i've seen so far on LoL lore, they keep saying they're going to do these big things and then just... not.

and i'm not the type of person who needs lore to be 100% consistent across multiple platforms, it could very much go the comics route/Into the Spider-Verse where some stories are in wholly different dimensions and thus don't have to all be coherent with Arcane's canon. some people may not like that style of thing, but I think it's a great solution when you have a core set of characters or worlds but you have a bunch of different teams working in different mediums trying to tell stories with them, again, like comics or comic-movies-shows, just let it BE and be up front about the fact that there's maybe a main timeline but sometimes it diverges and group up what's diverged and what isn't. I'm also a fan of Legend of Zelda and we have similar issues there with timelines and things appearing that apparently never existed and while it can be fun to try and determine what comes from where and what fits when, it's also maddening to try to force it to make sense when the reality is: Different people and different teams have worked on these games/shows etc. they are not able to make every single detail consistent and maybe they didn't even get the chance to try or weren't interested in trying. Just enjoy what you enjoy and ignore or rewrite the parts you don't, because searching for absolute certainty in the canon never works, and especially don't work with these multi-platform creative entities that have 500 people working on different facets of them.

[tameila]

Hi! I absolutly loved The Sun Always Rises! It's one of my favorite fanfics, and since you incorporate a lot of the Campaign 1 into the lore, I was wondering what the TSAR' Verse verion of Pike's resurrection would be?

Thank you so much!

To tackle this idea, I think it's best to break down what Pike's resurrection was and, more importantly, how it informed her character and actions going forward.

Let's start with the death -- It was the kind of death that was uniquely traumatic and gruesome for all parties, herself and her friends who watched it happened. Like, having to watch someone you love die changes you regardless of whether it was bloodless or not but, when that death is from them being cut in half...That's just a different level, y'know.

Add on a layer of helplessness and desperation to the party, because none of them were capable of revivifying Pike on her their own; they needed outside help.

Then, you have the ritual -- two of its components coming from Scanlan himself, the doll and a kiss upon her brow.

In a superficial sense, the trauma of her death and resurrection is what changed the color of her hair.

On a deeper level, this event pushed Pike to leave the party, join a sailing crew, and come back stronger -- strong enough to pick up heavy armor.

Meanwhile, within the party, I've always seen Scanlan's protectiveness throughout the campaign as a direct result of Pike's death and resurrection as well. Like, to the point that he's consistently uncomfortable and insistent that she dress up when it's stated in a scene that she took off her armor. Which can be read as him not liking her "flaunting", so to be speak (and this thought is echoed by the party at least once with them telling Scanlan/Sam that Pike would still be wearing her padding not be just naked without her armor), sure, but his energy always read far more neurotic to me. y'know, like, he worried about her being unprotected and vulnerable.

Now, let's put all these thoughts into TSAR 'verse...

My first instinct is to say it's already there! You watch Pike's death and resurrection in real time in TSAR. that's the whole story. You watch her hit rock bottom, a major depressive episode and ego death. Her friends are helpless to stop it. In the aftermath, she takes temporary leave from her position as Head Cleric at the temple and even isolates from her family and friends so she can meditate on what it all means (though this time frame is only briefly summarize in chapter 14 and not fully explored in prose). On Scanlan's side, you see him grow a new awareness of Pike and what she needs from him, and you watch him go through stages with it. Her "resurrection" is greatly aided by Scanlan's presence. In the end, she comes back stronger and surer.

My second instinct is to say it's already there...in bits n pieces! The mentions of Pike's gap year after high school. Wilhand's accident, Pike's desperation at the time, and how she had to shift her whole world view in the aftermath.

My third instinct, of course, is to acknowledge that neither of those are the answer that you came to hear lol! So, to really answer your question, if I were to explore the full weight of Pike's resurrection in TSAR 'verse, I would explore it as divergent AU of TSAR 'verse canon.

The divergence would be that it's Pike that suffers a traumatic accident instead of Wilhand.

and here's a collection of thoughts:

In this divergence, Pike's gap year would instead be interpreted as her deciding to fully complete her undergraduate abroad in some vaguely European country. She chose the university because the connected city has one of the oldest temples to Sarenrae.

The twins and Percy would also be at this university. Keyleth would still be back in Westruun, Grog still an up-and-coming MMA fighter, and Scanlan still his popstar self.

The accident would happen during the winter break of her final year. Keyleth and Grog have come to visit. Both of them had been saying and promising that they would since Pike started at this university so, since it's her final year, it's now or never! Pike's supposed to fly back to Westruun with them for Winter's Crest at the end of their trip. Pike introduces them to the twins and Percy. They spend a week European trottin'.

A surprise comes in the form of Scanlan, fresh off his final show of the year, joining them for the last few days. This is Pike and Scanlan's second first meeting, aka the first time they've seen in each other in person since Scanlan's career took off and since Pike's been in her transformative abroad era. (In actual TSAR 'verse canon, this second first meeting was a Grog's first big title match., which was the first time they'd seen each other since Scanlan's career took off and since Pike's gap year. It's one of those moments that's so cemented in the canon for me, but I can't remember if I've ever put out a piece that conveyed that to the readers lol)

It would be during one of those final days of the trip that The Accident™️ happened. I think, in the same way that I never specify what happened to Wilhand, I would never specifically state what happened to Pike. In her POV, it would always just be The Accident, and the others would never want to talk about it in detail either. However, it would be clear that it was nearly fatal, that she was legally dead for a brief time, and it changed everything.

She would remember Scanlan at her bedside and the warm press of lips against her forehead as her first clear memories of "coming back to life".

In the aftermath, she would take leave from school and drop contact with everyone for a time. Eventually, she would quietly return to Westruun and finish her final credits at the university there.

Quietly, the others would bleed back into her life too.

Instead of focusing on her a few years into her time as Head Cleric, the timeline of TSAR would then be about her in the first few months of that promotion instead.

Scanlan coming to town and the gang being all together again during this very momentous time in Pike's life is what brings up all the old feelings connected to The Accident.

Other domino pieces from this AU would include Scanlan's drug spiral, which was already about trauma from his mother's death and how he never fully coped with that, also having traces of trauma from Pike's accident mixed into it. Adding another layer to the situationship that him and Pike had going on during that time and the letter that Pike would write to him. Also, in TSAR 'verse, Scanlan's reasoning for coming to Westruun is an inherently selfish one. I think in this divergence his reasons for coming would be a bit more mindful and specifically for the need to support Pike.

and my mind is zipping all around and I could go on about all the little changes, but I have been writing along for, like, two hours now and my room has gotten dark around me 😂

Thanks again for your kind words, and I hope that this lil divergent AU satisfies those Pike resurrection angst needs! ☀️💜💛

[tiredassmage]

Actually I'm going to forget to do this tomorrow when I teased it and I might just generally forget if I don't post about it sooner rather than later, so my happy birthday to myself this year 1 day early, I promise I won't tease Tyr about his joints this year (if I find the post, I WILL schedule it for tomorrow as a happy 1 year anniversary to the post bit, it'll be funny) post is Lana and Tyr's slowly healing friendship lore post!

So, I've talked about Lana and Tyr's relationship before and expressed that they're not... always on the same step at the same time, but for all that they don't always get along or see things the same way, they do consistently show up for one another. And that still counts for something. And... also, after this long, I figure they... both deserve mending a couple gaps in their relationship.

Lana's form of care and guidance for Tyr's personal needs isn't always the type that he receives the clearest or with the least resistance. They can bicker over necessity in these ways, but in the way that's generally still well-meaning. But it must count for something because working with the Alliance does give Tyr a place where some of his older hobbies start to resurface - among which is dancing, as several times mentioned, but I also think it'd be nice for him to mend a bit of that old relationship with piano lessons he hasn't much touched on since his Academy days.

And Lana is inclined to poetry! So, all of that is just... a setup I'm going to take the excuse to expand their friendly bickering into hobbies instead of just their work, lol. Lana catching Tyr actually spending time on some of these hobbies and not constantly with his nose buried in Alliance operations and intelligence work and... engaging him in it is... the kind of way to say I see you, actually -you- that... almost says a little more than it would for Lana to say so plainly to his face in words.

And soon enough, he's got Lana on the bench beside him and they are bickering about rhythm and line breaks in poetry and Tyr is waving a hand at her arguing to "Just... hear me out." and playing to experiment with her. And it's... it's all really good for them.

Because they've coasted through a lot of their relationship on precedents they've never really discussed - Lana with a determination that keeps pressing her forward and Tyr used to veiling everything in double meanings and masks. But... she does, genuinely, care for the man somewhere wrapped up in the operative she's known and worked with. No, they're not always the best at communicating that, but... this is the kind of activity that says such in the quiet ways Tyr almost knows best. And it means a lot to him for Lana to meet him in that kind of space and I have a lot of feelings about it that I'm not entirely sure I'm properly articulating.

But anyway this all brought to you by the fact that a couple nights ago it was like midnight and I was trying to remember the word for "metronome" and ended up blissfully listening to the google one while... admittedly kinda pointlessly scrolling pictures of metronomes for... ??? Don't ask, I don't know why.

So! Naturally I used the excuse of it being a time of year associated with bonding & gifts to make my blorbos actually do something about their friendship levels. xD

[bloodydesires-if]

👏👏👏

Wow just wow, immediately after I read your intro I was rushing to check out the demo 😆 I'm already looking forward to its release, just wanted to ask a few things and find out a bit about the lore,

1. Are we affected by the sun? ( nothing at all, burst into flames, drastically weakened, or do we sparkle)

2. Does our age determine how strong we are as a vampire? (Like older is stronger or is it a purity of blood thing)

3. One of the characters is a professor of witchcraft at a University of witchcraft I think (hope I didn't read that wrong), so is the world aware of the existence of supernaturals?

Thats all I can think of for now but if there's anything else I'll be sure to ask 😁👍

Sorry for the no demo yet. It is being worked on and once I've completed chapter 2 of NIL, I will start posting consistent updates for the demo progress for this game! I know exactly how it feels to see the DEMO TBA lol.

1. Are we affected by the sun? ( nothing at all, burst into flames, drastically weakened, or do we sparkle)

Yes, vampires are affected by the sun. But it's nothing too drastic. They are weaker in the sun. This is because sun exposure increases appetite drastically and they need to feed more. So, the sun = is hungrier and weaker. It's not like, a useless level of weak though. But, for example, it would increase time to heal if injured. Hope that makes sense! lol

2. Does our age determine how strong we are as a vampire? (Like older is stronger or is it a purity of blood thing)

Well, the way I have things planned is that vampire strength in general is the same but there are things that can alter one's level. For example, going out in the sun, not drinking enough blood, and getting injured. Those things drop your strength.

All of that said, each backstory has a different perk so I'm more focused on how those will affect the playthrough instead of strength.

3. One of the characters is a professor of witchcraft at a University of witchcraft I think (hope I didn't read that wrong), so is the world aware of the existence of supernaturals?

You are correct - River is the professor. So, it's a bit complicated!

The world at large is not aware of supernaturals - the universities are obscured by magic and hidden from the outside world. Now, there are some humans who are aware of supernaturals for various reasons:

some governments - mostly the Heads of State. The Vampiric Round Table (VRT) has treaties. At times, they can even be allies to each other, used in war or other schemes... Other supernaturals have groups as well. However, the VRT advocates for more than just vampires. Overall, they try to keep peace among supernaturals. Especially since they all have at least one common enemy: hunters.

Heaven's Hunters - the Hunters are a worldwide organization that has been around for 700 or so years. They are humans and their knowledge is passed down through families. In modern times, they also recruit. Usually, they focus recruitment on humans who have suffered at the hands of supernaturals.

Finally, there are other people who know about supernaturals for various reasons. Maybe they were like one of our ROs, Charlotte, and were targeted but survived. Or maybe their family member or friend is/was supernatural and they're aware, like one of the other ROs, Bennett.

Overall, the supernatural element of society is unknown to most.

Sorry for the long answer lol

[revlischarm]

Hey Revlis!

For your LMK Morro design, is he getting more comfortable not wearing make-up with his cursed soul marks as time goes by?

Also, was/is he afraid of water with the whole Ninjago lore with ghosts poofing when in contact with it?

Ahaha see the reason for his cursed marking stuff is actually that I hate drawing them because they’re impossible to draw consistently in the LMK style, but I keep writing myself into a corner with situations where he has to go around without any concealer on to cover them up unfortunately.

So Morro is always going to hate having those markings, they’re very much not comfortable with practically displaying to the world “Hey, I was a spirit of the damned, look at me”. Thus, after the whole season 3 stuff that happens, they take to carrying around concealer with them everywhere as well as holding onto some spares.

Morro. Doesn’t like showing his markings. And I hate drawing them because they’re so hard to illustrate in a consistent manner.

Although!! At the start of season 4 (don’t worry, no spoilers for anything in canon), we can see that—well I might actually keep this bit to myself for now, only because it makes me kick my feet gleefully at the thought. Let’s just say the marks go through some development for reasons that are connected to my frustrations with drawing the markings and also a former scrapped idea I had for season 4 I wanted to work in. So. Hehehe. Look forward to the season 4 design I’m working on!!

EDIT:

I forgot to answer the second part of the ask shit

Yup! Morro is definitely afraid of large bodies of water. He’s able to like, come into contact with it in a controlled environment without freaking out, but in terms of the ocean specifically he stays away from it. And unexpected contact with water (like if you dumped a bucket of water on him) would get him mildly freaked out, angry, and very tense.

Near-drowning situations (I’m looking at you, scene-where-everyone-almost-drowned-in-season-3-when-the-airship-crashed-into-the-ocean) would cause him to have a panic attack. Morro also hates caves and enclosed spaces! Especially humid enclosed spaces, like uncomfortably hot. In terms of a normal enclosed space, he’s fine-ish, depending on how tight it is. When there’s other people there, he isn’t affected at all. But super warm, close-quarters areas get him freaked out no matter how many people are there. It reminds them too much of the cave they died in and they hate that.

Lol sorry went and dived into Morro’s trauma there, didn’t mean to get so deep! Anyways, hope this helps!

[oceanera12]

Dude, if I wasn’t broke I would literally offer to pay real money for you to write the other side of Tango’s chapter. I know you said you didn’t want to go down the rabbit hole of writing extra parts and considering the length and detail you put into every chapter I totally get it, but man, that rescue mission would be so cool to read. I’m glad we at least have an idea of what happened though because even just imagining the whole operation based on that outline is so much fun.

Also, what is Zedaph doing in the Hunter arc in your handwritten outline? 👀 I am very curious about what you’re gonna do with the sheep man

Btw, speaking of ‘director’s cuts’, do you have any comments on Xb’s chapter? I think I’ve said this before but his and Tango’s together are my favorite bit of this fic so far. Just, the complete contrast between the two and how Xb’s chapter helps to highlight everything that the people in Tango’s situation have lost, how the hunters steal more than just their freedom (as if that was little thing), while at the same time diving into and exploring the joys of the diversity that inhabits this universe. Absolute masterpieces, both chapters.

~ @nightmare761

(Im shadowbanned so i cant go off anon)

Well, that stinks.

If I do any "one-off" chapters with Built Family it will be after the main story is actually done to preserve no only my motivation, but my sanity. So we shall just have to see what happens.

Don't worry about the sheep man. He's fine. No really. Don't worry about him. Don't even think about him. He's fine. He's doing fine. Nothing is wrong with him and you do not need to worry about him doing anything of any sort. He is 100% fine and his chapter is not at all one I am looking forward to writing because I want to see what all of your reactions are. That is not the case at all. Don't worry about him. Don't think, don't even ask about him. Zed's fine, he's fine, he's fINE--

ON TO THE CHAPTER ANALYSIS. To anyone who wants to reread it:

There you go. Everyone else, either scroll by or read on!

xB's chapter is one of my favorites because of all the (MatPat voice) LORE!!!

There is so much of it that if I tried to explain it all we would be here all day so we aren't going to do that. But, I knew that I wanted to show how just because they are all "players" there is culture carried from your origin, your server, whatever. The best way to explore is to try and hit as many as I possibly could.

xB's introductions was longer than I planned, but that was my own fault. I wanted to shove as much Guardian culture into only a few pages and it was impossible. So what was supposed to be "here is a peek into Guardian culture" turned into what could have been a chapter on it's own (a common pattern with this fic and I will not apologize for that).

What xB's original chapter was supposed to mainly consist of was all of his trips and what he learned from everyone. That ended up being condensed into a form of "chat" in his journal entries and honestly? I like it. It leaves room for me to explore future cultures (cough cough *Impusle!* cough cough). We do not get to see all of xB's trips, friends, and visits to various places.

I knew that I wanted to connect Cor to xB somehow. Making him the last "World Walker" since xB was unplanned, but really worked out. Originally, I did want to have Cor and xB talk directly, but I had to cut it because of LENGTH. Seriously, it is annoying how much I want to put in and CAN'T. (Maybe in the future after Built Family is done we'll do scene requests and I'll put them in a collection or something)

Case in point: xB's artist career. As an art major I cannot tell you how much I wanted to dive into all the different mediums, styles, and methods I could see xB doing-- but we'll just have to wait until Beef's chapter, lol.

We get to meet Keralis' wife and kids, however brief. I don't know why, but I really like them as these vague, unseen people for the most part. Not sure why.

xB is suspicious of Keralis and company despite their years of friendship. Beef is suspicious of xB despite their years of friendship. Both of them are not technically "bad" in their assumptions, as they both had their reasons to doubt. Obviously, those assumptions were not correct.

I totally forgot to give Keralis a charm in this chapter but I'm too lazy to care about going back to fix it. Now for everyone else's charms, they are 100% related to backstories or hinting at something in the future. As such, I can't really break them down and their meanings until later. But if y'all want to speculate, be my guest.

xB joining the Hermits because of his culture's leftover charms was kind of thrown together, but I like it. xB is one of the few Hermits where he's guided by his feelings and I kind of love him for it. We have a lot of Hermits who are logical in their actions.

I think that's all I got on xB's chapter but if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask and I'll answer in the notes.

[micalpixel]

Pixel Art Walking Animations

I'm about to dive in to pixel art walking animations, for sprites that are larger than I've worked on before. So I did some research to see how they've been done in the past (front-facing, for now, from top-down perspective games only, and only characters taller than 16px).

Here's some interesting findings from the ones I put together and re-animated:

Walking animation loops have ranged from 2 frames, all the way up to 8, and 10. The latter 3 were all by Nintendo. Impressive quality stuff. (Sorry Ness, with only 2 frames, lol. At least Ness has 8-directional movement to make up for it).

Nearly all 4-frame animations consisted of 3 frames, with the middle one being repeated twice. (left-foot - stand - right-foot, stand, ...). However, one (the top-right), had 4 unique frames of animation. It's from Alcahest.

Head-bobbing is a near-universal way to convey walking. And it was expressed in many ways. Some didn't bob at all (Terra). Some bobbed sideways (Ness). Some bobbed UP (like a hop) as they put their feet forward, while some bobbed DOWN (more like real life) when they did so. Some bobbed by compressing their torso while keeping the feet level (Lucas), while others physically extended their feet lower than they were during the standing-frame.

Turn-based games, and games where movement is confined to four directions, tend to have fewer frames of animation for movement.

There's also a lot of variation in how leg and arm rotation (or lack thereof) is handled.

So many different styles...

Games Shown:

10: Zelda: Minish Cap

8: Zelda: ALTTP, Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga

6: Terranigma, Secret of Mana, Mega Man Battle Network 6, Chrono Trigger, Golden Sun, Secret of Evermore

4x3[1]: Final Fantasy 6, Breath of Fire 2, Pokemon Emerald (x2), Mother 3, Harvest Moon, Undertale

4x3[2]: Pokemon Diamond (x2), Ys IV, Lufia: Ruins of Lore, Bahamut Lagoon (x2), CrossCode

4x4: Alcahest

2: Earthbound, Dragon Warrio 3, Crystalis

(Next time I play Minish Cap I'm going to appreciate those animations more.)