#synergy world wide

[velleire]

Homestead Essentials: Living in Janthir Wilds (link)

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Greetings, Tyrians! Gather around the fire and settle in as we chat with Andrew Gray and Joel Eckert, two of the designers working to bring you one of the newest features in Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™. Today, they’ll conjure a magical doorway and take us on a tour of Homesteads.

With the launch just a few weeks away, we’re excited to answer some essential questions that will help you on your journey to turn a plot of land into a home. In the next few weeks, be sure to check out our social media channels for inspiring homestead designs, and join us soon for a livestream where we’ll explore Homesteads even further. For now, we’ll be covering some of the general Homesteads information that you’ll need to know.

Q: How do I get my homestead?

A: The story of Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds will introduce you to the plot of land that you will tend to and claim as your homestead.

Q: How do I access my homestead?

A: Once your homestead is unlocked, you’ll have access to a Summon Conjured Doorway Mastery skill. Any character on your account can conjure a doorway and simply step through into the homestead.

Q: Can friends visit my homestead?

A: Yes, you can invite your party members to your homestead via your conjured doorway. Players who are not in a party can use the door to request a party invitation from the door owner, and the owner interacting with the door will initiate the instance-transfer countdown. You can even give your visitors permission to help decorate your homestead!

Q: Can I return to my original location (the place I entered from) when I exit my homestead?

A: Yes, you’ll find a familiar instance exit button on the lower right of your screen that will return you to your previous location. This will even persist across sessions, so if you log out and log back in to your homestead to take advantage of the homestead’s resting bonus, upon logging back in, the instance exit button will return you to your last open-world location. This will not persist if you visit another instance, though.

Q: What can I unlock for my homestead?

A: As you progress your Homesteading Mastery, you’ll unlock more rooms within your homestead to decorate. You can also unlock improvements to your lumber mill, mine, and farm facilities. Because upgrades and spawns for your personal story home instance carry over to the homestead, you can also collect various gathering nodes, convenience features, and characters like the hungry cats.

And, finally, you can unlock decorations through the handiworker discipline, which is a refined, account-wide crafting ability.

Q: Can we control where unlocked nodes spawn?

A: Things like resource nodes, cats, and chests are placed in predetermined areas to ensure they all function properly.

Q: Where do homestead decorations come from?

A: Handiworker is the new crafting discipline that will be used to create decorations. New decorations are unlocked via Mastery points spent in the Homesteading Mastery line.

Q: Tell me more about handiwork, the new personal version of guild scribing.

A: Handiwork functions very similarly to scribing, but it is designed and balanced for a single player to be able to craft things on their own. There is a material cost for each copy of a decoration that you craft, but the prices for personal decorations via handiworker crafting are significantly lower.

Q: Why is handiworker crafting part of a Mastery line and not leveled like other crafting disciplines?

A: Since your homestead is account bound, we also wanted your handiworker crafting discipline to be account bound. We also wanted to create a stronger synergy between the content of Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds and your homestead, so, rather than reaching higher levels of the crafting discipline by crafting more decorations inside your homestead, you’ll instead do so by playing the rest of the Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds content and earning regular experience points.

Q: How do I decorate my homestead?

A: A “Decorate” button on the heads-up display or the skill panel will activate decorating mode.

In this mode, players have access to various skills on the skill bar for placing new decorations, modifying already placed decorations, or removing decorations. Additionally, you can enter a flying mode that allows placement of items anywhere a player normally cannot reach.

We’ll be demonstrating homestead decoration live on Twitch this Friday, August 2, at noon PDT (UTC-7). Join us to catch the placement tools—which include a Toggle X-Ray Vision skill and flying mode—in action.

Q: How do the characters on my account interact with the homestead?

A: When you exit to the character selection screen while inside your homestead, the character you were playing will be visible in your homestead as an NPC while you play other characters. These NPC versions of your characters default to one of three predetermined locations in the homestead, based on whether they are soldiers who wear heavy armor, adventurers who wear medium armor, or scholars who wear light armor.

Soldiers are found around the main homestead structure and the entry area near the portal.

Adventurers are found on the far side of the river near the main homestead building, in a wilder area.

Scholars are found in and around a secluded cave away from the main homestead, which is perfect for concentrating.

If you approach any of these logged-out alternate characters, you can ask them to follow you and lead them elsewhere. When you’re ready for them to stay put again, you can ask them to stay, and they’ll stop following.

Q: Will all of the characters I leave in the homestead when I log out show up? Can I control which ones show up or disable them?

A: All characters left within the homestead when you log out will be visible when you’re playing other characters.

Q: Can we control the appearance and dyes of mounts in the stable? How are those chosen?

A: Mounts housed within the mount stable will have the same skin and dye settings used by the player character that is currently accessing the homestead. The skiff’s dye and skin are controlled by the same means.

Q: Will there be a livestream to show off Homesteads?

There will be a livestream! As we mentioned above, we’ll be showing off the design elements and finer details of the Homesteads feature on our Twitch channel, on August 2 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7). We hope to see you there!

Prepurchasing any edition of Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds before the expansion launches will grant you the “Homesteader” title, the Whispering Serpents Pauldrons skin, and a box with your choice of one Serpent’s Wrath weapon skin.

Visit the official store page for full details on the items included in the Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate editions.

[makingspiritualityreal]

Death Note - A Faustian Purva Bhadrapada Parable

Probably one of the most famous animated television series, Death Note has gathered millions of fans all over the globe due to its exciting plot and twists of action. For those of us interested in looking a little deeper, we can very clearly see the themes of Purva Bhadrapada Nakshatra in this creation.

Nakshatra synergy for this series goes very deep, before we even get to the actual exploration. Not only is the author and writer a Purva Bhadrapada Moon native, but he also gave his characters personality profiles within the series itself, which included birthdays. Those birthdays make two protagonists, Light and L, a Purva Bhadrapada Sun and Moon consecutively. Assuming the author has no knowledge of Vedic Astrology, the energy of this Nakshatra was transferred down to his intuitive choice of character identities, which of course is a reflection of his own personal internal struggle.

I.

Ah! Now I’ve done Philosophy, I’ve finished Law and Medicine, And sadly even Theology: Taken fierce pains, from end to end. Now here I am, a fool for sure! No wiser than I was before.

We begin Purva Bhadrapada where Shatabhisha ended. In Shatabhisha we mastered all intellectual arts known to mankind, as well as religious and moral theory. However, in Purva Bhadrapda we feel the most deeply emptiness of knowledge and cold facts without wisdom and feeling to apply them. And thus, we spend all the time in this Nakshatra obsessively trying to fill the hole in our hearts, not really being able to use any of the rational means, that have worked previously at our disposal. As a result, we fill with ego and irrational belief what was filled with facts before. Similarly, Light is the perfect student and high achiever that everyone envies, the pride of his parents, but feels bored, empty and unfulfilled and views his perfection as emotionally meaningless, merely a starting point for the actual greatness he seeks.

II.

The theme of Purva Bhadrapada visible in Death Note is a moral dilemma - does a single person have the right to judge the actions of others? Should an individual elevate themselves above the crowd? Is there ever a situation, where one has the right to do so?

This contrast between man and society in Purva Bhadrapada comes from the fact, that this is the collective stage of Jupiter, where it reaches its apex, so personal interests of the individual are aimed at the collective. As a result, there is a karma of friction between individual belief and larger scale ideas. From the previous stage of Shatabhisha, one possesses the skill of socially blending in if necessary, the skill of perfect illusion, but underneath the smooth facade, true beliefs are starting to break through, ego hunger is rearing its ugly head, which is what causes such a strong dissonance, the “two faced nature” of this nakshatra.

III.

In reality, in Purva Bhadrapada one simply explores one's desire to eliminate all oppression and control the world according to one’s will instead of being controlled by it in any form. That desire is masked by belief in one’s own righteousness or even notions of self sacrifice for the greater good, contrasted with what one views as societal flaws, but there is an initial lack of authentic self examination. As a result, one’s actions are unpredictable and have a wide spectrum, that can be hardly defined as purely moral or righteous. Instead, they are driven by a desire for personal expansion.

Over time that leads to degeneration of one’s Humanity, as it becomes apparent that ego worship dominates over the human desire to actually do something good and contribute to the world. As a result, one is unable to admit one’s true nature to oneself, and the consciousness splits between an egoic righteous trip and an authentic desire to evoke positive change. In reality, the native simply desires to see one’s imprint on the world and is not really concerned with consequences of their actions on other people’s lives, to the extent they eliminate any external voices of reason. That is because voices of conscience keep defying the Purva Bhadrapada desire for extreme ego gratification.

IV.

A good man, in his darkest yearning, Is still aware of virtue’s ways.

However, despite intense attempts at externally manifesting one's internal concept of greatness, reality ultimately comes crashing down, and with it, the true awareness of moral implications of all one's actions. At this point, the "high" of the trip is over. What is also revealed, is that underneath the false comfort of the ego, the native's heart feels a sense of guilt over all the mistakes made on the path.

There is an interesting theme emerging in this Nakshatra. “Destruction comes not from the human being itself but from what gives it too much power”. A statement repeated many times in Death Note, that the true evil is the power to kill people. To prove that point, the moment Light loses the memory of Death Note and with it his supernatural advantage, his purity of heart and moral compass automatically return. It’s only the Death Note that reveals his psychopathic tendencies, and fate has put him, an otherwise decent person, into a fatal situation. The position of a human being existing simply as the plaything of the gods, being a force too insignificant, being at the mercy of fate. That is the theme of Jupiter, having too much power, too much goodness threatens to corrupt even the most decent individual.

V.

Yes, I’ve surrendered to this thought’s insistence, The last word Wisdom ever has to say: He only earns his Freedom and Existence, Who’s forced to win them freshly every day.

When Jupiter in Purva Bhadrapada finally matures, one understands, that merit only comes from continuous effort and character building, which over time forms into a solid habit, at which point Jupiter matures into Saturn.

We never see this happen in Death Note, as Light dies defiant in his dark side. However, we can explore the positive development through L, his Purva Bhadrapada polarity. L commits his life to the relentless duty of righting the wrongs of society, to the point that he doesn’t have a private life. He makes financial and personal sacrifices in his determination to wake up every day doing something for the world, knowing his contribution is irreplaceable, and ultimately he dies passing on his life’s work to make sure his ideas remain immortal and any unfinished business is wrapped up. This is also where Jupiter accepts the possibility of death and realizes that while all men must die, what matters is how you die - ultimately achieving your goal even after your death, like L, or disgraced, like Light.

That’s why in Saturn’s stage, which comes next, we learn refinement and personal self control. We work to become better people with our attitude as a habit, instead of focusing on ego development. This is, however, wisdom reserved for the next stage, so if it is reached in Purva Bhadrapada, it coincides with the character's Death, just as the quote I used escapes Faust’s dying lips.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

What would happen if instead of deku choosing his wide he choose shoto instead what would happen to his wife would he still go after her how would it play out too.

Thank you for asking

I really love this

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Yandere DekuWife Alternate AU

by u/ryuutoshi2

What would have been if Deku had chosen Shoto? The former hero in training was rising in notoriety alongside him. Always there. Always supporting. He knew Deku as well as he knew Izuku. Unshakeable in synergy it felt right to choose him. Choose him over his first true love, who seemed oblivious to all his telling actions. Oblivious to the painful yearning of watching you blindly trample his desires. And the way you cheered him on when he shakily admitted his relationship with some mysterious gent.

“That’s…wonderful Izu! I’ll have to meet him one day!”

You wouldn’t. It would be then that he abandoned the civilian identity to be the largest supervillain to date: Deku. Hand-in-hand with his villain lover as they collectively brought chaos to the world of heroes. Only the inner workings of the UA could suspect who he was and some would follow him. A closed incident that would lead the few who cared: Inko and you to mourn Izuku Midoriya.

“...All he wanted was to be a hero…”

“Maybe in his own mind…he was…”

His heart still yearned for you to hide crumpled photos whenever Shoto entered the room. To him, it was just the pains of withdrawal. A simple case of breaking his routine of obsession, instead of obsessing with someone who so quickly reciprocated that same level of affection. For years he’d fight it, drowning out his thoughts and memories of you with lust, mass violence, and diabolical schemes that would bring despair to the heroes he frowned upon. 

It happens by chance that he’s undercover in the daylight of the city. Smirking to himself as he passes a small-time hero on patrol. This information grab would be easy. An orchestrated diversion that would put him in the position to grab the data in a populated place while his beloved counterpart attacks. It plays on the hero's weakness: the protection of civilians. It would have been perfect. 

“Alright, Mister what can I help you with?”

At the front desk of the intelligence, the employee he was supposed to subdue was you. Grown and gorgeous as the day he left, was (Y/n) (L/n). The woman he spent years chasing and fantasizing over. 

He’s starstruck. Stuttering and flapping his lips as he’s reduced to the sweaty, overheating, obsessed dork you couldn’t see the feelings of. Ever patient you don’t rush him as he struggles to do anything–eating into the time he should have spent completing the mission. 

The sound of rubble crashing and the distorted laughter of his lover–Pyrodast rang out. The screaming and running began, and the swarm of panicked employees created the perfect chaos to steal those documents. But he let himself be pulled by you, tucking him under your desk as you dutifully pressed a hidden button. 

“Alright sir. Please stay here I’ll handle this!” 

He was so caught up fawning over your determined glare he almost didn’t catch what you said. Reaching out to hold onto your arm, worriedly pleading that you don’t leave him. And like something out of a dream you hold his shoulder rubbing soothingly. Flashing a smile he feared he’d forgotten. 

“It’s alright I can handle this,” You reached your other hand past him unintenionally caging him. He fluttered his eyes fully prepared to lean into you and capture your lips only to be reawoken when you pulled back. Letting you stand up straight with a darker look on your face and sleek hi-tech power gun. Holding the weapon with ease you cocked the barrel continuing to smile the way only you did. 

“Besides, both me and my husband are heroes!” 

With that you began firing away, immediately making contact with high powered villain judging by the pained grunt. Alarmed and completely in shock he disobeys your command watching as his not so past love expertly dodges the stray pits of steam and fire from his current love. Moving with the agility and speed of a spider you distribute tear gas bombs to blast in the villain’s face. You duck out of the way for most of his confused attacks, seemingly almost subdued when the gloved hands of Shoto reach for your head. 

Izuku has half a mind to scream out and he does. Drowned out by a resounding explosion, the hero’s defense gives you the opportunity to roll out of the way. More heroes quickly arrive on the scene, sending Pyrodast into a desperate escape. 

Hurriedly coming from behind the desk he tries to spot you among the rubble left in their wake. And like the sun at the break of dawn, you rise nearly unscathed and yawning all the while. Stretching as though you just woke up from a successful nap you smile in the direction of the tattered hole of the building. 

“Man, Suki great timing! You just barely missed my amazing defense!”

“Tch! Like I said before you shouldn’t need to do ‘amazing defense’! Just leave the hero work to me, detective!”

“Aw Suki, you’re just jealous I’m so good at my job! I just can’t retire!”

“Grrrr!”

“Kehehehe~!” Watching you tease the explosive hero, laugh at his glare, and insults stung. Too much like old times, he’d been overwhelmed by that tight-knitted jealousy that came with everyone who should speak to you. Specifically with this man. Even more painfully surreal, in tears of his own, he watches you pull out a silver and black band. Slipping it around your ring finger and fiddling with it as you prodded at the hero’s patience. He notices the way those red eyes look at you with a satisfied fondness that didn’t exist way back when.

It's then that he recalls your words…it makes him shudder. With disgust? with malice? with envy? The pure incessant desire to murder? Katsuki Bakugo was who you were married to the hero who had saved him from judgment on the account of a last favor before continuing to pursue him alongside the board of heroes. He didn’t think he could hate the hero more. He was wrong and if he hadn’t been pinged by a worried Shoto he would have killed him. Stabbed from the back at speeds you’d barely register but he didn’t. 

Wobbly and downcast, he returned to the rendezvous point letting Shoto handle the report for the day. Heterochromatic eyes flashed worriedly toward the no longer disguised Deku. It wasn’t long before they shed their masks and latex, settling into their afternoon routine within the highrise home officially owned by the former hero tycoon Shoto Todoroki. 

He didn’t need to speak. Simply leaning over to rest his chin on Izuku’s head as he held his lover by the waist. Sniffing the dyed locks he gets so lost he almost forgets what he originally asked. Or how Izuku doesn’t turn around to wrap his arms around his neck. 

Instead, Izuku leaned back, letting his head rest on the front collarbone of Shoto. He couldn’t share this most jarring discovery, not while his thoughts were still jumbled. When he finally knew how he felt then he’d tell Shoto, so they both wouldn’t make irrational decisions. 

A shame he’d forgotten how deeply in-tune his lover was with his struggle. 

The moment he realizes his Izuku is sleeping in he zeroes in on the exact moment for the shift in moods. Calling his covert underlings to retrieve the camera footage of the building. Unfortunately the cameras had been wiped supposedly taken away after the visit of some group in black suits. Thanfully his team was able to kidnap lightly apprehend a civilian with an undeleted video of the incident.

“So this is…them?”

As Izuku’s closest confidant for years, lending his ears to his romantic woes was a given. Already bonded by the intimacy that came with villainy it was easy to slip himself into his arms. Whispering in his ear and sharing each other’s breath, Shoto made himself the prime owner of Izuku’s heart. Or so he thought. He once tried to track you down before, fully prepared to use the family hitman to guarantee Izuku’s love. But Izuku’s smart, keeping you nameless and eluding Todoroki's covert operation team. 

But now that there’s a video albeit grainy he now knows who you were. The wife of Katsuki Bakugo, a position highly covetted by celebrities and teens. It seemed like a covert marriage considering official registrars had him married to some nameless character. But the video has you smiling, teasing Deku's mortal enemy. How dare you?! After putting Izuku through all that stress and dethroning him in Izuku’s heart. With a roll of his eyes he makes a call and it's with one thing in mind. 

To kill (Y/n) Bakugo.

Which would prove a difficult feat when half his team was out of commission or under arrest.  Needless to say he killed them before they could spill but your invulnerability was a problem. Somehow involved with some of the highest forms of government it was hard to know what your official title was or how you could so easily debillitate his team. But that wouldn’t be a problem for the openly vengeful Pyrodast who could easily put a bounty on your head. But alas the news didn’t even bother to cover the mysterious disappearances of the newest up and coming villains. Shoto Todoroki didn’t lose. Pyrodast wouldn’t lose. He couldn’t believe that. But he would say he was stumped almost completely losing sight of his original goal. Getting too caught up in a rivalry created all his own he committed days to locking himself away quickly shutting his monitor off when Izuku came to check on him.

“Sho-honey are you doing okay? Those bags under your eyes haven’t gone away yet.”

“Y-yeah I’m fine. J-just trying to tie a loose-end.”

“Well…okay.”

He digs his nails into his desk as he watches his love slink back out of his office. Alright, that’s it! He’s putting an end to this himself, he’s spent too many resources trying to take down someone who should have been a minor kill. So he suits up in the darkness of his office expecting to turn around and pull that green book on the far end of the–

“Well Pyrodast, it’s been a while since I’ve had a man chase after me so earnestly!”

Quickly turning on his voice modulator he whips around finally seeing the woman he’d been trying to kill for so long. Brandishing a glowing saber and wearing a latex suit under a stylish trench coat, your outfit certainly left much nothing to the imagination. 

“Hmmm are you here to return the favor?”

“Only half-way I guess! I’ve always wanted to fight against someone with the Todoroki style.”

Gritting his teeth from behind the mask, he felt the hiss of the recorder as he yelled. 

“I HAVE NO CONNECTION TO THAT NAME!”

“Of course not, the public doesn’t already theorize about your true nature at all!”

“GRAAAGH!”

The battle is intense and Pyrodast makes every attempt to burn you alive but your agile wuick and you use your weapon to cut through the titanium leather of his suit. All the while you’re laughing still flashing that stupid smile even as he slams your body into an adjacent cabinet. More times than he could count did you have him pinned and forced to endure your punches and infuriating flicks. By the time he was pinned down once again he was too tired to pull himself up, simply reeling at the controlled penetration of your saber into his bulky mask. 

Feeling the seering heat of the laser he’s fully prepared to lose his nose but immediately you retract your blade. Jumping off of him to skip to the door, you hum to yourself. Waving your fingers like a conducter would the crescendo come when the door is slammed open by Izuku himself.

“Shoto! What the he–”

“Oh my! I didn’t expect to see you! Let alone living!” 

Izuku’s eyes widen as he looks to you and the nearly unmasked Pyrodast heaving on the floor. Without thinking a blush comes over his freckled face and he begins to sweat.

“(Y-y/n)!? Uhm–I–ugh!”

You walk past him unknowingly filling his nose with your scent to have him unconsciously leaning in your direction. 

“Don’t talk to me, I don’t know how I feel about this just yet but at the very least keep your hubby in check? You can only replace limited edition glass china so many times.”

Speaking so nonchalantly, Izuku once again froze in his place, jumping to attention when Shoto was attempting to lift himself up. Running to his side he supports him as he attempts to angrily shout at you. 

“I’LL-Ack! I’LL k-kill y-y-ou–agh! ONE DAY-ugh!”

“Sh-Pyro?!”

“Yeah yeah just know I’ll be sending an invoice for the damages you cost me. Toodles.”

As suddenly as you came you left pulling the green book on the bookcase behind you letting yourself take the tube directly to Pyrodast’s office lair. With a gust of wind you're gone leaving the villains to stew in your wake. Shoto struggled to tilt his head up, wounded by the overwhelming blush and needy look on Izuku’s face. And In pain and sheer jealousy he screamed into the sound-proofed office.

“(YYYYYYYYYY/////////NNNNNNNNN)!!!!!!”

____

“You look happy, case go alright?”

“Yup the lead was on the money and I even met an old friend in the end!”

“An old friend? Friend or foe?”

“Hmmmm who can say…how was your day, Suki-cracker?”

“Usual. Real quiet. By the way, those ghost peppers you ordered came in!”

“No way! Gimme! Gimme! It’ll be my celebration candy!”

[wulvercazz]

🌊Young Fun💦

Previous~ Back with Open World and Thirteen, Marina and Atticus 🥰💕 This update is mosty smut btw lmao!

The sunset started to settle in the sky after a little stop by Marina’s home. Tortuga was nice and tired even after napping while they ate and the fish and seafruit Marina had caught earlier needed to be deposited in the reservoirs for fresh keeping; and her little brother would be dying to see her, if just for a few minutes, before he was put to bed. Marina walked out the front door soon after, all smiles as she met back with them and announced they were ready to fully appreciate the sunset together. It was a short walk to the shore, down the rocky sandy path straight from Marina’s to the sound of the waves. The humid air hugging them tighter the closer they got. No words spoken, only Marina smiling their way when all three came to a stop at the exact place where water licked the sand, excited for them to see the beauty they’d just described to them; as though Thirteen were about to open a gift. A little cheesy, more than a little emotive, Marina took Atticus’ hand on her right and theirs on her left. Everyone looking at each other expectant as the sun slowly started to reach the horizon, the warm yellows and pinks bleeding to violet and the light of the stars slowly blinking to life. And then the sun fully hides behind the sea, and an unnatural glow shines from the synergy of the sun and the night sky; barely the couple seconds that it takes for the sun to stop being visible altogether. Thirteen’s already gaping at the mouth, eyes wide and sparkling like the stars shine one them too; “wait, wait– here comes the best part!” Marina chippers their way, squeezing their hand as their whole attention turns back to the sea. Slowly, the water starts to earn it’s own colors; like the lights of the midnight market back in the forest, the coral and the fish slowly twinkle to life as the moon above becomes brighter. Ethereal light glowing from below the water and Thirteen feels their feet take them right in and until they get wet. Then a hand’s pulling them back and it’s Marina with that look she gets when she’s got something up her sleeve, “wanna go skinny dipping?” She asks all giddy, and Atticus’ eyes nearly jump out their sockets and his face burns up but, in his own way, he looks just as excited as she does; naturally, Thirteen says ‘yes, please’. The water’s warmer than they expect, calming the chill from the breeze and easing the ache from the day’s exercise; their clothes safe and dry on the rocky formations out the water. Marina and Atticus’ movements are as graceful as earlier, even on low water, Marina’s hair seems to never be too wet to get messy, and Atticus tail seems to follow the flow of the water so naturally it almost gets lost in it. Thirteen is almost too busy watching the lights to notice them kissing, until they get called in close. It starts as mindless playing, Marina exploring Thirteen’s body like she did the first time they met this up close; in wonder of the way the light shines in their much darker skin, unlike how it does on hers or her partner’s. Then everyone’s touching, and somehow they all gravitate towards a nearby rock to get comfortable and Thirteen ends up following Marina’s guidance in making Atticus mewl a little. Doing a little exploring for themself, on the lines and curves and light peach fuzz that seemed to cover his whole body, while Marina mouthed at his sensitive neck and scritched at his nape, her fingers drumming over his skin. Thirteen wouldn’t have done it on their own accord, not in this situation, but one look and one guiding hand atop their head has them catching on and kneeling between the cat-hybrid’s trembling knees. Shaky breaths and scaredy mewls out his lips when he realizes what’s going on, Marina’s hands and lips and words gentle and appeasing as Thirteen figures out what makes him purr.

It’s a nice length, soft yet heavy on Thirteen’s hands, and warm on the tentative tongue they settle the head on; Atticus gasping over so little. It’s encouraging. Thirteen wrapping their lips around his dick to suckle and swipe at the head while Marina traces his shaky abdomen and teases his nipples. Atticus’ thighs threaten to close on them at a particularly mean suck, so Thirteen rests on one to avoid being thoroughly crushed, and for their hand to better reach the base of his bluish cock, getting darker the more he’s teased; the harder he gets. Thirteen’s hands squeeze and pump at what’s not in their mouth, relishing in the little cries and the sudden jumps of his muscles as both of them tease and play him to their hearts’ extent. Confused when Marina leaves his side and whispers something in Thirteen’s ear; making them stop completely. Follows them with dazed eyes and a question hanging from his lip as Thirteen climbs all over him and Marina settles on his lap; nearly loses his breath when she sits on his dick. He gets the message when Marina holds on to Thirteen’s chest, balancing their weights on each other, and clamps his arms under Thirteen’s thighs and pulls them up the rest of the way to his face, drowning on their pussy while Marina tortures him with tiny thrusts and rolls of her hips; squeezing him with her warm walls and pinching at Thirteen’s nipples with her fingers. The growing waves drown out their collective cries, the pants hidden by the crashing of water against rock and splashing of their own movements, everybody’s limbs tingly and shivering with every rock of Marina’s hips jumping under Atticus’ hips rutting needy and fast, and his mouth working Thirteen’s cunt deep with a tongue raspier than they expected. Bullying their clit like they bullied his cock. Everyone blanks out one after the other, holding on for dear life to whoever’s at arms’ reach until the high of the orgasm lets them think clearly and melt into the water to chill out their overheated bodies. “I’m gonna sleep like a rock–” Marina chuckles between heavy breaths; standing on jiggly legs until Atticus helps her deeper into the water. Splashes his own face clean and smiles sheepishly, and nicely tired, at no one in particular. The chilling of the night breeze forces them out the water some time after, pulling them from quietly watching the glow beneath the waves; only breaking the peace to point at funny fish below. Everyone shivers a little on the way back, the dry clothes damping over their wet skin, less on Marina than on them – with the way her body seemed to repel water, that the growing winds were quick to cool with every hit.  It was easy to forget Atticus's family came from money, and then things like this would happen where his folks would send a servant to pick him up from Marina’s when it got too late, brought him a change of comfy clothes and a towel because they were aware of Marina’s antics. Aid Atticus begrudgingly agrees to, with some shame to his posture after a shy ‘it’s ok’ is not taken for an answer. Atticus would’ve rather walked back chittering cold, is what Marina tells them as Atticus’ fancy ride leaves, just a short walk away from Marina’s home. She knows he comes from wealth, and it doesn’t matter much to her, but Atticus would rather these little displays of it would be dialed down to nothing. Not that his parents would let that happen, they’re a bit overprotective that way; took them months to be convinced Marina wouldn’t lose him in the water.

When they enter Marina’s home, her parents are getting finished with dinner and about ready to put themselves to sleep; they welcome them, and ask their whereabouts. Marina lies with such surprising ease from someone so open; although it’s not like she lies completely, or that Thirteen would’ve preferred she told the truth. She tells them they showed them the sunset and the night glows, and then lost time playing with the water, it’s why Thirteen was so damp. They take it with a little grumbling from her dad, for being out so late, but he’s appeased by Marina kissing him on the cheek goodnight. Her parents have prepared a bed for them on Marina’s room, Thirteen wasn’t even sure where they’d stay the night, to be honest, but it’s clear they wouldn’t have allowed it any other way. Atticus and Marina both have something nice here, something warm and homey, it gets Thirteen thinking about family again; wondering aimlessly until sleep overtakes them.

sigghhh uwu I love lewding up my ocs and smashing them together like barbies lmao ✨ hope you enjoyed ✨

[celticbotanart]

the other day on bluesky I made one of those "1 like / 1 song" sort of post, and I decided to make all songs BR music to celebrate our BR community in there, and I decided to also put a brief description on each song to give non-BRs some context [LINK to the post on bsky!] Well, I got like 64 likes lmao so I made a playlist out of the post - here it is!

and to those curious, I'll also paste the context I gave behind each song, down the cut. BR music is SO incredible and so full of colors and variety, you guys should really give it a try 💚💛💙 I hope you like it!!

commission info | patreon | Ko-fi | VGen | bluesky

1. Caxangá - Elis Regina and Milton Nascimento Opening the thread with two of the biggest singers in our BR history, Milton Nascimento & Elis Regina (who has passed already years ago, unfortunately). They were best friends when she was still alive, and their synergy is out of this world, both with super unique voices <3

2. Domingo no Parque or "Sunday at the Park" - Gilberto Gil & Os Mutantes BR used to have these big music festivals back in the 60s, this is one of these performances. Gil is this larger than life singer, and Rita Lee,lead singer of Mutantes (RIP) was so full of energy too <3 This is a song about love and jealousy that ends in a tragic murder 👀 3. Construção or "Construction" - Chibo Buarque I'm only bringing the big guns to this thread lmao this song is NOTORIOUS for the way it was written, musically and lyrically. It's a protest song commenting about the BR dictatorship (1964-1985) in many layers. The orchestra here is insane, mimicking the sound of a busy traffic!

4. Faraó or "Pharao" - Margareth Menezes this song is iconic AF in so many levels!! Lots of African-BR influences, and Margareth sings about the golden era of Egyptian gods as a way to celebrate the black community <3 (pretty much a fast course on Egyptian mythology in the lyrics, no joke!) 🚨🚨🚨EU FALEI FARAÓOOOOOOO!!!🚨🚨🚨

5. A Vingança de Cunhã, or "Maiden's Revenge" - Pietá this one's about the boto(river dolphin)myth we have here(river dolphin turns into a man to seduce young women and leaves them after). Here the dolphin seduces this girl but she reverse-uno-cards him and he cant shapeshift anymore. Very pretty song full of BR folk instruments!💛

6. Malandragem or "Trickery"(???I guess??) - Cássia Eller time to show what BR music is widely known for:LESBIAN / BISEXUAL / WLW SINGERS lmao (I'm so serious!!) Cassia Eller (RIP!) had the most unique voice, and had such a great stage energy! This one is one of her most well-known performances in an MTV Acoustic <3

7. Nós or "Us" - Cássia Eller bc I can't get enough of Cassia, I'll add in another one from her, legit MY FAVORITE- a torch song with this flamenco-like sound???? It's just so cool!! And she showcases her voice skills even further here, she was incredible!

8. Vamos Comer Caetano or "Let's Eat Caetano" - Adriana Calcanhotto I love this performance bc this song is so fucking weird but also such a bop (and hard to explain, if anyone wants to try, be my guest lmao)

9. Veleiros or "Sailboats" - Ney Matogrosso singing Heitor Villa-Lobos this is a 2 for 1 situation, the song is performed by ICONIC BR singer Ney Matogrosso in an album of songs written by BR conductor and classic composer Heitor Villa-Lobos! I'm crazy about the entire album this song is in for real, it's called "O Cair da Tarde", I highly recommend it!

10. Bachianas Brasileiras n5: Aria (Cantilena) - Heitor Villa-Lobos and since we are at it, here's the most famous song by Heitor Villa-Lobos (I'm a Villa-Lobos stan ngl) Full on opera mode!! It's a beautiful aria, sang in BR-Portuguese <3

11. Choros no 10 - Heitor Villa-Lobos Another Villa-L just to showcase his range - last 2 I mentioned were very romantic / operatic w/ solo vocals,etc. This is an instrumental orchestral movement and here you can see how he mixed in classic European orchestra with our identity, using folk/indigenous instruments on the 2nd half!

12. Miragem do Porto or "Harbor's Mirage" - Lenine Perfect segue into this performance of Lenine my beloved <3 <3 He sings as if he's a castaway, dreaming of going back home. This version has a full orchestra, also full of folk instruments and influences. It's so full of energy even the conductor can't help but sing along! EASTER EGG TIME cause this version I described on bsky is not on Spotify, I had to use the album version on the playlist. So if you are A TRUE CHAD reading this, here is the version I described!

13. Preciso Me Encontrar or "[I] Need to Find Myself" - Cartola Cartola was the most important samba composer from the early 1900's <3 And YES! Using the Cowboy Bebop AMV someone made w/ it, bc it's so beautiful and I think it's so AWESOME how this song echoes through all culture and ages! And it matches CB's aesthetics so well!

14. Preciso Me Encontrar, Liniker cover I have to throw in this AMAZING cover of "Preciso Me Encontrar"; it's sung by Liniker, an incredible BR trans singer! Again, I think it's beautiful how this song resonates so much after so many years (it was originally released by Cartola in the 70s), and this video is just gorgeous overall <3 - ALSO NOT AVAILABLE ON SPOTIFY, here's the link!

15. Floral Fury - Cuphead OST Thread intermission - Cheating a little bit here, since this isnt composed by a Brazilian person afaik, but!!! I have to include Floral Fury here bc it's literally early 1900's samba! IT EVEN HAS A CUÍCA (the "straw through plastic cup sound" lmao), it's very accurate and ngl, it's FUN AF!

16. Um Girassol da Cor de Seu Cabelo or "A Sunflower in the Color of Your Hair" - Lô Borges / Clube da Esquina Clube da Esquina is formed by this group of singers from Minas Gerais (including Milton Nascimento from the first song in this thread!) Vocals by Lô Borges, it really has a melancholic, storytelling vibe to it,especially through the arrangement <3

17. Cantiga Por Luciana or "Song for Luciana" - Evinha Another oldie from the 60s I love so much, she has such a pretty voice ahhh<3 She's one of the "voiceclaims" for an OC I have (AME from my drizzle/LAND OCs!) Fun fact! Evinha was the one who sang the BR versions of the songs in Disney's "The Rescuers" (I'll link one next so you can hear it)!

Brazilian dub version of "The Journey" from "The Rescuers", performed by Evinha, from the previous post! Here, the movie was titles "Bernardo e Bianca", after the protagonists I legit think this is one of the best BR versions, and this animated intro in general is a freaking masterpiece. THIS BR VERSION ISNT IN SPOTIFY, HERE'S THE LINK!

Favo de Mel or "Honeycomb" - Milton Nascimento Speaking of BR singers in animations, I HAVE to link this one from no other than freaking Rio 2. It's "Real in Rio", that intro song from Rio 1, but a "sad version" of it performed BEAUTIFULLY by Milton Nascimento my beloved <3 I legit teared up watching the movie when this song came up. NOT ON FUCKING SPOTIFY, HERE IS THE LINK!

"Only a Dream in Rio - Milton Nascimento and James Taylor On Milton Songs That Makes Me Teary Eyed, this one which he collabed with James Taylor?? It's such a random, unexpected feat, but it turned out so beautiful! I think it's a good one to share in here, bc the song is sung half PT-BR, half ENG, I think it's rather appropriate for this thread <3

21. Fairy Tale - Shaman LEGENDARY live performance from metal band Shaman from the early 2000's, when their original vocalist Andre Matos (song writer, pianist, conductor; RIP) was still in the band. Here you can see why Andre was so, so beloved, guy was skilled AF and this song SLAPS SO HARD. BR IS SO AMAZING, GUYS (the version I mentioned above is the one on the playlist, HOWEVER I encourage you to actually watch the video of him performing!!

22. Carolina IV - ANGRA Still on Andre Matos, this is a song from his previous band, ANGRA. This song is part of a concept album where ANGRA mixed in metal+BR elements, you can say this is BR folk metal! The album Holy Land was all around the concept of Brazil, its culture, the colonization and so on. SO COOL!

23. Dança das Borboletas or "Dance of the Butterflies" - Sepultura and Zé Ramalho I can't talk about BR metal without mentioning Sepultura! So here's their cover of Zé Ramalho's song, featuring Zé in the vocals. This was used as soundtrack in the BR movie "Lisbela e o Prisioneiro" (a fave)(Don't be fooled by the butterflies in the title lmao)

24. O Matador or "The Killer" - Sepultura another Sepultura song for the soundtrack of "Lisbela e o Prisioneiro", I like that movie a lot. This is the theme song of Frederico Evandro, a character who's a badass gun for hire. I love how it sounds so metal but still so Brazilian!

25. O Encontro de Lampião & Eike Batista or "The Meeting of Lampião & Eike Batista" - El Efecto More BR folk metal! This is hard to explain w/word limit but TL;DR this song criticizes capitalism and colonization by corporations using the images of Lampião (BR historical figure) and Eike Batista (a real BR CEO); it uses lots of northeast BR influences!

26. Cílio or "Eyelash" - Casa de Caba YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IS IT ITS TIME FOR LUSO-BR PIRATE SHANTIES OK not really but this is how I see this song! Again northeastern BR influences + mention of Yemanjá (yoruba orisha of the seas, she's a big deity in afro-br religions!). If this isn't BR pirate enough idk what it is hehe

27. Arueira - Geraldo Vandré Another one in the "BR pirate shanties" list, which is kinda funny - is a protest song from the 60s and it in fact has elements in common with some sea shanties - CALL/ANSWER singing, it mentions how workers are suffering under hard work / a master,it even has nautical themes (sailors,sea,etc)

28. Canção do Mar or "Song of the Sea" - Dulce Pontes cheating a little again cause Dulce Pontes is a Portuguese singer, but mentioning all the "Luso-BR Sea Shanties", I had to mention this ICONIC performance! This is "fado", a melancholic Portuguese genre of music; I like to parallel it a bit with Irish keening style of singing

29. Canto de Oxum / Inscrição or "Oxum's Song" - Maria Bethânia still in the theme of waters! Iconic Maria Bethânia sings to Oxum, the orisha of fresh waters and beauty! Here in BR, we have afro-based religions that worships such yoruba deities, and we often hear songs praising them like this. The second half praises Yemanjá, deity of the seas!

30. Deixa a Gira Girar - Ana Mametto This one is a cover of Ana Mametto (og song by The Tincoãs released in the 70s), praising Iansã the orisha of the lightning and storms! This performance is so cool cause there's a dancer there with Ana, as Iansã herself dancing onstage + lightning sound effects. ITS JUST INCREDIBLE [LINK TO THE VIDEO!]

31. Vapor Barato or "Cheap Vapor" - Gal Costa and Zeca Baleiro this version of Vapor Barato/A FLor da Pele is everything. Gal and Zeca being fucking iconic for 6mins straight, this song is so melancholic, almost theatrical <3

32. Garoto de Aluguel or "Rentboy"- Belchior and Zé Ramalho it's easy to say Belchior (RIP) is like. Pivotal BR music icon. And here with Zé Ramalho they perform together in this song that's lowkey my favorite lmao, the tango vibes ARE STRONG and I love it so much!

33. Na Hora do Almoço or "At Lunchtime" - Belchior Another Belchior banger-it describes this young person talking about their family at lunchtime, and how everyone is so disconnected from another, "I'm still too young to be this sad", damn </3

34. Trem das Onze or "Eleven's Train" - Adoniran Barbosa ADONIRAN BARBOSA, PORRA <3 another super important samba composer~ In this one, the protagonist laments he can't stay with his love a bit longer, bc he has to go home and he can't miss the train that leaves at 11. The way the choir ends with a train-like sound, SO GOOD!

35. O Rei do Gatilho or "Cowboy / Old West King" losely translated - Moreira da Silva THIS ONE I SWEAR. It is a SAMBA THAT MIMICS A COWBOY/WESTERN MOVIE. But like, in a BR way of course. It's a pretty hilarious song with Moreira making different voices, it has sound effects of shots, horses running, applauses and so on, it's so fun!

36. O Vira or loosely translated as "Shapeshifting" - Ney Matogrosso Going back to Ney Matogrosso, I have to mention this one, the title kind of means "Shapeshifting"(as in werewolves)but it goes beyond that,it's hard to explain lol Ney has always been very out & about on genderfuckery and being gay so this song plays with that. a true icon Also THAT OUTFIT! 👌👌👌 [Link to the video so you can see his cunty looks!]

37. Rosa de Hiroshima or "Rose of Hiroshima" - Secos & Molhados / Ney Matogrosso on a more serious note,this is another famous song from Ney/Secos & Molhados (his former band). It's a tragic song where he lists the victms of the bombings in Japan, but in a very poetic manner BR and JP have history, so this is in a way our tribute to that sad event

38. Hinamatsuri / Se Essa Rua Fosse Minha or "Doll's Festival/If This Lane Was Mine" - Iuri Salvagnini speaking of BR/JP ties,this is one I found totally by chance and I'm SO HAPPY I did.This album has medleys of both JP and BR nursery rhymes. Se Essa Rua Fosse Minha is a very famous BR folk song and so ominous in a way, this version really reflects that!

39. Pegasus Fantasy - Edu Falaschi And speaking of which - ANIME TIME! Edu Falaschi, the vocalist from ANGRA that came after Andre Matos, was the iconic voice of Saint Seiya's first opening theme, "Pegasus Fantasy"! Saint Seiya was HUGE here in BR/Latin America in the 90s!

40. Descobridor dos Sete Mares or "Seeker of the Seven Seas" - Tim Maia Tim Maia (RIP) was like, a BR soul singer, his performances were all like this, full of energy with a big band and everything! (There's also this meme where ppl say this was supposed to be a Jojo's opening song, lmao)

41. Mania de Você or "Crazy About You"- Rita Lee and Milton Nascimento LEGENDARY performance of Rita Lee (RIP) and Milton Nascimento! A very sexy song, and their performing energy just brings everything to whole other level. It gets even better when we see Rita teasing Milton (around 5:33) haha <3 so cute!

42. Chuva or "Rain" - Gaby Amaranthos This one is kind of funny, but also kinda moving??? The lyrics are about the cycle of water -literal, textbook information about the cycle of water and how rains are formed At the same time she also sings "Water cycle is an eternal dance" which is such a beautiful way of putting it??

43. Ela Disse Adeus or "She Said Goodbye" - Os Paralamas do Sucesso I remember watching this music video as a kid and I loved it. It stars the incredible BR actress Fernanda Torres & the members of the band, all of them mistreating her character so badly until she just decides to kill them one by one lmao this song/mv still is so good!

44.Segue o Seco or "Draught Goes On" - Marisa Monte I also remember watching this one as a kid and being just fascinated by the video, it's legit a fucking masterpiece, the aesthetics and everything are very dramatic and theatrical. Marisa has such a GORGEOUS voice hnggg Still a favorite to this day [LINK TO THE MV!]

45. Ainda Bem or "Thank Goodness" - Marisa Monte another one by Marisão that I thinnk is so cool, especially the video, I love that's pretty much her just dancing with no one other than MMA wrestler Anderson Silva??? lmao so random but so cool!

46. O Céu é Muito or "The Sky is [Too] Much" - Lenine Lenine's heavy metal phase dkjfhskdjf jokes aside, I freaking love this one bc it's a bit different from his usual stuff (which I also really love). I think it's so cool when singers are so versatile and their voice will fit into any genre!

47. Matheus Embaixador or "Matheus, the Embassador" - Antonio Nóbrega Antonio Nobrega is an actor/folk musician that I really like. He plays rabeca (that folk violin he's holding) in his music as well! This goes into the BR Pirates Playlist thing for sure! hehe

48. Abrição de Portas or "Opening the Doors" - Antônio Nóbrega is a folk song / adaptation from Cantigas de Santa Maria, a compilation of medieval Portuguese poetry/songs! This one goes way back haha. And it really has the Royal Castle vibes to it, it's very Brazilian High Fantasy 👀

49. Bandolins - Oswaldo Montenegro This one is another mix of kind of funny with brilliant - Oswaldo wrote this song based on a friend of his, the song is really heartfelt and the last portion really GOES HARD with the vocals and harmonies holy fuck; but is also has some weird word choices lmao overal, it's a true bop, so dramatic!

50. Admirável Chip Novo or "Brave New Chip" - Pitty more BRmetal! This one was popular in the early 2000's and now I look at the lyrics like DAMN.She didnt have to go this hard-it has the obv ref to Brave New World on the title and she heavily criticizes consumerism and the lack of critical thought thats encouraged by capitalism??

51. Garganta or "Throat" - Ana Carolina Ana Carolina, BI ICON from my teenage years fr fr, I was obsessed. She has a very unique, deep voice, and her guitar skills are pretty insane, this one really shows all of that!! [The version in the playlist is the same as the video, BUT linking the video bc SHE'S SO BADASS!]

52. Eu Comi a Madona or "I Fucked Madona" - Ana Carolina lmao this song is what is says on the tin, Ana came out of the closed in the early 2000s as bi and ever since she has been VERY UNABASHEDLY BI and honestly good for her Iconic song for real kdjfhdkjfh [LINKING THE VIDEO OF HER LIVE PERFORMANCE. BECAUSE OF REASONS.]

53. Auroras Flamboyans - Sofia Freire I don't even know how to explain this one, Sofia has such a dream-like songwriting - she keeps saying things, listing them as if to paint an imagery, it's kinda abstract and so beautiful tbh. She also layers her vocals and plays piano for it, honestly just give it a listen, it's legit so good <3

54." Valsa Pra Lua or Waltz to the Moon" - Vítor Araújo absolutely gorgeous piano instrumental that's soundtrack to the BR movie Elena. I never saw the movie, but this song is soooo good <3

55. Espumas Ao Vento or "[Like] Foam in the Wind" - Elza Soares another version done for the Lisbela e o Prisioneiro movie (srsly that movie has SO MANY BANGERS in the soundtrack it's ridiculous). Elza (RIP) was another huge name in BR music, here you'll hear her iconic voice and singing style!! <3

56. Fixação or "Obsession" - Kid Abelha a song that's super relevant even nowadays lmao she describes the PoV of someone obsessing over a celebrity 24/7, how they keeps making up scenarios in their head featuring their fave. It really contrasts w the way she sings/the arrangement! I really like this version a lot ngl

Ragatanga - Rouge BRAZILIAN Y2K GIRL BAND TIME. Rouge was a girlband formed in a reality show, designed to discover "the next pop stars and form a pop group". Rouge was MASSIVELY successful, at least for a while. This one is their master hit (which is actually a cover from pop Spanish trio Las Ketchup)

58. Lua de Cristal or "Crystal Moon" by Xuxa and the Paquitas PERFECT SEGUE INTO XUXA'S MASTERPIECE lmao Xuxa ("SHOO-SHAH") is a former kid's show host and in the 90s she starred the Cinderella retelling movie Lua de Cristal. Big bop song, the movie not really,its kind of a cult for meme reasons lol the song is very Sailor Moon-coded too ngl

59. A Lenda or "Legend" - Sandy & Junior speaking of kid-oriented 90s pop music, I HAVE to mention Sandy & Junior, a duo of siblings that were super famous back then. A Lenda is definitely their best song, I non ironically still listen to it, cheesy-ness and all, it'ss dramatic AF dkjfhdkfjh

60. Sete Vidas or "Seven Lives" - Marcus Viana & Adriana Mezzadri this one was soundtrack to a historical period BR miniseries in the 2000s. It was composed by musician Marcus Viana (the guy playing violin in the Shaman video from before!) and it's sung by AMAZING Adriana Mezzadri, (actually Peruvian and not BR!) I LOVE this song, it's so good!

61. Sob o Sol or "Under the Sun" - Marcus Viana Marcus Viana also composed the ost for the absofucking popular 2000's telenovela O Clone! The songs were so iconic; the version in the playlist is the og version, but I linked this version in the thread, a version that's in Arabic! Lebanese singer Raya Hilal also sings the PT-BR version on the second half <3

62. Romance de Duas Caveiras or "A Skeleton's Romance" - Alvarenga & Ranchinho this is like. Old BR country/folk music and still hilarious AF lmao They are describing the romance of two skeletons in a cementery,how they go on with their...lives...death...?Until the day one of the skeletons ditches her skeleton bf over another guy(a fresh corpse lol). The video of them performing seems straight out of the Pixar movie Coco in every sense lmao

63. O Bêbado e a Equilibrista or "The Drunkard and the Tightrope Walker" - Elis Regina second to last song has to be Elis again! This one is a notorious protest song, really about hope and just waiting for things to finally be better

64. Evidências or "Evidences" - Chitãozinho & Xororó AAAAAAND LAST SONG IS, IN THE GREAT BR SPIRIT, EVIDÊNCIAS LMAO, it's a widely cherished song, but also kind of a meme, and everything in between. It's a cheesy love song in the classic sertanejo style (BR country genre), sung by Chitãozinho e Xororó, a duo of brothers!

[the-himawari]

A3! Usui Masumi - Translation [SSR] Letter Destination (3/3)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Masumi: (This place is huge and has a wide selection of products just like Madoka said.) (There’s so many different types of letter paper from their designs, sizes, and shapes. It’s hard to choose…) (Now that I think about it, the letter paper I was using before had a heart design. It really had a “love letter” vibe.) (Maybe that wasn’t the best choice…?) (…I’ll choose something simpler and more sophisticated this time.)

-pause-

Masumi: (…I feel like this one’s too plain now. Maybe I can make it better by sticking some trendy stickers onto it.) (Oh god, there’s too many types of stickers to choose from too…) (Ah… maybe something like this would work.) …A heart. (Wait, no…) (Come to think of it, the fan letter Director got also had a lot of different stickers decorating it.) (Like hearts, stars, flowers, and some kind of character…) (…I wonder if she likes things like that.) (But I also don’t want to do the exact same thing myself.) …*Sigh*. I have no idea what to do anymore.

Tsuzuru: Masumi?

Masumi: …Tsuzuru. Why are you here?

Tsuzuru: I heard from Madoka that this place has a great selection of books. Come to think of it, this place is close to your university, huh? Masumi… are you perhaps looking for a letter set for your letter to Director?

Masumi: …I’m lost.

Tsuzuru: (I think you’ve been lost for a while now, buddy…)

Masumi: I tried going with a simple, sophisticated-looking letterhead. But then I thought that was too plain, so I’d stick some stickers on it. And right after that, I got stuck picking out the stickers…

Tsuzuru: Well, you’re writing this letter to make Director happy, aren’t you? You, Masumi, should know even better than the fans on what to write and what kind of letter set would put a smile on her face.

Masumi: …

Tsuzuru: You should write a letter to make Director happy that only you can write and accomplish.

Msaumi: (A letter to make Director happy that only I can write and accomplish…) Something that makes Director happy… something that Director loves… …Ah. (…Okay. I think I found what I need.) …You’re nosy.

Tsuzuru: Huh?

Masumi: …Thanks.

Tsuzuru: I can’t hear you. …Well, that’s how you always thank us.

Masumi: ?

Tsuzuru: It’s nothing.

-pause-

Izumi: (Hold on, is there stuff in the mailbox?) (A community notice, a flyer from the curry shop I always frequent, and…) …Is this a letter for me? (Wow, there’s stickers of curry and Little Miss Curry stuck among the flowers and hearts!) Fufu, what an adorable envelope. I wonder if this is also from a curry restaurant? It looks like it’s handmade though… The sender is—“Usui Masumi”!? (Inside is… a regular letter. But it feels a lot thinner than the ones I’ve gotten before.)

*opens*

Izumi: “On the 4th, the mushroom cheese curry was full of mushroom flavour. But thanks to the spices and cheese, it tasted exquisitely delicious.” “I felt the synergy between the ingredients and the spices.” “On the 7th, the meat and beans in the chickpea keema curry had just the right size and texture to compliment the rice. It was so delicious, I ate 3 bowls." Are these his thoughts about my curry…? Ahh, what to do? I’m so happy…! (The last page says…) “Thank you for your delicious curry (and other dishes) as always. Your food and your smile make me happy.” “I love it the most in the world.” Fufu. Thank you, Masumi-kun. I’ll treasure this letter. …I suppose I’ll write him back a reply.

---

previous |

[littleguysreviewed]

Hello, World! And Hello, World Wide Web!

My name is Webdexter, and I will be your guide to the world of competitive Little Guys. The secrets of proper guy synergy will be yours, along with wonderful topics such as "What is the best way to utilize Splorpability?" and "What even is an eggplant?"

Needless to say, I have a lot of ground to cover. Stay tuned!

[dustedmagazine]

Styrofoam Winos — Real Time (Sophomore Lounge)

Optimism and levity are in short supply these days. This isn’t surprising; it feels like the world might unravel at any moment. Styrofoam Winos want to remind us that its okay to have fun and be a little silly. To be hopeful. On Real Time, the trio let their camaraderie rise to the surface, pushing cynicism and hopelessness aside in favor of enjoyment and jubilance. Like clouds basking in the warmth of the sun, the Winos’ country-flecked rock tunes take on pleasant, silver-lined shapes that drift along unhurriedly and unfold with protozoan fluidity. They draw us into a collective huddle, a group hug to spread conviviality far and wide.

Styrofoam Winos released a trio of videos to accompany Real Time, three exclamation points that highlight the album’s premise: here are three good friends enjoying each others’ company and having fun creating together. The short films are funny and smart, showing off a unit woven together tightly in song. On their self-titled debut, the Winos were a loose tangle of three independent threads, each imbued with a unique creative spirit. Their individual styles stood apart. On Real Time, the Winos have become a true band. The indie rock inclinations of Joe Kenkel, the cosmic boogie of Trevor Nikrant and Lou Turner’s folk-leaning balladeering bind together and form a mycorrhizal network. It sprouts a tripartite flora that blooms in the space between all three energies. They call themselves a “song Voltron,” which is a perfect description of their sonic comingling.

The Nashville-based trio serve up delicious vocal harmonies throughout Real Time, which heightens the sense of group synergy. On “Angel Flies Over,” Nikrant and Turner join Kenkel in a pseudo-round style as he sings about the magic that happens when friends get together. Elsewhere, the harmonies are more subtle, such as the soft vocal padding that Kenkel and Nikrant add to the lush ballad “Dial Tone” or the hushed call-and-response on “Tree is Brown.”

Styrofoam Winos switch off between guitar, bass, and drums, depending on which one is taking the lead on a song. They also bless each tune with subtle adornments that showcase how they’ve mastered their craft. A very understated synth slides beneath “Magic Mind,” which also features the subtle steel guitar work of Will Ellis Johnson, as Turner sings about playing “small ball with the moon and stars.” These small but effective touches accentuate the Winos’ overall aim of unveiling the mysterious energy conjured by human interactions. Friendships, relationships, and personal introspection are all deeply magical to them. Real Time is their prayer, their call for us to lighten our loads and bask in the warmth of our family and friend circles. Even if it’s just for a moment, let’s temper our worries with hope.

Bryon Hayes

[inventors-fair]

Unlikely Allies

Creature types have become a pretty core part of how Magic does flavor over the years, and they're clearly very popular. Everyone's got a favorite, and in an ideal world every single one of them would have its own distinct strategy and synergies. Problem is, there's just too many of them, and the number's increasing all the time! So, what is an aspiring designer to do? Well, often the answer is: mix and match!

Design a card that mentions multiple creature types in a way that supports all of them.

That's a wide field and a dizzying number of potential combinations, so let me give some examples. Historically, they've batched creature types together to unify them under a single mechanical umbrella (such as party with Clerics, Rogues, Warriors, and Wizards), to support types that don't have enough members to make a compelling strategy on their own (such as The Archimandrite with Advisors, Artificers, and Monks), or just to include additional types with a lot of thematic overlap (such as Silver-Fur Master with Ninjas and Rogues).

Ultimately, there's any number of reasons you can use, there just has to be a reason behind whatever combination you go with. You shouldn't be spinning a wheel to pick the types, there should ideally be thought behind why any given combination would go together.

Also, a bit of clarification on what I'm looking for with "support:" it has to be an effect that makes you want to play members of the type(s) in your deck. So, no targeted hate, no incidental mentions of multiple types such as with creature tokens, and no flavorful exclusions of types. Or at least, a card won't be eligible with just those things.

~

That's about it, though. Get out there and make some friends! -@spooky-bard

>>> Submit your lordliest Lords HERE! >>> Find your Kindred on the Discord HERE!

[litrpgburrito]

Spoiler Warning: This blog post contains detailed information about the essence types and confluences in the LitRPG series “He Who Fights With Monsters.” If you haven’t read the series and wish to avoid spoilers, please proceed with caution.

The Essence of Power: A Deep Dive into “He Who Fights With Monsters”

In the enthralling world of “He Who Fights With Monsters,” essences are the cornerstone of an adventurer’s power, defining their abilities and shaping their journey. These essences, made of pure magic, are categorized into five rarity ranks: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary1. Each essence is unique and offers up to five abilities, which adventurers can unlock through bonding rituals and Awakening Stones1.

Common Essences

Common essences are the most accessible and include a wide range of abilities. From the Adept essence, which enhances learning capabilities, to the Wind essence, which grants speed and agility, these essences provide adventurers with their initial powers. Other examples include Fire, Water, and Earth, each offering elemental control1.

Uncommon Essences

Uncommon essences offer more specialized abilities. The Blood essence, for example, is known for its healing and destructive powers, while the Dark essence is associated with stealth and manipulationLightning and Venom are other examples, each with their unique attributes1.

Rare Essences

Rare essences are harder to come by and often have more potent effects. The Moon essence is tied to intuition and mysticism, whereas the Star essence is linked to destiny and foresightCrystal and Echo are also part of this group, providing abilities related to reflection and sound manipulation1.

Epic and Legendary Essences

Epic essences, such as Rune and Elemental, offer powerful and often complex abilities that can significantly alter the course of an adventure. Legendary essences are the rarest and most powerful, with Dimension and Void being prime examples. These essences can warp reality and are often sought after by the most ambitious adventurers1.

Confluence Essences

Confluence essences are a unique phenomenon where the first three essences absorbed by an adventurer combine to create a fourth, unexpected essence. This new essence reflects the synergy of the initial three and often results in extraordinary powers2. For instance, the confluence of Blood, Dark, and Sin essences leads to the creation of the Doom essence, which embodies destructive and foreboding abilities1.

The Role of Essences in Advancement

Essences are not just about the powers they grant; they also dictate the path an adventurer takes. As one climbs the ranks, the choices of essences can lead to different specializations, alliances, and even conflicts. The series masterfully illustrates how these magical elements are intertwined with the characters’ development and the world’s lore.

In conclusion, the essences in “He Who Fights With Monsters” are a rich and intricate system that adds depth and excitement to the series. They are a testament to the creativity of the author, providing readers with a complex and captivating magical framework that keeps them engaged and eager for more.

The essences and their confluences are a fascinating aspect of the “He Who Fights With Monsters” series, offering endless possibilities for character growth and storytelling. As readers, we can only marvel at the intricacies of this magical system and anticipate how it will continue to evolve in future installments.

[demifiendrsa]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth details Kalm and Under Junon characters, playable Red XIII, synergy abilities and skills, more

"The Story So Far" Recap trailer

■ New Art

■ Regions of the World

The world is comprised of multiple regions, each boasting unique environments for players to explore and experience on their adventure.

Kalm

A halcyon hamlet kept safe from the outside world by a sturdy stone wall. Though it lacks a reactor of its own, it thrives thanks to a steady supply of mako piped in from the metropolis of Midgar, which is visible from atop the town’s famous clock tower.

Mythril Mine

A once-bustling mine that connects the grasslands with Junon. Though once prized for its rich mythril deposits, the quarry fell into disuse after Shinra developed a superior mineral of their own, and the miners that once worked its tunnels have been replaced with monsters.

■ New Characters

Broden (voiced by Mick Lauer in English, Shinshu Fuji in Japanese)

Owner and operator of the Inn at Kalm. He bears a grudge against Shinra, offering to help Cloud and friends escape their would-be corporate captors. His gaunt appearance may be due to his recent bout with an unknown illness.

Rhonda (voiced by G.K. Bowes in English, Rei Igarashi in Japanese)

Mayor and sheriff of Under Junon. Her home, once a prosperous fishing village, fell into decline after Shinra constructed a military fortress overhead and a deep-sea mako reactor offshore. Despite Cloud and friends’ status as alleged terrorists, Rhonda still allows them to pass through her town.

Priscilla (Voiced by Reese Warren in English, Rikako Oota in Japanese)

A cheerful young girl who lives in Under Junon, often seen swimming with the dolphin she trains. The offshore mako reactor has contaminated the surrounding waters, and Priscilla fears for the safety of her dolphin friend and other aquatic creatures.

Billy (voiced by Paul Castro Jr. in English, Yuusuke Shirai in Japanese)

Grandson of Bill, owner of a chocobo ranch in the grasslands. Having lost his parents at a young age, he and his sister were raised by their grandfather. This young ranch hand kindly offers to teach Cloud and company the ropes of chocobo wrangling—on the condition that they patronize his sister’s shop.

Chloe (voiced by Trinity Bliss in English, Hisui Kimura in Japanese)

Billy’s younger sister, she runs a shop on the ranch where she sells crafting materials and other curios. Warm and kindhearted, she engages politely with Cloud and company and is grateful for their patronage. At the same time, she is worried about her brother’s fixation on making money.

■ Combat

Red XIII

—Basic Attacks

Red XIII slashes at foes with his sharp claws. Hold down the button to unleash a wide-range attack that helps build ATB quickly.

—Abilities

Red XIII boasts a vast array of skills, from lightning-fast physical strikes to ranged magical attacks. Stardust Ray conjures an exploding orb of light that scorches all foes caught in the blast.

—Vengeance Mode

Block incoming attacks to fill the vengeance gauge, and unleash that energy to enter vengeance mode, enhancing his physical attacks and his evasive prowess. Siphon Fang delivers a powerful blow while absorbing some of the enemy’s HP—all without expending ATB.

Aerith

—Unique Ability: Ward Shift

Aerith can instantaneously warp to any sigils she has created, allowing her to move about the field with ease and maximize the impact of her magic.

New System: Synergy Abilities

Powerful attacks in which two characters team up to turn the tide of battle. More abilities will unlock as you increase the party level─ a numerical expression of how closely-knit your team is─and deepen the affinity between party members. Fill the synergy gauge by using abilities, then unleash a synchronized assault!

—Cloud / Tifa: Relentless Rush

Cloud launches Tifa toward an enemy to attack in tandem.

—Barret / Red XIII: Overfang

Barret sends Red XIII flying toward an enemy at high velocity.

New System: Synergy Skills

Two party members team up to activate useful abilities without consuming ATB. These commands can be executed while blocking, and provide a wide array of beneficial effects. Each pair has their own unique set of abilities; some deal damage, while others offer support.

—Cloud / Aerith: Spell Blade

Gather strength, then team up to unleash a charged magical attack.

—Barret / Cloud: Mad Dash

Team up to charge forward while guarding against incoming attacks. Activate in sequence to trigger a three-hit combo.

Summons

Setting summoning materia will grant access to the power of the gods. A conjured deity will follow the player’s lead and fight enemies automatically, but you can also instruct them to use special abilities. Before they depart the battlefield, summons will unleash one final attack that will wreak immense havoc.

Kujata

A bovine deity that charges around the battlefield wielding the power of fire, ice, and lightning. It throws foes with its enormous horns and unleashes magical attacks that strike even distant enemies’ weaknesses.

—Kujata bounds towards foes with reckless abandon and manipulates its elemental affinities to deliver magical attacks. Blazing Horn launches a concentrated burst of fiery energy at an enemy, blasting them back.

—Kujata unleashes Tri-Disaster just before leaving the battlefield, a powerful wide-range attack imbued with the powers of fire, ice, and lightning—sure to hit many foes right where it hurts and potentially wipe them out.

■ World Intel

Chadley enlists your help with deepening his understanding of the world. As you explore the various regions, you will uncover new areas rich with treasures and natural wonders. Data points accumulated in your travels can then be spent to develop useful new materia.

Protorelics

Protorelics are artifacts of unknown origin that emit a unique energy signal. These elusive antiquities are hidden throughout the world─but with the aid of activated remnawave towers, Chadley should be able to point you in their direction. Be warned, however: they seem to alter space-time, and are known to cause strange phenomena.

Materia Development

Assisting Chadley with his world-spanning research will allow you to accrue data points, which can then be spent to develop new materia. Some offer access to spells of multiple affinities, while others grant the use of unique abilities—all of which are sure to prove useful against even the most formidable foes.

■ World: Customization

Chocoboutiques

Chocobo ranches are also home to chocoboutiques, stalls at which you can freely customize and recolor your bird’s equipment from head to talon. Gear will impact its performance in chocobo races, so find an ensemble that suits your style and go for the gold!

■ System: Combat Styles / Difficulty Levels

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth offers multiple combat styles and difficulty levels for players of all persuasions.

Combat Styles

“Active” mode offers players total control over their characters’ every move, allowing them to execute advanced strategies. “Classic” mode automates characters’ basic actions, giving players time to focus on specific command selection.

Difficulty Levels

“Easy” difficulty allows people to focus on the story rather than battles, while “Normal” provides a reasonable challenge for most players. In the newly added “Dynamic” difficulty, enemies grow stronger as your characters do—perfect for players who crave constant challenge.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second game in the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, will launch for PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024.

[regaliasonata]

Power system updated - Ninja Storm AU

So the rundown, this is the chart of the powers system

Let’s start off with the outer layers

Energy Sources

-Ki is the essence of life, it flows from within and everyone no matter knowing of it has access the energy. Individuals practicing this can manipulate the elements and use ninjutsu techniques for various situations, it can be channeled when a person activates their aura which comes in different colors(Ex: Dustin’s being yellowish and gold with earthly dust, Kapri’s being pink with frost and icy chips). The power of Ki can also be amplified through the usage of Dynamo via its synergy with other people.

-Dynamo is the secondary source, mainly involving the expelling of the soul. This revolves around people’s secondary dynamic (ABO) coming into play with abilities and qi usage, it is a bit more difficult to master due to sensory overload but those being on part with using qi can do a wide variety of things, with this a person can use specific powers with amplifying their senses and performance with skills (Ex: the rangers doing team finishers or boosting their powers together). Also stronger if someone’s bonded with another person or cooperative(Ex: Hunter and Dustin in chapter 2 increasing the output of their elements together).

-Lotus, the third and most difficult source. This source originates not from a person but from the world itself, nature and world energy connected to everything and the elements. It is not really known much as practices of this have been inaccessible for a while, but legend does describe it as being extremely useful when mastered with the other two sources. This source is mainly utilized by the samurai and others associated in their affairs, ninjas are capable of accessing it but there’s a lack of information of the practice due to time scarcity and the dangers that come with abusing it’s power.

Elements and Techniques

Now when a person awakens their Ki this in return activates their elemental affinity, there are five main categories for these being Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Thunder. Though in a few cases some individuals may display having a unique element(Ex: Marah having Plasma and Kapri having Ice).

Some may wonder why there would be some other elements like Ice if Water has many uses such as solidifying itself but the thing is imitating that power instead of having it on its own doesn’t really give off the same experience. So in a sense Tori using Ice with her Water isn’t as effective as Kapri’s actual element of Ice, the same way with Hunter’s Thunder and Blake’s Lightning.

Techniques are the second basis to using an element as users are able to perform specific attacks and effects with these skills. Most being dubbed as [Element Release: ???], some tend to not be based on elements but can be used in a similar manner like the Iai move that Hunter has. Techniques can be learned two ways

-By teaching ones from the past that have been stored in books and old records, after gaining familiarity a person may end up adding some sort of unique structure to the skills to fit their own strengths.

-By making your own, a little harder as it takes more focus to really settle in a set form when creating techniques but this can pose as a good teaching lesson.

There’s more I have planned here but I’m not going to dump all that in one post, let it play out gradually.

@crxssjae @sentinelofstories @azurezfiction ✨👀👌🏾

[transgamerthoughts]

If I Should Die Here On This Field

I'm a big tactics game fan. Which is a little different than being a simulation or strategy game fan. The joy of a more simulation-heavy game comes from intense granularity over equipment and the wider appeal of high-level military strategy. Maps pull back wide, sometimes to the galactic scale if the setting demands, and there's a grand stage upon which your puppets dance. Tactics games, on the other hand, often spring joy from a very specific mix of sweeping sensibilities and smallter moment to moment perils. They allow access both to the gallantry of soldiers (particularly when it's knights and horsemen) while never shying from the ways in which battlefields grind that idealist interpretation into so much powder. In the best moments they dive into matters that many games often ignore.

Unicorn Overlord succeeds more with the gallantry than the politicking. It chases after numerous inspirations and while it never matches their moral or political complexity, the moment to moment decision making—not to mention a surprising addictive overworld exploration element—will be more than enough to please more players. The tactics are good! The grandeur is there! Sometimes that's all you need. I've been playing throughout my weeknights and a majority of the weekend. And while the game may yet surprise me with last moment twists (as is Vanillaware's habit) that's more than enough to get the gist.

So! Let's talk!

Unicorn Overlord tells the tale of the exiled prince Alain and his quest to retake the kingdom of Cornia (and really the entire conquered world) from the clutches of the evil Emperor Galarius. In some ways, that's all you need to know. You'll travel from nation to nation, each of which wears convenient hats like "the one with the elves" or "the one with the beastmen," and gather a host of lionhearted heroes to lead in battle. You know how it is.

I'll circle back to plot and presentation later because the core of Unicorn Overlord really is the gameplay itself. When you enter a battle and begin deploying troops, it plays like a simplified RTS; you will move units in real time and occasionally make use of war machines (ballista, catapaults, etc) to hinder approaching forces while sometimes building up points to use on more specialized abilities. Mages might place gravity wells that slow down enemies, Eleven troops conjure rain to heal allies over time or douse fires. You'll capture outposts and other defensive positions that confer various bonuses and protections. It's what you'd expect from the genre and the game does a good job offering a mix of map sizes and scenarios on this front. You might play a large defense mission based around placing traps and barricades in the way of an approaching force or face a necromancer type with a knack for hurling waves of troops you way.

This is contrasted with the smaller battles you'll face while liberating towns on the overworld map. You see, there's a pretty sizable map here with lots of secrets to find as well as towns and forts interspersed throughout. To liberate these towns (gaining access to shops and recruitment posts) you'll pay bite-sized battles on much smaller maps. These function a minor combat puzzles. How exactly do you capture a fort with two shaman and their gladiator bodyguards? Figure it out! Whereas story battles tend to throw complications when it comes to moving your troops or dealing with unique victory requires, these liberations missions focus on tactical knowledge and unit building.

Because Unicorn Overlord is an Ogre Battle clone. It's not Fire Emblem or even Tactic Ogre, where the battles involve moving each an every soldier and choosing their actions. Instead, you assemble a mash of soldiers into a unit that then automatically battles the enemy when the time for combat comes. It's about understanding synergies that lead to robust units as much as a matter of understanding "hey, your archers are good at shooting down gyphon knights." It's not quite my preferred tactics gameplay but it's also much more rare to have battles like this in your games these days. I've fond memories of Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber and while I'm sure there were games like this dancing at the margins of the genre, I really do appreciate that it's come back in a higher profile game.

The notion of troops automatically battling might cause certain players to chafe but Unicorn Overlord's not a game of random battles where you hope your digital soldiers perform as you imagined. You actually have a Final Fantasy XII esque Gambit System for determining how each character will act in battle. This is one of many examples of Unicorn Overlord chasing after Yasumi Matsuno's legacy and it's by far the best. You might not need this level of control in the early game but as you unlock advanced classes and face trickier enemies, there is a push to min-max performance. I don't think Unicorn Overlord is a hard game on default difficulty or even the more advanced "Tactical" option but the highest peak does ramp up combat to a point where micro-management is crucial. (As a tangent: the Story difficulty mostly seems to bypass the map navigation phase as it grants more stamina to perform actions without needed to pause troops moments to replenish resource.)

These conditional statements are where most of the depth rests. Unicorn Overlord doesn't have stat growths like Fire Emblem. It has dispositions that affect stat spread. For example, you can have someone who is both a "Hardy" type with high HP and a "Precise" type who enjoys greater accuracy. Recruitable units are not particularly different than your story characters; if you use an item to change a named characters dispositions to the same as a generic soldier, they will have identical states so long as they are the same class. My Alain will be, statistically speaking, the same as your Alain at the endgame presuming neither of us adjust his growth types. Which means that key differences in character performance will come down to what customizations we give our characters in the gambit system and the units we assemble. This might disappoint players looking to manipulate characters into the best of all possible arrangements but the upside is that all you really need to worry about is navigating the gambit system and assembling effective tactics.

Unicorn Overlord works best when you are solving those individual combat puzzles. Even the smallest tweak to your conditional statements can mean the difference between victory of defeat. There's an in game Coliseum with both NPC battles and the choice to fight other players' pre-assembled parties. Not only are the rewards great but it's maybe the best showcase of Unicorn Overlord's combat appeal. Dialed down to one single fight (where the goal is simply to come out numerically on top as opposed to wiping out the enemy entirely) the game shines brightly. There's some limitations here but the overall appeal is undeniable. The gambit system probably should have offered three conditional statements per line and lacks certain nuances such as the ability target a specific character in your party instead of specific classes but those are nitpicks. Gambits kicked ass in 2006 and they continue to kick ass in 2024. For roleplaying and tactics? It hardly gets better than this.

This is a lot of words to say that Unicorn Overlord plays far beyond the batting average of the story beats. This is a game whose yearning to emulate Matsuno is baked into every decision and that includes the plot. Which often tries gestures towards interesting character motivations and politcs without really following through. Some of that's baked into the "Unicorn" part of the title. It refers to Alain's signet ring which we learn (about in the first thirty minutes) has the ability to dispel the magickal brainwashing that allowed Galarius to perform the sudden coup against Queen Ilenia at the start of the game. There's some twists regarding the true nature of this magic but the result is often that many opposing characters are not motivated by important material and personal concerns. They're just evil and brainwashed. This immediately mars the storytelling potential and places it more on par with a game like Fire Emblem Awakening than Tactics Ogre. Which! Awakening is a very good game with a great sense of heroism. I wanna be clear about that. But Unicorn Overlord clearly wants to be in the latter category. It hasn't managed it so far.

I played Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together for the first time last year. I've actually been dying to write about it but my ability to write promptly has suffered over the last few years for a variety of reasons. I'll say: Tactics Ogre is the best game I have ever played. Part of that rests in the plot, which tosses all kinds of tough decisions at the protagonist and features a variety of characters from different factions fighting for different reasons. Matsuno is an astounding writer when it comes to understanding how his settings function and the material realities that can push even the best individuals down dark roads. Yes, some characters are irredeemably evil but many shift allegiances in the face of dramatic revelations or simply for selfish reasons. Tactics Ogre's script (and frankly its narrative design) displays a most astounding craftsmanship. I am constantly learning about characters I missed recruiting or paths I chose not to walk. It's an incredibly rich game.

I don't think Unicorn Overlord's quite as rich and that's entirely tied to the way in which is flattens its conflicts. It often talks about a grand history that is far more interesting than the status quo our characters are in. On the one hand, I get it. You want a story that allows the player to bop and weave around the map and readily justifies the sheer volume of combat challenges. On the other hand, while the setting has politic tensions woven into the fabric, they're very thin. This is mostly a game about the good knights fighting the bad knights.

Often is the case that you'll fight a lord hoarding food from his people only to find he was actually preparing for a famine. Yes, you fought that strange guy who was experimenting on people but don't you feel conflict killing him now that you know he was looking for a cure to the plague? Compare this to the agonizing choice players face at the end on Tactic Ogre's first chapter where they need to decide whether to help facilitate the slaughter of an entire town so that it might be presented as a false flag operation in the hope of uniting disparate resistance cells fighting against the apartheid state. That lone choice leads to two entirely different story paths, leaving ripples that affect the protagonist and the world. It poses a question of realpolitik versus nobility. Can you fight this war as an idealist or not? "There is blood on my hands," a title card declares. How long till it lies on my heart?"

Tactics Ogre is full of difficult choices like that and side stories that add richness to the character. Unicorn Overlord doesn't really have this. Or at least what it does have very often feels like a video game trick rather than something meanginful. There's little complication to the story and while there's time given to some character's individual motivations it is not a game concerned with tough questions even if I wants to convince you that it is.

It does, however, have pretty good moment to moment writing. Everything flows well and there's enough heart poured into the mix that while things are pretty superficial once you pull back your gaze, the story still proceeds with a lot of energy. Recently, gamer assholes went on a bender regarding Unicorn Overlord's localization after an amateur on Twitter created an extensive thread of differences between the English and Japanese scripts. There's been a string of anti-localization sentiment among certain gamers and in anime circles from folks who want things to adhere to the original language with strictness.

This, of course, shows a misunderstanding for what localization even is but rather than unpacking all that drama I'll just say: this localization is fine. It's fine! It's trying to emulate the approach of folks like Alex O. Smith and Joe Reeder. Which means there's a certain degree of purple to the prose but it's nothing you can cut through. Most localization flourishes aren't even that archaic; they simply toss in figures of speech.

A metaphor here. A fancy word there. It's well done!

I'm not gonna beat around the bush and maybe some assholes will find this and damn me for it since it's gonna sound haughty but I think you can boil pretty much all of the controversy down to the fact that a lot of gamers kinda suck at reading.

That's a complicated topic to unravel here. Over the last decade or so, there's been changes to how grammar and reading are taught in education systems that have radically inhibited some folks' ability to understand texts. I don't mean "understand the metaphor" or "understand the vocabulary" but rather understand the raw facts of what's happening. Combine this with a lot of culture problems and I don't think it's a surprise that localization has become a sticking point for a certain kind of cretin. And it also doesn't surprise me that this tempest in a teapot came side by side with similarly manufactured controversies.

I sometimes talk about the death of criticism in games spaces but we also just have… worse readers. Not just in terms of their imagination but in their raw comprehension. Unicorn Overlord's localization is not impenetrable and I don't get the sense that it's radically shifting the core action or characterizations at the center of the game. I don't think it particularly matches the games it is chasing after (shockingly many of these are localizations of Matsuno's games) but it's got enough flair that it gives the plot some spice.

That's a good way to sum up Unicorn Overlord. When you look at the ingredients, it's Meat and Potatoes tactics but there's a little bit of spice dusted on top which brings everything together. Be it the Gambit System pulling combat together or turns of phrase bringing the story to life. You're mostly gonna be bounding around the map in a very satisfying loop of battles and town upgrading before some larger tests in the main story. Not the height of the genre but still eminently enjoyable.

And let's be honest. For some of you? All I really needed to say was that it was "Ogre Battle."

[pokemon-fangirl-myth]

SwSh HC's I've had in the Vault for the past few years (removing various minor OCs)

Full Names

Leon Hart Eudios

Hop Astralis Eudios

Soren “Skyler” Griffin Eudios (The boys' dad)

Amelia Katharine Paganous (The boys' mom) (she use to be the major league flying type gym leader of Hammerlocke! :D)

Raihan Vouivre (Wyvern) Laburn (Laburn from a friend on the Champion Time Server)

Nessa Locke (hehhe loch ness monster joke)

Oleana Delila (I don't recall from where)

Malcolm Rose (I don't recall from where)

General Hcs (straight from my notes)

Raihan’s been all over the world, travelling seven regions before settling on Galar because its close to home and because he made the most amount of friends there

The process in which a new Champion is chosen if the current one dies or retires is complicated. They have to have a list of at least four trainers who they would recommend for the Champion position in such cases ready, and then those selected trainers would have to battle with the Gym Leaders and Elite Four (assuming that the people on the list isn’t a Leader or Elite)

Mustard’s successor was a Poison, Ice, and Psychic type specialist who hailed from Galar’s Tundra

Leon wrote down Sonia and Raihan as who would be the ones to take his crown should anything tragic befall him, but he also has Mustard on that list just in case

Ages: 12 (Allister), 14 (Hop), 15 (Marnie, Bede), 17 (Bea, Avery, Klara, Hyde), 20 (Sonia, Leon, Milo), 21 (Raihan, Piers, Nessa), 22 (Gordie)

Had the roles been reversed a bit, Sonia would've been Galar's Champion

That's due to Sonia being a potential Sword to Leon's potential Shield, the wolves choose people who were always set to be on even playing fields in terms of combat capabilities. But if there was ever a point where that balance is tipped over to the favour of one, then the synergy between the Sword & Shield together in combat would be disastrous

Kabu's Team when he was a lad: Pelliper, Relicanth, Vileplum, Dusclops, Altaria, Manectric, Linoone, Mightyena, Magcargo, Camperupt, Shiny Ninetales, and Blaziken

A lot of trainers generally have monotype teams due to the easier training, food, and care requirements

Marnie had a surprisingly normal Gym Challenge, outside of telling off Team Yell every now and then, she was pretty much just Vibin’

Isle Of Armor Hc's

Leon & Sonia both got a Kubfu but Sonia gave up too soon and Leon got lost

Sonia would’ve chosen the Tower of Water and Leon would’ve chosen the Tower of Darkness

Sonia thought that since she’s friends with Nessa and thus familiar with water types, it would’ve been easier on her to go through the Water Tower

Leon thought the Tower of Darkness sounded tougher, but after getting a bit too lost he decided that either would work but he would’ve preferred the Tower of Darkness

Raihan started his battle practice with Sandstorms in the Isle, which continued to happen once he found a place that would regularly have and be accustomed to Sandstorms (ex: the Desert in Hoenn)

Despite that, he caught his Tyranitar in Kalos and brought it along for his journey through Unova

Klara and Avery are siblings who hail from one of the settlements on the Tundra. To try and bring more fame and attention to their precious home, Klara tried to become a popstar and Avery tried to become a famous Psychic alongside some distant relatives

They quickly switched to try and become Gym Leaders once those goals prove to be too difficult, but after finding a more than worthy challenger in the MC & Co.

The Master Dojo is actually a multi-story building but also an extremely wide one, not as wide as most would except but wider than they think

When not used to be a trail for the one who has the Isle’s Sacred Armour, its a regular training building

But if one requests it, they can have the special training activated for them and a few others for a session

Mustard did use to be the Stow-On-Side Gym Leader, but that was years before Bea’s time so she doesn’t even know it until she visits the Isle for training

Hyde’s a teenager, he’s just really short

He half-assedly participated in the Gym Challenge and got his ass kicked by her in the Cup

Honey is still part of her old Company, but as a distant investor and consultant

Mustard only allows himself to go all out on Four trainers: Leon, Honey, Sonia, and Opal

Sonia doesn’t know that she’s one of them because Self-Esteem Issues

He adds Marnie, Bede, and Hop to this list once he sees their potential

He also adds Raihan when that boy finally becomes Leon’s official Rival, Piers when he finally finds confidence in his battling skill, and Nessa

Leon, surprisingly, didn’t get lost in the Isle except for the one time when he was going to the Tower with Kubfu, but that was due the raging Sandstorms

Sonia also had a Kubfu, but due to storm she gave up and returned it, no objections

Leon & Sonia’s starters are actually from Mustard, but due to someone pulling some strings, they got them as their first Pokemon

Leon’s capable of hand-to-hand combat, Sonia’s an expert on disarming someone with a weapon

Despite this, Leon’s a Shield and Sonia’s a Sword

They returned their Kubfu to Mustard because they felt like they failed

In another timeline, Mustard would give those two to the next Sword and Shield, to— Hop

In another timeline, Mustard would give those two to the next Sword and Shield, to— Victor

In another timeline, Mustard would give those two to the next Sword and Shield, to— Gloria

Mustard wasn’t the Champion Leon had to battle to be crowned, but Mustard knew that if Leon could match him— and eventually beat him— that that boy could become Galar’s Champion

Mustard’s lost partner Pokemon is not known by the press of current times, only Opal truly knows what it was. As does Honey. Some guess it was an Eevee, many more suggest an Eeveelution

The only way Sharpedo don't go after you while in the water is either to use a boat or have several water type Pokemon out and around for your own safety

Don't use red boats though, they confuse it for prey. Leon and Piers learned the hard way

Nessa refuses to train any of the Psyduck line because back in the Isle as a challenger, she saw one sneeze in a cave and released a bit shockwave that punted her to a wall and knocked her out

Honey terrifies everyone of the young Adult Crew (Piers, Leon, Sonia, Raihan, Nessa, Milo, and Gordie) as much as they adore her

Crown Tundra Hcs

Malcom was the one who always looked out for both of them, him and Peony, when they were kids so Peony could have a childhood

This, in turn, made Malcom a lot more serious and ‘mature’ at a younger age while Peony is a bit too naive as an adult

The Mayor of the settlement is Klara and Avery’s grandfather, who raised them alongside the settlement after he took them in after their parents died

Avery and Klara practically inhaled and ate up every piece of information they could find on the King, because he could make their home better, right? He could make it so their friends don’t have to leave with their parents to the big city, right?

Calyrex watched Klara and Avery grow up, the two kids being it only source of power for years, but then they left, not long after giving up on believing it’s ‘fairy tale’

That doesn’t stop the two siblings from trying to restore the faith in the lost King, especially after hear two kids younger than they speak vividly and furiously about myths and legends and gods

[careermantradotorg]

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[animehouse-moe]

I've been enjoying Shangri-La Frontier! To the point that I binged the entire manga! It's so refreshing to see a fantasy game series that focuses on the game aspect. One of my nitpicks for series like SAO is the world building and game mechanics don't *feel* like good video games despite the in-universe hype. Seeing Shangri-La Frontier is like seeing a love letter to all video games out there, from Dark Souls to MonHun. It's such a blast!

Absolutely! I'd definitely say it's one of the core reasons why I've been so engaged in watching the anime.

I think even more importantly though is how it balances the two "extremes" of video game series.

Log Horizon provides the extreme on the "low fantasy" style where the entire approach to mechanics and interaction is much more technical and high level, focusing on synergy, tactics, and planning. Then there's SAO which basically throws everything video game out the window and just makes it seem "cool".

Both series certainly have their spots, and Log Horizon is by far the more "true" video game series, but bringing things to that level can really alienate a lot of people who just like video games, which is where Shangri-La Frontier steps in.

It's got a really strong balance between game mechanics and action choreography where you understand that there's cooldowns and moves and whatnot, but that they fit rather naturally into the grand scheme. A similar thing can be said about stuff like the guilds. There's PKers, specialized clans, the dominating power clans, etc. etc. It presents a very wide world without making it nauseating or slow to the viewer, which works great.

And the last bit about game references, it's definitely very fun to see them being made! My personal favorites are the FFXIV monsters that are included.

It really just have the right amounts of everything to appeal to anyone that likes video games, and I really wish more series were able to find that middle ground.