#sorry for the infodump but i love this game

[thedisablednaturalist]

this may be random but may i ask where your avatar is from? is it a dressup site? the art style reminds me of a site i used to play on but i completely forgot the name years ago

You are probably thinking of dreamselfy!

Dreamselfy was created by the people who made tinerme, which got shut down a long while ago. Then about 9 years ago they launched COCOPPA PLAY which is on the google playstore as stargirl fashion. They have a ton more outfits and poses and backgrounds, I've been playing religiously for 8 years. It's a gacha game but they are pretty generous compared to a lot of other gacha games. Also there's so many pretty outfits and the community is really nice.

I play competitively cause it's not as hard on my hands as other games (literally all u gotta do is tap and manage items or energy). I play before bed cause it helps me fall asleep.

If you decide to download it, my coccopa id is 7186798 and my user is Lavenriel!

The club event just started so you'll need to join a club to participate. They also have monthly events and quests (they are currently ramping up to celebrate their 10th anniversary so there's a ton of rewards for stuff like moving eyes and stages!)

[thegreatyin]

How did you manage to handle not one, but FOUR separate accounts in fl? I recently made the account for my HD little guy but having to do the tutorial again just seems miserable

there's... weirdly several answers to that question, actually??

a HUGE part of it is due to the way FL is structured. the 10-minute action timer is a core part of the game on a fundamental level, and the fact that i can very easily run out of stuff to do on one character and thus have an excuse to quickly and easily swap to another is just... convenient? satisfying? i'm not entirely sure how to explain it. the fact that i can make progress even while i am fundamentally simultaneously Not Making Progress is like pure dopamine for my freak insane awful little brain. there's just something really pleasing about spending all of my actions pursuing The Goal Of The Day™ on one account before casually swapping to another and doing the same without feeling like i'm wasting time or acting to the first account's explicit detriment. the downtime helps! the recharge time helps! the structure really really works!!

i'm technically only actively playing three, maybe two accounts minimum. the only reason the fourth (the one that'll be my future BaL playthrough) currently exists at all is so i can get his earlygame completely out of the way now and not have to waste time running through it all later, when what i actually want to do is play the ambition i've made myself wait a full year to play. and also getting free goodies as seasonal stuff happens,, something something surprise tools to help us later. the only two accounts i'd say i'm really "actively playing" at the moment are caeru and lark- and of the two, lark takes the most priority, since his ambition is the one i'm currently pursuing in earnest. for a couple months now- despite being My Main FL Character- the scoundrel has actually been pretty inactive on a gameplay front outside of the occasional progression in TLC and discordance content. purely by virtue of having Very little left to do outside of Very long-term grinds and vanities. they're in their "now what?" "now you can start playing the game" era. they've graduated to previous protagonist background cameo in a sequel anime series. they're like the yin FLPC equivalent of red at the top of mount silver. they're Literally just vibing rn. i only keep posting about them regardless because i'm insane and i will never ever ever ever ever let that bat go. but yeah, big TLDR, outside of doing the bare minimum to keep making waves/notability up every week, i'm not actually spending that much time on accounts i'm not currently actively interested in playing. and that accounts for way more gaming spoons than you might think.

i have a virtually lifelong history of playing MMOs, especially and specifically world of warcraft. i was born in the endless grind for useless video game pixel vanities and/or bragging rights. molded by it. you all have merely adapted to doing the same piece of content a pointlessly excessive amount of times for literally no reason besides whimsy and folly. me? i've done my time. i've served my sentence. i've spent weeks doing the original burning crusade netherwing dailies. i've devoted days to running praetorium over and over and over again, back-to-back, nonstop, long before square enix cut it in half and made it NOT take at minimum an hour and a half per run. i've perfected my silverwastes + auric basin goldfarming strategies. i've (almost) crafted dragonwrath tarecgosa's rest. i've killed the sha of anger so many times its dying scream of agony is embedded into the very fabric of my being. ""only"" doing making your name content four times over? that is nothing to me. it means nothing to me. it is so infinitesimal i can do the persuasive seduction quests in my sleep. it's not a matter of handling misery, or having the capacity, or even sighing as i remember the brass embassy raid segment of the watchful questline seriously i don't know why i keep forgetting that exists or what even is my problem with it i just am so consistently mildly inconvenienced by it and its highly specific resource requirements and it is the worst thing ever. maybe i'm just so used to the scoundrel's near-infinite money and troves of disposable items that i've completely forgotten what being poor is like. despite having done that step 3 fucking times now. ahem. anyway. i have transcended the feeble mortal bindings of my resistant-to-grinding flesh and ascended to a higher plane of enlightenment, they may call me insane but they will be the ones left laughing when they see what that "insanity" has wrought, i've usurped them, i've usurped them all-

hacks and coughs and awkwardly clears my throat. i mean. uh. um. Ahem.

the empress' court artistry + tales of the university nerfs helped too.

[nelyoslegalteam]

please tell me about your dnd campaign, stranger

hi hi hi hi hi hi hi do you have any idea how happy i am to get this ask. you have activated my trap card this is going to be SO long i am sorry in advance but The People Need To Know About My D&D Campaign.

so we’re playing in Adventures in Middle Earth, which is. supposedly a Tolkienverse-specific 5e mod but frankly it’s robust enough to fully count as its own system if you ask me. like it has its own guidebooks, character sheets, premade adventures, and features mechanics that 5e just straight up doesn’t have. it’s like if 5e were actually good. anyway. may i present to you:

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ The Mirkwood Campaign ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

so what, exactly, happened in the intervening years between the events of the Hobbit and LOTR? we did, BAYBEEEEEE!!

we are:

Murdoc, a hobbitish warden (adventures in middle earth’s version of a bard), played by yours truly!! raised in the shire and eventually moved out to the middle of mirkwood by an eccentric uncle who idolizes bilbo baggins, murdoc is the heir apparent to the brandybuck family inn. unfortunately for murdoc, he has developed extremely nasty prophetic dreams and is now burdened with the ability to see the future! a skill that has definitely left him with a very normal relationship to his new day job of Being An Adventurer!! i am unhinged and have uh. Talked About Him A LOT If You Care To Read This, but he is full of murderous rage and also tea and loves his friends very much. he also, more recently, surrendered himself as bait to the great werewolf plaguing mirkwood, trusting completely that his friends would come and save him. he was right. they did. and he lost his right hand in the process. :)

Ríros, an elven warrior (aime version of a fighter), played by @jaz-the-bard. tall, buff, sunshiny, and an absolute himbo. ALSO loves his friends VERY much and this is KEY. unfortunately for ríros, he is a redhead, and that does cause problems in a world where maedhros feänorion once existed. (stranger, i am so sorry if you are not one of my silmarillion regulars and did not know what you were getting into by asking me, a silmarillion blog, to tell you about my d&d campaign, and now have no idea who or what the fuck i am talking about). ríros is notably not maedhros though! he isn't even noldorin!! maedhros is a ghost who lives in his sword (and who is also played by jaz)! and who also maybe kind of accidentally possessed him one time, if you wanna read this here for a better explanation of ríros mostly but also all of the above.

The Bearer, a human slayer (aime barbarian), played by @thymo-leonta. grumpy old man. unwilling father to all these young and stupid adventurers he’s been stuck with. are they all adults? yeah sure. they’re still Children. we are making him go grey. also full of murderous rage. looks like he's running from his perfectly normal, happy, loving family. is actually acutely aware of the fact that he has been doomed to die. killed the werewolf that took murdoc's hand. as a consequence, became the werewolf that took murdoc's hand. has two dogs, both named Dog <3

Déorwyn, a human wanderer (aime ranger), played by @shadowkat2000. resident party Horse Girl. a fellow sufferer of The Bad Prophetic Dreams^TM. because this is not quite unfortunate enough for her, déorwyn Hears Dead People. apparently our GM gives her extra secret bonus ghosts that the rest of us do not hear or know about! this being the source of her foresight makes her pretty distinct from murdoc, despite them both seemingly suffering from the same thing, in ways that i have LOTS of emotions about. her horse is named windrider and Their Bond Is Unbreakable uwu

and @potatoobsessed999, our obligatorily Extremely Ominous GM!

(we are also occasionally joined by Ioreth, a human treasure hunter (aime rogue), whose player is unfortunately not on tumblr. a founding member of the party, has earned the epithet The Feral, mostly loves to hang out in the woods by herself, look for shiny things, and cause chaos. as a beorning, she CAN astral-project herself as a bear. it rules. once got possessed by a ringwraith, probably holds the most compassion for characters who have been through similar out of any of us. is usually covered in mud.)

initially in the employ of radagast the brown, a tenure that did not last due to murdoc's insistence that saruman is evil (i mean. yeah lol.), we're a group of adventurers traveling mirkwood with the aim to defend it as sauron slowly gathers power. we are

very

successful at the Fighting And Killing Things part of this

we specialize in:

lugging unconscious bodies through the woods!

lugging DEAD bodies through the woods!

lugging EACH OTHER'S bodies through the woods!

lugging things through the woods in general!

setting things on fire (usually murdoc's fault)!

making fun of our enemies so bad they just give up!

INCLUDING the ringwraiths (shoutout to ríros)!

serving annoying politicians subpoenas!

murdering them like the one time it was totally justified we promise!

accidentally convincing the council of mirkwood that murdoc's inn is a small fiefdom!

being generally cursed (except for ríros) (he just looks that way)!

HIRE US to take care of whatever problems are happening in YOUR local cursed forest! wights? patricidal politicians? generally awful politicians? sauron? the same fucking werewolf again? it's definitely just tuesday to us!

you can count on

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ the union of murdoc ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

anyhow, jaz is absolutely wonderful and has written several fics of our party, including (but not limited to):

Cooking Contest for the Free Peoples, based on an in-game conversation about beating sauron at competitive cooking,

In Which There Are More Ghosts, which is not canon to game but is in fact Extremely Representative of the exact kind of nonsense we get up to (campaign's haunted),

A Stranger With a Friend's Face, a canon to game horror story of how ríros got slightly possessed, the party acquired maedhros, and neither murdoc nor déorwyn managed to explain the presence of the vengeful ghost residing in murdoc's scepter and bullying him in his dreams to any of the rest of the party right up until this very moment,

and this wonderful drabble from the horror arc in which we were isolated inside of a haunted longhouse. complete with party memes here.

there's more, and i am going to a.) pick on jaz to add them if they can find them, and b.) pick on my beloved friends in general to Please Help Me Infodump About our Game!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Murdoc, the Bearer, Déorwyn, Ríros, Ioreth]

[nomx33]

dude I'll like start talking about things that i findf horribly interesting but all of in depth and awesome analysis will come out "ohhhh hehehe grrr love them the sillies!!! :3 :3" like come on dude!

I could go on forever about how certain scenes in media make me feel and pick apart a ton of little details in character designs, speech, how a character reacts to things, etc etc but it my power is limited to flailing around like a fool and giggling to myself

lmao

[m0e-ru]

itsok guys fakest splatoon fan is here to serve 👍

[devilcat3d]

*summons you, but gets nervous cause ur attractive and infodumps to you instead of what i initially planned*

the ground where you drew the pentagram starts to glow, and fire starts to spawn around it. you look upon your ritual with excitement in your eyes, the summoning appears to have worked! soon youll get to meet an all powerful demon, one youve read about in all the old books that are strewn about the floor. you lick your lips, since you read this demon is known for its lustful nature, youre very excited to do certain- things with her. what will you make her do first, you wonder? maybe youll make her get on her knees and use her throat, mke her choke and gag until she cant breathe... maybe youll take her to the nearest bed and rail her brains out... ohh the options are endless, and the thoughts are all running rampant through your head. finally after a minute or so, a shadowy figure starts to rise out of the pentagram, and it is accompanied by a gust of black smoke billowing out from the center. you are hit with a flash of light, blinding you, that forces you to look away. after a second the light disperses, and you look up anxiously to see the sexiest, most beautiful woman you have ever laid eyes on. her skin is red, her body is to die for and she is wearing a skimpy little outfit. she has a set of absolutely gorgeous horns, that must add at least 7 inches to her total height. she makes you seem so small and weak just looking upon her, you start to get nervous that maybe she'll be the one using you. she looks around the room with curiosity, before finally setting her gaze on you. she opens her mouth to speak and her voice is like an angels, ironically.

"well well well. another mortal. let me guess, you want something from me dont you?" she seems annoyed slightly. "i was in the middle of something important you know. so. what is it?"

"i uh um please um can we- uh" you stutter.

"spit it out human. i dont have all day." she says in a commanding tone.

"um well you see i- i want to- uh well did you know that in the original banjo kazooie game theres only 5 colors of jinjos but in the second game there are 10 colors and the grey ones are extinct?"

she looks confused. "...what? what are you talking about?"

you anxiously let out another tidbit of autistic infodumping. "in banjo kazooie when you use the mumbo transformations sometimes he'll turn you into a washing machine and joke about how he's going to wash his clothes with you..."

"huh wow. thats quite interesting actually. its cute how anxious you are cutie. wanna have sex?"

and then you get to fuck a hot autistic demon girl because you got anxious and started infodumping. love wins!!!!

[furnass]

What is steam world you need to enlighten me

HELLO. So sorry its been a HOT SECOND. this has been my fixation for around... 3 years? So, here's an infodump under the cut

Steamworld is a game series that has been running for over 10 years! Starting with Steamworld Tower Defense in 2010, the game series has been going strong. I'll give a little explanation on the games, then each of them individually:

Steamworld: Robot game series of many different genres, I believe there Is something for everyone! Most recent game came out last year, in December of 2023. There are more games scheduled to come out! The series (chronologically, not by release) goes as the following: Steamworld Tower Defense - Steamworld Dig - Steamworld Dig 2 / Steamworld Build (happening at the same time) - Steamworld Heist - Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech [Quest is Strange. its not in the timeline really]

Now, onto the games!

Steamworld Tower Defense: (gonna be real i have it but never played it), super old tower defense game and idek if it has lore connected to it. Might be considered lost media now? It was on the DS before the shop closed.

Steamworld Dig: a mining + metroidvania game - Follow Rusty, a mining bot who arrives to Tumbleton, a very small mining town. Pick up after your Uncle Joe, explore the mines, and uncover an ancient secret.

Steamworld Dig 2: A digging + metroidvania game - Play as Dorothy McCrank, or Dot, as she explores and searches, making new friends, finding old history, and learning things as she explores the mines of El Machino.

Steamworld Build: A citybuilder game - Build a bustling town as the Earth slowly crumbles apart. Watch as Jack Clutchsprocket and his daughter Astrid work to build a rocket before time runs out. Explore the mines, build a city, and keep everybody happy.

Steamworld Heist: A turn based RPG strategy shooter game - Play as Piper Faraday and her crew of rag-tag bots as they not only explore space, but do a bit of pirate work. Get your hands dirty, explore, and make sure to collect that loot. (recommend playing with the outsider. Adds a new character who is fantastic)

Steamworld Quest: A deckbuilding RPG game - Start out with two, but grow your party of heroes as you explore the world, starting in your small quaint town. Meet others, uncover deep secrets, and be told a wonderful story with characters you will grow attached to.

[deadrlngers]

i was tagged by @shadowglens and @risingsh0t to make some ocs in this picrew. thank you so much besties, i loved this picrew so much!! <3

vesper moxley (cp2077) • victoria gray (cp2077) joelle knight (fo4) • nina bower (fo4) selene (oblivion) • hiraeth (skyrim)

tagging: @uldwynsovs @arklay @devilbrakers @nuclearstorms @morvaris @girlbosselrond @indorilnerevarine @moiragf @cultistbase @faarkas @steelport @nokstella @reaperkiller @malefiicarum @brujah @calenhads @lightwardens @aelyosos and whoever else wants to do this or that i missed bc i'm terribly forgetful sorry!!

[cha1cedony]

Was really planning on having chapter 3/3 of my current fic up tonight, but anxiety got in the way once again lol, so I probably won’t have it ready when I promised myself I would. Sorry! I also made some changes to fics I have anon’d on AO3. Tempted to delete some I’m no longer happy with or don’t want up publicly, but I’m really trying not to. I did already delete one. Hope you’re all doing well <3

[zosonils]

Wait, no, actually, tell me about the Scribblenauts timeline. I must be real... I like it too. I love unifying timelines where things seemingly just happen, tell us!

scribblenauts fans rise up >:] to be clear this isn't an attempt to sort out the canon timeline [although if you asked i'd guess unlimited > scribblenauts > super > unmasked based on the few splinters of plot we get] but rather taking inspiration from the scraps of story available to build something new and coherent, although at this stage 'coherent' isn't super accurate lmao it's just islands of solid ideas amidst a sea of autism nonsense

basically i'm deciding that the doppelganger's presence in 10-5 of super counts as a plot and slapping that on top of the more consistently defined world and lore of unlimited and onwards [so kind of what unmasked and the subsequent comic did but batman isn't there], with an added sprinkle of the 'scribblenauts being an actual organisation that maxwell is involved in' thing that never made it past background details in the first game. while unlimited arguably has the most iconic and/or existent plot and for sure i want lily to be a deutragonist i'm not sure how much of it i'll retain because 1. turning your daughter into stone is bad parenting 2. let her tag along and be an actual character instead of a literal rock you cowards and 3. the more super-inspired storyline i have in mind with the doppelganger is probably enough to carry the emotional intensity of a mostly lighthearted story by itself and i don't want to bog things down with too many subplots lol

i'm absolutely reading too deep into this kiddie game but i think the doppelganger as an antagonist of maxwell's own creation reflecting all his worst traits would be super interesting in an environment that puts more consistent and deliberate thought into character writing, so that's the idea i'm basing this autism-powered rehash on. i don't think it's ever actually specified but when i was a little sporelet playing scribblenauts unlimited for the first time i somehow got the impression that starites grant wishes? which is cute so i'm using that as maxwell's motivation to join the scribblenauts and seek them out, that he wants to collect enough to wish for something cool and superficial that a 12ish [?????] year old kid would want. but then after lots of adventures and character development when he's in the dramatic final confrontation with his doppelganger and has matured enough to see him as a distressed kid in uniquely terrifying circumstances rather than just an annoying knockoff he instead uses his wish on giving doppelganger the chance to be a normal kid with a normal life because he wants to make kind decisions now. then i guess they all go home and nobody dies in a scripted ufo explosion

this post is getting toooooo long so i'm gonna try and wrap it up now but god i already have so many ideas rattling around my head for an autism reawakening that could be over in a week lmao. now i'm even sadder that my computer is busted because i want to replay unlimited and refresh my lore so badly..... there's a fandom page [breezewiki sweep though] for the series which has helped refresh my memory but none of the sources are cited it's a nightmare. what do you mean maxwell and lily are twins for the love of god give me a single screenshot or manual scan that mentions this

also i didn't have a good place to insert this but even though edgar and julie having 42 kids is obviously a Silly Joke and excuse to give unlimited some unique characters i am choosing to interpret it as them being experienced foster carers. i don't care to sort through every single character and decide which if any are biologically related to each other lmao but adopted/foster families are swag as hell and there should be more of them in media! it also adds a nice layer to the doppelganger plot - maxwell is more willing to reach out to him because he's seen 'angry bitter kid who will only get better with kindness' in a lot of his brothers and maybe himself, and it gives doppelganger an easy place to go for his happy ending because maxwell's parents are experts at taking in kids like him. didn't want to end this post without mentioning this because i'm already suuuper attached to the concept

[arsenicflame]

∞

!! Excited to see what song comes up

Standing on shingles at night, Can't you see that there's a reason? The plans aren't on the ground, They're high and hanging down

put a "∞" in my ask box and I'll shuffle my music player and give you my favorite lyric from the song that comes up.

[sunbedo]

Hey guys. gay rights

[rowavolo]

i am offering you a leaf as both a thank you and a preemptive apology. it's me again and i'm so normal about lucifer obey me /lie

he's the guy ever. hitting him with The Beam. the entire scene where we make a pact with him is…. “i can’t have you lumping me together with everyone else. that won’t do.” going crazy. if you hug him after he says "this is good enough for now" and i'm supposed to be SANE??? he cares so much for his family, he literally broke his core ideals to protect them (technically an hc but i’m correct about it). he notices so much about the people he cares for—he could tell the bottle of golden syrup was empty before levi did without ever touching it himself. his gift was a brooch that "caught our eye." he cried when we had to leave, and- “after you went back to the human world, did you ever think of me? not of my brothers, but me? tell me you did. tell me that i’ve been on your mind since the day you left. i don’t think i could handle it otherwise.” what else can you want in a man!!!! catastrophically unwell. would you believe me if i said this was half the original length of my talk about him because it is.

yearning aside, your vision of the celestial realm is clicking in place in my head like a lego brick, especially the tower design. very interested in the metal caste system you mentioned, and i am also Staring at your s/i’s lore. i’m a sucker for heaven/holy beings turning out to be bad/oppressive. an outcast from heaven finding a safe space in hell? in an arranged marriage on top of that? putting him in the microwave to watch him spin on the dish.

— blue anon (<- for no. particular reason /silly)

omg please PLEASE there is no need to apologise at all, I really enjoyed reading this and i feel like you summarised a lot of what i like about his character too! I feel like his individualism and want to be seen as separate to his brothers is a really integral part of his character, but hes also so intertwined with his role of looking after his brothers (insert some ramble about him being like someone in the parentified eldest daughter role) ANYWAYS im shaking you thank you so much for this big ramble and i would absolutely believe that theres more to this because its just like !! raah i can just feel the vibe and it's just !! im really happy you shared it with me because i liked reading it so much !!

ALSO thank you, i had so much fun working on this sort of original angel-inspired species a few years ago and im glad to be able to reuse some aspects of it in a way that im able to interact with and write about tangibly!!

AND THANK YOU i just vibe SO MUCH with this particular s/i, theres something so special about his vibe, and his arc of slowly realising that maybe the way he grew up wasnt so healthy after all and eventually settling into this space full of other outcasts (and i feel like a lot of the way you see Lucifer is displayed in how he is with my s/i in this particular AU (and the alternative version of it, in which my s/i was another 'brother', but one that fell for michaels manipulation and stayed behind in heaven)).

Like, the whole trope of finding a group that's like... theyre not just like you, but the way that theyre different from the others is compatible with the way that you are. youre playing different songs on the same wavelength. if that makes sense.

just something about my s/i finding that and learning to be at home and happy with it all

[volfoss]

Okay, the cool monster designs got me: What is Volfoss abt if you don't mind spoiling the game? Does it have a bestiary that tells you about the monsters? Also! How's your day been?

YESSSSS 😈 volfoss is a tactical rpg released only in japan for the ps1, a quick tldr of the story is there are trooper/mercenary (kind of work similarly to the latter, you get letters that give you missions, which can range from kill these burglars -> get rid of these monsters, missing kids and so on. there are also a lot more whimsical quests and also some silly evil ones (havent done the evil route but there are multiple assassination quests)) groups all over the world, and you are in part of one of them. spoilers for like early game stuff (just the start of the first act, and also a vague plot point that is hinted at starting in act 2) under the cut :3

The game starts in Asdenia (one of the big three countries/capitals) with your group, the Silver Fang, being pretty much wiped out by your leader dying. There are pretty much only three of you left, Shalvas (who is the protagonist), Mistos (who is kind of there to help Shalvas early game and also just kind of be the silly guy that Shalvas' straight man (comedy wise) nature bounces off of) and Marica (who goes off on her own after your mentor/leader dies). With the leaders death, the Silver Fang basically lose any popularity/anyone who wants to hire them that they might have had prior, and so the game starts with you going to help out a village in Asdenia that is being attacked by monsters. After that, you get another quest to rescue a girl, and then my best friend Uchida appears <3 hes a info broker basically and is like hey. let me help you get more jobs and over time you do get more because Uchida is the fucking BEST!!

The rest of the game from here on out (this is just the first 3 quests before you're basically set free to do whatever) focuses on taking quests and well. Completing them obviously. There are 5 endings, and the game doesn't let you make dialogue choices (which I like because of how it kind of feels more behind the scenes. You're working WITH Shalvas as a character and influencing him by taking the quests that you want to take instead of directly making choices in dialogue or on missions of what you want him to do. This might be a drawback for some but I really feel like it lets Shalvas be himself and takes a bit of the control out of the players hands), instead the quests influence how it goes. There are 5 types of quests (evil, good, and one for each of the three big countries), and by the end of the first act, it narrows you into one of two paths, which then branch out into the five endings.

Some of my favorite things about it is actually how it handles a lot of topics that most rpgs dont handle well in a really nuanced fashion. There is a big war by the time you hit the last act of the game, which has been ramping up through the game, and it is handled in a very very listening to both sides fashion. The ending I'm on right now has discussions of someone trying to convince another person to help them out in the war, and the other person replies with discussing the value of lives and why the (redacted for spoilers sowwy) people deserve to live more than the other. They also really did good w the female characters in this, Rially is really well written (shes a silly but helpful ally you have), Marica is one of the best women I've seen in any rpg EVER (she has a lot of nuance and there could be a yuri situatuon between her and another woman if you squint a tiny bit), there are women in high positions in government and that's just treated as normal. Disability is also something treated SHOCKINGLY well. One of the villains is missing part of his arm (and has no prosthetic) and it is NEVER brought up or shown as something that he needs to overcome or yk the standard ableist bs. Like he's one of the strongest characters in the game and given a TON of depth. Everyone really is, like this game will make you feel sympathy for characters that other rpgs would have just painted as black and white evil. The protagonists are all AMAZING and the characters are super easy to understand where they are coming from, if not just outright love them. Even the villains get a more morally grey approach than a lot of rpgs would. The writing in general is really good (which is like. not helpful due to there being no english patch and I have machine translated every single line in this game. when i finish the guide it will have summaries and stuff so. if you are interested just wait a bit :) ), the route that I've taken has been super entertaining and dramatic. A lasting theme in the game is the value of life (even if they are an enemy of yours. which is handled very well and do NOT start me on it because it makes me blow upppp) and I think it's a very interesting theme to have due to how as a trooper, you DO have to kill monsters. It treats it better than a lot of rpgs who really only treat the named characters dying as a tragedy but if you kill a bunch of bandits, its completely ok.

To get into gameplay, due to being a game from 2001, it is a bit clunky. But honestly it's pretty easy to pick up (coming from someone who has never played a trpg before) and it's super fun. The gameplay loop doesn't really get boring (esp for a like. 30-50 hour long game. from what i understand from times online) and there's a ton of unique functions (such as a Morgue where you can resurrect enemies that you killed last battle to fight for you for one battle, a Gem system that gives your characters attacks/defense different powers (a red gem gives a fire attack etc and there are many combos) and the faction relationship system (which is partially how endings are decided. You do enough missions for one of the big 3 areas, and they start to like you more and more)).

To get to your bestiary question, yes and no. There is an in game gallery, but unless you can read Japanese (or machine translate), there's not a ton of info there. Here's Rially's page for an example:

As for stats on the characters, there is that info with the physical game (which I do plan on scanning my copies of the map, unit guide, and manual and put them on the internet archive eventually) and just through a LOT of trial and error. The Volfoss Wiki (all in Japanese as well bc theres like. one site discussing this on the English side of things afaik) has a lot of info on stuff as well. I'm definitely trying to gather more info as I play to put into the guide so there IS info like that out there in the world. You can see all the monsters there and here's a link to most of them online (there's only a few of them missing and I know that due to having a lot of it memorized by this point lol). also sneakily dropping a link to the rom here at the end if you do want to play it :3 i can also give a more detailed description of gameplay and stuff if you are interested. also please look at uchida. its important. and also sheala who has a really cool design, i dont think its super often you find a woman just wearing normal armor in games lol. she is also insanely hard to fight (just beat her and came to tumblr to take a break and then. essay unfortunately)

and i'm doing ok! a bit tired but staying distracted with getting this scary long guide (76 whole pages.) closer to completion. or at least like 30% being done lol.

[numerowah]

In your swap AU, are the Mario brothers guys who wear princess dresses as their everyday outfits?

HIII ramble incoming

Partially! My swap AU switches the Mario Bros., and their counterparts, with the princesses! [Peach, Daisy, Shokora, and Rosalina] Specifically, Luigi takes Peach's role of the Mushroom Kingdom's ruler, Mario takes Daisy's role as Princess of Sarasaland, while Peach takes Mario's role as main character and Daisy as a secondary hero. I do mix the story up a bit, since here Peach and Daisy are matched with Mario and Luigi respectively, they just don't typically rescue their partner X] Wario swaps with Shokora, specifically True-Form Shokora cause she's the best /lh, and is cursed into a cat form+shadowy blob for a couple thousand years. Since Shokora technically dies, or at least goes to heaven, at the end of her game, I'm still deciding on whether Wario's kingdom is completely forgotten by the time he regains his true form or if he revives it due to still being alive and well.

And Waluigi swaps with Rosalina! Depending on where I take Wario [tbh he probably IS already the most different seeing as I keep Wario around hehee], Waluigi def gets the most changes as a Princess. I change the story of Galaxy a bit for him because i'll admit I'm biased. [still hammering it, but to summarize Peach fights him as like. a midboss with two stages before fighting a main boss on the Observatory, and 'post-game' she requests for a Warp Pipe to be connected from the castle to the Observatory so Waluigi can visit whenever, instead of just every 1000 years.]

To directly answer the question, the Bros. do wear dresses as everyday outfits, but not just for fun or anything X]

once again i am incredibly biased, so right now the stuff I'm fleshing out heavily includes Super Paper Mario, Daisy's brainwashed alter ego is the first post here and my pfp as of rn! I called her Miss D cause duh, Mr. L variant, and it sounds like Misdeed >:]

This is one of the earlier [and unfinished oops] designs for Mario, specifically his coronation dress. I decided against the long gloves since 1. he swaps with Daisy 2. he's in Sarasaland and 3. I just think short gloves fit his character better X]

This is Luigi's coronation dress! Designed after a 1-Up Mushroom cause he's green and rules the Mushroom Kingdom lol. I drew it on a draft of a timeline I made for my AU, since I did map out some events. Mostly cause I dumped angst on Waluigi sorry pal :[ BUT!! Anyway Luigi is the last one to officially be a princess chronologically, maybe a bit ironic seeing as he's the fella who started my whole AU!

I have a couple different ideas for how Mario and Peach meet, and how Daisy and Luigi meet, etc etc, and this is one of them! Finding out your bestie in distress has a cute brother that you have to beat in a tennis match wasn't what Peach was expecting for that day probably X]

[rostomanologist]

New to your characters, so it's your pick! 1, 3, 4, 19.

oah thanks for asking!! ig ill go with all or most of my gw2 chars, theres not rly much of them :) ill also leave the links to them in text so you can get acquainted a bit (though i post very little info about them, sorry. i should make a roster)

1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

i usually come up with the name or personality/backstory concept first but for most of my gw2 ocs everything started from appearance :D except for one, i think? i've recently made a new plant boy and haven't shown him here yet but he started with the "i want him to be puss in boots inspired and also wear a hat" concept and only then appearance and name, as i struggled with both

3. How did you choose their name?

fantasy name generator/behind the name + "yeah this sounds pretty oh fuck its taken"

exception: naohiro. his surname, fetch, was suggested by my gf and actually has a reference to irish mythology and mayhaps i can say eina astera is an exception too. i struggled with choosing her name and just made almost first what came up to my mind. and thought it would be fun to give her surname like the copy from human tradition

others r under the spoiler!

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

HMMMM.

pheanois: tyria's freedom of movement, maybe? :D he's literally an adventurer mostly

noereen: the revenant lore. i love mists, i love their story flexibility, i love legends concept and their connections with, um, hosts. noereen has a long and quite tragic story tied tightly to her profession; she roamed through mists for years, suffered from mallyx influence and her life as a revenant is mostly a test of her willpower

caeinthe: wyld hunts! i adore this element. basically, cae is a failed valiant, she fucked up her hunt and that made her life a menace

naohiro: problems of human society in tyria, i think. bro was a thug rebelling against the queen and nobility (not a separatist tho)

eina: none for now, she's mostly a draft of a character, though some details are closely connected with wyld hunt (she's a valiant) and mesmer's lore/mechanics(?), as she's a duelist in some kind. also i know elona and kralkatorrik play big part in her story

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?

pheanois: he had a love triangle back in the days that is based on fukin last shadow puppets music videos. and it turned catastrophically bisexual and homoerotic

noereen: she was bit in the side in mists by a monster and this nearly killed her but she survived and now thinks she has a cool scar. also i love the fact that she has been a menace most of the time but finally got therapy

caeinthe: despite being an asocial disaster, she has a friend, an inquest. and this friend released her from the jail in the grove though she absolutely didn't mind being there lmao

naohiro: he has a lot of soft spots! he's a tough man, strict and disciplined and a fukin assassin BUT also very affectionate towards kids and animals, can deal with them perfectly and isn't afraid to show them love

eina: she made herself a surname copying from humans and unironically thinks she now sounds extra sick and exquisite with it