#the rune... i haven't actually used that one in game

[theinstagrahame]

One of the best things about Crowdfunding is, stuff arrives even when you're cutting way back on spending. A *ton* of stuff arrived in the last month and a bit. Got a bunch of really neat projects in, and it's time to get hype about it!

Why these games rule, under the cut

The Revenant Society: Banana Chan is one of those names that immediately catches my attention when she's on a project. Actually, looking at the list again, the team for this game was stacked, it was a real All-Star Cast. But like, even without the powerhouse designers on the case, this just gets all the things I want in a game: Time loops, murder mysteries, trapped on the Underground. A PbtA game where you solve your own murder is, y'know, a pitch that'll attract my attention.

Hellwhalers: I saw this game coming up through design phases in the Plus One Exp Discord, and it sounded incredible. Using tokens and an old ship betting game, you're part of a whaling crew chasing Moby Dick into actual hell. Maybe Ahab wasn't crazy after all, and maybe we won't survive.

Xenolanguage: I might own everything Thorny Games makes now, because they make games about language. Folks who may not know me might not know that I *love* linquistics. Honestly, if I could repeat college, I'd put more of my time into Linguistics. But due to the linear nature of time, I'll settle for playing games about decoding alien language in a first contact situation. Sorta like that movie Contact. Which, I loved.

Mothership and Desert Moons of Karth: I read through the original version of Mothership a couple of years ago, and it's one I wanted to get more into. When I saw that there was a chance to pick up the full 1e boxset on KS, I jumped. I've also seen tons of people talk about Karth as a really awesome sandbox module for the system, so when I had a little cash on DTRPG from selling books, it was an easy pickup.

Inscrutable Cities: Possum Creek Games told me to back this, so I did (this is a joke, but I do love PCG a whole lot). In reality, I saw Inscrutable Cities on Itch a while ago, and the pitch grabbed me. I love reading solo journaling games (I still haven't found a way I like to play them, if I'm completely honest, but they're really neat reads). Walking through an impossible city is something I'd love to do, so, I have the book for it now.

Reap: Spencer Cambell makes bangers, and bangers only. I'm not *not* on a mission to collect all of his work, but Necromancers? Solo tactical board games, built on Rune? Sure. I'm in.

Luna: Spencer Campbell makes bangers, and bangers only. I also picked up another of his books this month. The Nova universe? Moon cultists trying to destroy the sun? Sure, I'm in.

3 Moonlight on Roseville Beach zines: I played Moonlight on Roseville Beach on my now-defunct podcast, and it's a game that I honestly think about a lot. The dice system was complicated, but in a really neat way that gave the players a ton of really interesting decisions with every roll. What part of my action succeeds? What kinds of complications am I opening myself to?

Anyway, R. Rook put together some characters, mysteries, and monsters for the game, and I really wanted to explore more.

Hiria, In the Margins, A Visit to San Sibilia: I mentioned earlier that I like the notion of exploring weird cities, right? Well, here's two games about that, and a cool bookmark RPG for reading. I listened to San Sibilia played in an episode of Friends at the Table, and it really captured my attention. The questions were fascinating, and they let the players flesh out a city we'd only heard of, but not seen prior to that game. It was a cool coda on a really fantastic and weird season, Sangfielle.

Grandmothership: The title alone had me, but Armanda Haller is a creator I keep an eye on, because she makes really rad stuff. This caught my attention because solving mysteries in a weird, Mothership-esque sci-fi setting, as nosy grandmothers, really just, gets me. I want to do that. I want to live that.

Holdfast Station: I've been watching Stonetop develop through its email updates. It's another PbtA game, but with a robust city-building and city development core loop that, is 100% my jam. (Low-key, one of my favorite games is Dragon Quest Builders 2.) This game takes that concept to space, which is 1000% my jam, in fact.

Spectres of Brocken: Aaron Lim is a designer I got into early on in my foray into games, and I do love Mech Anime. I am eager to see his take on Mech Anime, and I am really intrigued by the way this game handles playsets and worldbuilding as part of the game itself. Really can't wait to dive into this.

Lay on Hands: This is another of those games I've heard about, but never actually checked out. I know Alfred Valley better by reputation than by direct experience, but this is one of those games I hear people constantly telling people to check out. So, I'm gonna!

Penumbra City: Maybe 5 years ago, I read a novella by Margaret Killjoy about anarchists living in an abandoned city, and beset by assholes within their community, and supernatural horrors from without. The world kinda stuck with me, so when I saw she was working on an RPG not in the same world), I was curious to see what that would look like. I haven't cracked Penumbra City open yet, but I'm jazzed to do so.

These two fell off the pile for the big photo, so I forgot:

Deathmatch Island: I enjoyed the Hunger Games and Battle Royale movies a pretty moderate amount, but what really caught my attention here was the promise that players could also break the Reality TV Parody. The use of the Paragon system also caught my attention. After hearing one AP of Agon, I really wanted to see how that would translate into this, and it didn't take me too long reading it to go "Oh, okay, this rules."

Our God is Dead: What if you were a paladin or priest of a faith, and you found out your god was dead? What if you also had like, a bunch of people who really needed that god not to be dead, like this weekend? This sounds hilarious, and I am going to insert it into conversation often to see if people want to play it. Apologies to people who know me.

Eagle eyed viewers may have noticed a second Mothership box. What's that about?

It's a storage box for all my Mothership Zines so far... Except the two that are just slightly too big!

And, some fun comics/graphic novels:

Good Boy Paws: A friend of mine in comics put this together, and it looked extremely cute. A sweet tale of a good boi.

Wine Ghost Goes to Hell: Picked this up because the creator had contributed to Bugsnax, which is a game I enjoyed, and the concept seemed fun. Will have to check it out and report back!

[maranull]

Melina theory

I realised that while I've been rotating her character in my head on the daily for a year straight, I haven't actually wrote a proper theory about her. So I'm remedying that fact.

What we know from canon:

Melina is Marika's daughter.

Was born under the Erdtree.

Was given a specific purpose by her mother (Marika).

Wields unknown Erdtree incantations.

Wields the Blade of Calling.

Her moveset is very similar to that of the Black Knives, down to how she runs.

Holds/Held the title of the Kindling Maiden.

Has no body.

Her spirit form is filled with burn scars.

Can't move away from Torrent outside Leyndell.

No character mentions her existence.

At the FF ending, her right eye fades and her closed eye opens.

What I think it's safe to assume:

Melina is part of the three youngest demigods. All three of them have butterflies associated with their specific powers/characteristics. And their names follow the same pattern the Carian trio of demigod kids have.

Had some training under the Black Knives.

Has great knowledge about Marika's speeches and intentions towards the world and her children. In other words, she spent some time close to Marika.

The purpose she resolves towards, after we get her to Leyndell, is that the world requires repair, and for Death to become part of life once more.

She deeply loves the world and the creatures in it, despite the current state of it.

At the FF ending, her right eye turns blind and the left one looks very similar to the Beast Eye we get from Gurrang/Maliketh. At that point, she has taken control of the Rune of Death.

~

Knowing the above, there are some questions that arise.

Question no1. What was the purpose she was given by her mother?

I think it was the same as the one she resolves at while in Leyndell. Her first title was that of the Kindling Maiden, as per the Blade of Calling's description. (x) And Enia notes that to burn the Erdtree we need to "...find kindling." and that "...a sacrifice is needed. Of one who envisions the flame." (x)

I don't think the repeated use of the wold kindling is to be ignored here. Even Melina herself refers to her ability to be just that: "Think not, of the kindling. I shall see to that..." (x)

At the start of the game, when she's on her own (part from Torrent) and having no one to take the throne after she burns the Erdtree, she has become uncertain that her purpose is true. Having the Tarnished and seeing that to get to Marika the Erdtree must burn, she resolves into following her original purpose, but now on her own volition. Possibly adding her own desire that true Death returns to the Lands in the upcoming era.

Question no2. Why is she burned and bodiless?

I had my own theory for a while, but since then I've read one that I agree much more with, so I'm only writing that. The theory I've read and adopted, is this:

As the kindling maiden, she was birthed/created to burn the Erdtree. That's something that the Golden Order wouldn't take kindly on. The theory goes that she was found by the magisterial officials of the Order, was arrested and then burned as punishment. This is based on where we find the Blade of Calling and on the fact that an Official's Attire is found right outside the room. And if the timeline of Melina's burning coincides with Godwyn and Ranni's "deaths", that gives even more reason for Marika to straight up shatter the Elden Ring instead of slowly trying to subvert the Greater Will.

Question no3. What's her connection with Destined Death/The Rune of Death?

Really not that much. She mentions Destined Death/The Rune of Death thrice, with only once actually having it in her possession.

1.

"I have long observed the Lands Between. This world is in dire need of repair... and Death...indiscriminate..."

As Marika removed the Rune of Death from the Elden Ring, true Death is missing in the Lands Between. This first time Melina refers to Death, it is as something that's missing and needs to return to the world. (x)

2.

"The one who walks alongside flame, Shall one day meet the road of Destined Death."

Again, this mention of Destined Death doesn't relate to her. The Tarnished is the one that actually meets Destined Death, i.e. Maliketh wielding it. So I think it's safe to assume that the "flame" is herself, especially with all her connections to fire (her being "kindling", the butterflies, her burn scars). (x)

3.

"Lord of Frenzied Flame... I will seek you, as far as you may travel... To deliver you what is yours. Destined Death."

Finally, this is the only time Destined Death is in her possession and actually connected to her character. (x) And I believe it's safe to assume that the Beast Eye she now has is used as the catalyst for it.

To summarise, her connection to the Rune of Death/Destined Death is that she wants it returned to the Elden Ring and that she takes and wields it at the FF ending.

Question no4. What's up with her eye tattoo?

This is purely speculation, but I think it's a type of marking that all Demigod spirits have. This is solely based on the fact that Ranni has a similar marking. They are the only Demigod spirits we meet and that relation is all we really have without going into headcanon territory.

It has been suggested that the markings are the same with the Beast Eye, but the Beast Eye "scars" are three curved lines, with one of them breaking into two at the end. Melina's tattoo has the additions of a horizontal line cutting them and another anchoring line passing over her eyelid and ending close to her nose.

Question no5. Why does she have Torrent? And why does she need him to traverse the Lands outside Leyndell?

I think Torrent was given to Melina by Miquella, when the later settled down at the Haligtree and didn't have a need for a horse anymore. (I also believe Ranni was given the Spirit Calling Bell for the same reason.)

Torrent is a "spectral steed". Both a spirit himself but also somehow able to transport other spirits or spirit-adjacent forms, such as Melina.

As to why she can't leave Leyndell on her own, I think all spirits are restricted from going too far from their place of death. Lattena and Aurelia both need us to transport them where they need to go, and Aurelia was already traveling with Roderika before we took her.

To summarize:

Melina is Marika's daughter, sister to Miquella and Malenia, born/created to burn the Erdtree, trained by the Black Knives and hidden from everyone. Before finding the Tarnished, she roamed and curiously observed the Lands Between. Her goal, after we get her to Leyndell, is to fix the current state of the world and to return Death to the Lands Between. In order to do that, she resolves to do what she was made to do — which is to burn the Erdtree — but this time of her own volition.

~

I tried to steer clear of pure headcanons, but yeah. This is how I see Meli in game.

Also, I'm mentioning this cause I know I'll have to deal with it otherwise: I'm aware of the GEQ theory and it does not interest me. In case anyone had a point to make about that, don't take this the wrong way, but feel free to make your own post and leave the GEQ out of mine.

If I figure out anything else, I'll add it with reblogs.

Thanks for reading all of this!

[frenchgremlim1808]

A collection of every one of my drawing from the whiteboard since it's gonna close! PART 2

So this will divided in arcs since a lot happened there and it was really fun, like , thanks to @daily-teki for the whiteboard and also to everyone who participated it was fun! So here are all my drawings and arc from the whiteboard. yes this is the part two since i drew a lot, first part is more general this focuses more on kanna!

HUNGER GAMES AU

KANNA!KANNA!KANNA!KANNA!KANNA!

CREATION OF THE RAT ARMY

So me and janice had a discussion has two fellow rats, and i realized that janice didn't have an actual title, but like they have a kanna blog, also go check them out if you haven't they are cool. So i decided as the Rat lord to knight them as the title of Marquess Mac'n'cheese. So here is us!

then came kaory or know here as @reahustar , came on and wanted to become apart of us, so we gave her a name too. She became the Champion of Roses and well she drew herself too.

so then we kinda just drew ourselves !

also the last in the last drawing none of us drew ourselves, it can be seen by the art style, just as the drawing where i drew kaory champion of roses

and then finnally came the last rat of the day, @runetallem or nagito komeada looking ass in my book, they came and i gave them a name as always, they were knighted as the the Knight of Mouses!

(the first drawing on the left is rune drawing the one on the right is mine)

so yeah we have now expanded the rats army, also i forgot but to anyone who doesn't know what a rat is, in short a rat is a silly names for kanna fans.

so yeah it was fun! really cool

[theeeveetamer]

Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (extended thoughts)

@saficswrites asked me to go a little more in depth and I've actually been planning on talking more in depth anyway, so this is a good opportunity! I'm also going to throw in some of the resources I used while playing because there's a lot of great ones but they're kind of scattered.

So I will start by saying that I started on the series with RF4 back when it originally came out for 3DS and I played the heck out of it. Like, tried taming every single monster in the game levels of played the heck out of it. I've since played all of RF1, RF2, most of RF3 and RF5, and now RFToD. I chose to go back and play 1, 2, 3, and ToD after RF5 was announced. The only one I haven't touched is Frontier.

And yeah, Tides of Destiny does have some quirks and I can see why some people don't love it as a Rune Factory game. Just starting with some of the criticisms (because they lead into one of the things I actually really like about the game): The farming is very pared down and it's entirely reliant on the monsters you tame. Basically you just plant generic seeds and the monsters you put on the seasonal island determine what they grow into. Different monsters can grow different things.

That is somewhat annoying because you can't see what the monsters are called or what they plant before you tame them, the game doesn't really give you a clear list of everything you can plant, and you only get to tame 30 total so you're going to be doing a lot of swapping. It is possible to get everything with some planning tho (I borrowed the monster setups from this GameFaqs thread).

That said, I personally kind of prefer this? Micromanaging the farming has always been my least favorite aspect of the Rune Factory games. In Tides of Destiny you don't have to worry about that. There's no watering, no harvesting, no spreadsheets keeping track of exactly what seeds you need to buy, and the crops grow so fast (most are done in 1-2 days when you have your monster friendship maxed out) that you don't really feel the randomness. I'm in summer of year 2 and I've already got a storage full of full stacks of basically every crop in the game. That means you can focus 100% on the exploration, dungeons, making friends, etc.

And the exploration is. My god. I love it. It's basically if you threw Rune Factory and Legend of Zelda Wind Waker into a blender. For reference, Wind Waker is one of my favorite Zelda games ever so that colors my impressions of the game. The exploration is 100% riding around through the ocean on a giant golem, fighting giant monsters, and digging up islands and salvage points. The quests usually point you toward specific islands to unlock and there's no point where I felt like I needed an external tool to explore, but if you want help someone made an excellent, detailed map of the stuff you can find in the ocean. You also eventually unlock a fast travel and there is a way to speed up getting from point A to point B, so I never felt like wandering through the ocean was too intrusive.

I also really, really, really like the characters. Each one has a little required "friendship event" you need to watch to unlock their next friendship level, and each of the main island inhabitants has at least 6. All the friendship events are connected to a little character arc which is completed with level 6. The bachelor/ettes get an additional 3 event arc if you unlock their love events as well, though you can't access that until after the main plot is over (and gender locked unfortunately). And there's actually a reason to get them up to the max (level 6) before the endgame, since you get a benefit in the final boss battle.

IMO they're all just really likable, funny characters. Some of the events actually made me laugh out loud, and I was usually smiling the whole time any of the them were talking!

I also really like they way they handled the main characters (Aden and Sonja). The plot of the game is that Sonja gets trapped in her childhood friend Aden's body, and the story is about figuring out how to separate them again. You can play as Sonja once they're separated at the end of the main plot, but you do have to do the entirety of the main story as Aden. Initially I was kind of miffed about this, since I vastly prefer playing as female characters in games, but I actually really like how they did it. For two reasons.

One, I just really like Aden as a protagonist. I was expecting him to be kind of the goody two-shoes amnesiac like a lot of Rune Factory protags are, but no. He's sassy as hell. There was at least one point where one of the characters (I think Joe) is like "hey buddy ol' pal" and Aden is just like "Yeah we're not friends sorry you thought that tho."

Two, initially I was thinking that the whole "my best friend is living in my head" thing was going to be some secret they kept. Like Sonja was going to be there, but she was going to be quiet most of the time or not really interact with the world. But no. The first thing that happens is the obligatory RF starter girl (Odette) finds Aden, and the first thing out of his mouth is "Sonja is stuck in my head, isn't that weird?" and EVERYONE just goes with it. I love it. They really lean into the wackiness/silliness of it all. Sonja is very present in the dialogue and the plot. On her birthday characters wish Aden happy birthday to pass it along. The writing frequently plays around with the dynamic of them being stuck together (such as the two of them arguing over how Aden is going to take a bath), and they frequently swap off in dialogue and give different perspectives. They each kind of have their own relationship with the various characters around town. Most of the friendship events feature both of them in some way. It's also really nice how they'll talk to each other throughout gameplay. They'll say good morning to each other, Sonja will warn you when your health is getting low or what time it is, etc.

Despite playing as Aden (physically) I really feel like you're actually playing as both of them to some degree, and I really like that. It actually feels kind of lonely once they split at the end of the main plot and you don't get Sonja's little quips in your head anymore.

I think those are the big things. There's also lots of little things I enjoyed. I love the aesthetic of the world, and the gameplay systems relating to RP management and stuff are much more refined than the older games. I'd say the only mane difference between it and RF4 is that swinging your weapons still costs RP. The crafting is a little annoying until you get the hang of it (you can craft anything up to 20 levels higher than your current level, so it doesn't suck to grind too badly). There's a bizarre amount of spelling errors, which isn't super intrusive but it is kind of funny lol.

On the negative side, the story is pretty short. You can easily beat it in less than one in game year if you're rushing. I'm also not a huge fan of the main story needing to be 100% completed before you can do marriage and the like, since the game is basically done at that point. I don't think there's much post-game other than the goals you make up for yourself. I do think playing as Sonja was a bit of an afterthought. She has like a quarter of the romance options Aden has and there's some odd mistakes I've noticed playing as her (like trying to knock on Sierra's door while she's asleep will have Sonja saying a line about how the bath is closed ???) but it doesn't bother me too much so far.

Those are pretty minor negatives though. I still had (and am having) so much fun with the game!

I also heavily used this website as a guide. The only thing is that I wish they had pictures of the monsters because I think they have slightly different names from the rest of the series, and it can be confusing cuz some monsters have different colorations and therefore do completely different things.

[lucisunderwitch]

Welcome to the (non) official

BLOG!!! (For short LUW)

This AU is my own idea. There may be some questions you may ask yourself, but first let me explain what this blog is for.

This post is the main one, I recommend checking it if you're new to this AU. Here I'll post everything Luci's Underwitch related. Or almost everything. I'll try. (I may have missed some art from my main acc, it is @artsycrow46)

Also, if you want to ask any character anything, on @lucisunderwitchasks you can ask them! Edit: The account was deleted and moved here(i have way too many accounts so I need to do some cleaning from time to time)

Let me give you a brief explanation of the AU. Luci's Underwitch is an AU where all monsters are actually humanized, being called Witches. Frisk is 12 during their travel around the Underground, doing the Pacifist Run, and in the end, accepting the job as the ambassador of Witches, but going 'home' to their dad. Chara fallows them pretty much everywhere, and likes Frisk very much, being besties.

Now several months fast forward, Frisk lives with the Dreemurr Family. Asriel (11 y/o) and Kris(5 y/o) are their siblings, and Toriel takes care of all of them, dating Sans (mhm, I'm one of them Soriel shipers).

Ten years later, Frisk and Asriel are at college, and Kris found out about the Dark Worlds!.. The year now it's 2025, and Kris with Susie are now at their homes, waiting for their siblings to come back from college for Easter! Scarlett is one of Frisk's best friends, maybe even more than friends! And Asriel is still single since he's autistic as fvck.

Toghether, Frisk (with Chara ofc), Kris, Asriel, Susie and Ralsei are going into a steampunk adventure in Frisk's closet.(all of this is happening after Chapter 2. I am going to play the next Chapters when they're out, and add them to another fanfic)

Under the cut you'll have more, and at the end there will be the questions.

'kay, the explanation wasn't that brief. I am going to make a comic about it, but I am still learning about how to draw perspective and hair sooooooo y'all won't get this soon.

I have two fanfics on the way with this AU, and a third one might appear after I finish the second.

The main fanfic is called Lost Souls, The First Part explaining different events from Frisk's life after they got out of the Underground, and The Second Part is going to fallow the two humans into the closet adventure! (The closet has nothing to do with lgbt, but the fanfic surely has a bunch of lgbt in it)

I might upload several chapters in a day, or forget about it for weeks. If anyone wants to read more and I haven't uploaded a new chapter in a long while, uhhhhh tell me? (My dumbass my forget fast)🫡🫡🫡

The link to it? I might add an AO3 link too after I figure out how to use that website-

The second fanfic is called Underground Adventures, fallowing Frisk trough the Underground. This one will be out all at once, not by parts, so it's no worth to put the link here.

Now the third fanfic. It's going to be called Runes And Adventures. It's going to be abt Kris in the dark world, during Chapter 1-2. The Chapters 3-4 are going to get a separate fanfic, since they're gonna be AFTER the steampunk adventure. I am not even working on how to write it or any ideas, since it's going to take a long time, and it's not the biggest deal. I might not write it at all, since you get to see most of Kris's interactions in the game already, but who knows?

NOW!!! The possible questions(since I can't say FAQ)

1. Why is it called Luci's Underwitch?

Well, it was supposed to be called Underwitch. But apparently that exists already so I had to add my name to it. TwT

2. How do the characters look?

Well, if you've been on my main, @luciluck2046, you would see a bunch of fanarts, but I'll post them here too a bit later.

3. Comic?

Not yet. I suck.

4. Inspiration?

I got inspired to make this AU after I finished TOH(The Owl House), and also I liked the idea of humans with magic that UnderMate has. So yeah, I kinda combined those two with Undertale and my creativity, and I got this AU!

Reference sheets

Welp, it seems you got to the end of the main post! I might update this often, but who knows? See you later my friend, and have fun reading!

[ovur]

do you know harvest moon winds of anthos? ik the last couple of games were flawed but this one sounds good(ish?)… I just want a new farming game that feels like time well spent after the disappointment that was rf5 😔

If you plan on playing any of the new harvest moon games I highly recommend getting them on sale theres always one that includes the dlc too, Winds of anthos does look better than what they've put out in the past but I don't think its worth full price :( Did you know story of seasons is the "real" harvest moon but due to legal stuff with the companies they can't use HM anymore? Loved the first game + trio of towns, I wasn't a fan of pioneers of olive down but I haven't played the ones that have come out since.

Here are some farming sims that I've played or they've been on my radar, I'll put a * next to the ones I've actually played and another * if its harvest moon/rune factory ish

Roots of patcha**

My time at Portia**/My time at sandrock (Sandrock isn't a sequel but I would reccomend playing Portia first. If you don't like Portia I still think you should give Sandrock a try)

Coral Island

Sun Haven**

Kynseed*

Immortal Life

Everdant Skies*

Alchemy Story (I think this counts...)

Littlewood*

[amaiguri]

Worldbuilding My Magic System FOR REAL

So Yssaia has HAD a pretty developed magic system for a while. And to recap it for you... I'm going to paste my half of me raving about this on Discord (thank you to @zebee-nyx and @galacticsand and @reaperofcrows for being so cool and letting me be an unhinged worldbuilding mad lad XD):

"What is Ysse?"

So the way Ysse works is its basically invisible dust floating in the air. And if it hits itself at certain velocities and in certain volumes, "spontaneous effects" happen -- like water materializing out of "nowhere" or fire exploding or wind gusts. You're limited a little by Avatar Last Airbender bending logic (you can't summon fully sapient creatures, you can't teleport, you can't control people's minds unless you're like... touching their nervous system, etc.)

So Mages invented the first writing as a way to record what patterns of movement did what. And eventually, used them to communicate these patterns as a shorthand for more generalized concepts...

So writing also got invented sometimes BEFORE agriculture...

"How precise do these movements/velocities need to be?"

It needs to be PRETTY precise. And this is why the average person CAN'T learn magic -- because Ysse in low amounts is invisible to the average person

But mages can see Ysse, which helps a lot. And they can see these shapes OCCURING in the natural world too -- when the wind blows, its because Ysse particles FORMED the Wind Rune/Sigil in the sky BUT this still doesn't guarantee that they cast any spells if they don't have the physical discipline too

So, in theory, "anyone" COULD move their hands PERFECTLY to spontaneously start a fire. But they PROBABLY won't

"How does this impact the natural world?"

This is also how animals and plants can do magic too. Tree roots in the north have roots that have specific patterns that warm up the soil, so snow can actually MELT and give them water and the tree doesn't die

And this is also my excuse for why so many things have bunny ears -- normally, long ears in colder-than-average climates (i.e. All of Yssaia) would be bad. But in Yssaia, these long ears are convergently evolving to channel Ysse. What they channel, exactly, I haven't decided (probably heat lol or something to increase air density so sound travels farther???)

AND all this is ALSO why the Demons are such an abomination -- because their Blood Magic doesn't obey particle physics, they just fucking do whatever they want

"Why do you need to know all this?"

The question at this point, I guess, is basically "How do I make fantasy technology that looks whimsical but also looks at least hypothetically functional under closer scrutiny?"

Yeah, and the full Answer TM to that right now is just <insert the entire design philosophy I haven't discovered yet here>

"So how IS magic going to shape technology, when you design it for the Untitled Yssaia Video Game?"

...Yeah, okay, after brainstorming all this, I think here's my strategy for how I'm going to tackle technology:

Step 2) Create a master list of technologies I will worry about/actually visualize in the game I will want to keep an OPEN LIST so I can add more things to it as I do research/find really specific use cases (such as scrollcases or chopstick holders)

Step 1) Establish symbols for a handful of common things in both the North and the South that at least vaguely make sense with the concept of the particles. So things like: - Fire/Heat - Water/Melt - Ice/Slow - Wind/Quicken - Earth/Apply Force - Sun/Light - Moon/Closing/Locking (Thanks to @zebee-nyx for this one!)

Step 3) Design simple sprites for things that can later be shrunk down and used as set-dressing for maps BUT at a little bigger in scale so they can be shown to other people sensibly (maybe on the same sheet at the walking animations for scale?)

AND WITH THAT, after 5 years of only vaguely imagining all this, this is what I designed, using a combination of symbols I had already designed and dice that I pushed around on my desk to see what kind of patterns they'd make:

Are some of these a little funky and don't really work with real particle physics? Yeah, fair. I'll take notes, if you got 'em. I'm open to critique, if you wanna lol

Last comment that didn't make it into the big discussion with my buds tonight: Ysse particles are how temperature is distributed. So, hot areas have fewer, cold areas have more. I know that isn't how thermodynamics work but does anyone else really?

(Something something eldritch horror thermodynamics post... And my magic-god is an eldritch horror! See? It's perfect!)

Thank you for coming to my #WorldbuildingWednesday post! If you liked this, don't forget to REBLOG and follow the #Yssaia tag or something🥰 (Are calls-to-action cringe? Publicly shame me, if so)

[gay-jesus-probably]

So like, last night I stumbled upon your discussions of why a lot of TOTK’s whole… everything is messed up, and it had me thinking about it so much I had troubled sleeping afterwards. So uh, thanks for that lol (/lh). In all seriousness, your takes on how imperialist Hyrule is in this game, how much less like unique cultures the various towns feel like, Ganondorf being both completely flat and also seemingly not meant to be, and how weird it is that Zelda is back in power really put into words a lot of thoughts that had been nagging at me as I’ve been playing. Like, the amount to which the writing has suffered from BOTW is staggering when you actually lay out the problems. Out of curiosity, do you have any idea what the fuck happened? Like did the writing team change? The game had so much potential, as seen by the numerous fan theories/AUs etc. So what went wrong?

Honestly? I have no idea. I'm not usually that big on behind the scenes stuff anyways, and I'll be real here, I went into this game pretty much 100% blind - I didn't even watch any of the trailers, I knew NOTHING about TOTK except from a few details I absorbed from hearing other people talk about online (basically, I knew Ganondorf was going to show up as a talking corpse, Link would lose an arm, and the Master Sword would get rekt).

I rarely buy games as soon as they come out anyways tbh; I can only think of three games that I've actually gone out of my way to get as soon as possible after their release, and that was the 3DS remakes of Superstar Saga and Bowsers Inside Story (two of my favourite games ever, and Superstar Saga having literally been my first RPG), and I picked up the Mario 3D All Stars collection on launch day as a favour to my older sibling (who was stuck at work), and got one for myself in the process. The only reason I bought TOTK like a week after its release was because one of our dogs was literally days away from having a puppy, and so I knew that the next few weeks of my life would be entirely dedicated to keeping the other two dogs busy, assisting mom with the newborn puppy, and just generally being on call to provide literally anything mom needed as soon as she needed it. Which meant a lot of sitting around waiting to be required, and I'd need something to do that I could easily pause at a moments notice. So... new video game seemed a good way to fill the hang time.

And it was a good call, like I said, I've been having loads of fun with this game. There's a reason I've almost got 300 hours of gameplay, and it's not (just) because I haven't had anything better to do in between taking care of dog stuff (though that number is somewhat inflated due to me leaving it open and paused for hours at a time while busy with dog stuff). It's just that the story is a fucking mess.

As for what happened with the story... I have no idea. I've seen some people suggest that they might have been planning something a little more ambitious, and then technical limitations forced them to walk it back, so the story had to be hastily reworked to match. And I've heard that the abilities in TOTK were just ideas they had for BOTW that they couldn't fit in, which honestly I can see - the abilities are cool and all, but let's be real here, they aren't nearly as distinct as the BOTW runes. Magnesis, Cryonis, Stasis and Remote Bombs were unique powers with different uses in different areas; now the powerset is just Recall, Get Around Slightly Faster, Ultrahand, Ultrahand But In Your Inventory, and Ultrahand But Faster. But I don't know if that's actually the case.

But honestly, I really don't know why the writing is so awful. To be fair, some of it is definitely just the English translation team shitting the bed - like come on, they didn't need to have Sidon and Yona repeatedly exchange the exact same line about how he's scared she'll die like Mipha. They could have at least changed the fucking wording to make it sound more natural. And I know that other translation teams managed to inject some more nuance into the story - the French translation actually managed to call Rauru on his imperialist bullshit! For the throne room scene, they had Ganon refer to Rauru with 'vous', the formal form of 'you', but Rauru refers to Ganon with 'tu', the informal form of 'you'. 'Tu' is for use in casual settings or between friends, and if someone is using 'vous' for you, referring to them with 'tu' is a MASSIVE insult; it's very condescending, and implies that you have literally no respect for that person whatsoever, but they should continue treating you as a figure of great authority. To sort of translate that into an English equivalent, it'd be like if Ganon walked into that scene using formal language and referring to Rauru as a fellow King, and Rauru responded by treating Ganon like a small, dumb child. Hugely insulting. Also the vous/tu disparity has a History with French colonialism, so that adds some implications as to what Hyrule's really doing with their 'allies'. And in the scene where Ganon takes the secret stone, the French translation has him say Rauru tried to force him to submit, which is an outright accusation of imperialism (as opposed to the English saying Rauru wanted to control Ganon, which suggests the problem was Rauru thinking he could find a peaceful solution instead of just executing a foreign leader for thought crimes)

So the english translation definitely had the room to put some more nuance into things if the team had wanted to; honestly I kind of wish I knew Japanese so I could compare it to the original script and see if any of the problems I've been bitching about were part of the script from the start, or if the English translators were just particularly bad. But Nintendo is a very conservative company, and Japan is a very conservative country with a serious nationalism problem, so I kind of doubt it, especially since the game portrays Hyrule pretty much the exact same way that Japan is portrayed in propaganda justifying their own imperialism. That... does not suggest the English team went apeshit. That suggests that the awful shit was in the script from the start, and the English team was just totally on board with it.

As for the writing teams... I mean, to be fair it's been like seven years, of course the writing team isn't the exact same as BOTW. But honestly, the main issue is just that they've recycled a lot of old problems from the Zelda games, and somehow stripped them of what little nuance they had before. Like, Ganondorf trying to take over Hyrule because Evil has been an issue since Ocarina of Time (which this game was clearly heavily pulling from), but even though OoT never told us he had a deeper motive, the worldbuilding still showed exactly why he would have such an issue with Hyrule. We knew there had been a bloody civil war only about a decade before Ganon's takeover, we knew that the Gerudo were treated with disdain by Hyrule, and we saw that Hyrule's alliances with the Gorons and Zora were pretty flimsy, and neither race felt like Hyrule actually gave a damn about them. But most importantly of all, OoT gave us the Shadow Temple, a horrific prison meant to inflict unspeakable torture on its captives... all on orders from the Hylian royal family. Hyrule's hands were never clean. We weren't supposed to side with Ganon in OoT, but we were shown a long list of reasons for why he was so pissed off.

Someone else said that TOTK feels like a retelling of OoT that's just pro-Hyrule propaganda, and that's a pretty good summary. I don't know what the fuck Nintendo was thinking, but honestly it kind of seems like they're trying to stick to the formula of Zelda games at all costs, while also making the entire game just a huge 'gotcha' to all the fans that have spent the last 25 years seeing Ganondorf as a sympathetic character with depth and reasonable motivations. I find it ironic that they decided to include the Wind Waker boomerang and shield in the game, considering that the whole game feels like an attempt to get everyone to forget Wind Waker ever happened. That's still the most human we've ever gotten to see Ganondorf - he didn't have many lines in that game, but the ones he did have mattered. At the end of the day, WW Ganondorf wanted to have a better life for his people, and he knew Hyrule would never let that happen. But now apparently Ganon just wants to dropkick puppies into woodchippers, and he doesn't give the slightest hint of a fuck about trying to wipe out the Gerudo people entirely by attacking them with an endless sandstorm plus zombie apocalypse. His only character trait is Evil.

If I want to get really cynical for a minute here, I think it's basically just a cash grab. If your game prompts a moral debate, then it can offend people, which means they won't want to give you money for it. But if it's a simple black and white conflict with no nuance, the fans will love all the right characters in the right way, and everyone will love hyrule and want to see more of it! It's like the fucking MCU; they're not willing to tell a fresh story, or make any serious commentary. They just want something safe and formulaic that has been statistically proven to make money. Fucking cowards.

[fantomette22]

Hey!!! 3, 13, 20, 49 for Dores and Caryll in your interpretation!

Thank you Faree! :D Ask game here

First I tried to draw this morning but failed so thanks for the ask i got inspired to draw a lil something!

(And then they got lost. They do have weird shenanigans with eldritch stuff. So they will be fine. Actually their friendship is quite funny i love it)

3. What first drew you to this character?

Hm well for Caryll they seems like quite a very important character we know nothing about! In lore I mean. Runes are so op I'm glad they exist 🙏 everyone used them and it seems quite important! Caryll didn't make/translate all the runes but the first one to do so while a students at Byrgenwerth! It's so impressive so it made me wonder who they were... and we don't know what happened to them too ;-;

As for Dores I guess I got interest thanks to the fans actually giving a damn and drawing Dores ! Also ""her"" link with Willem, gatekeeper and probably Gehrman by extension made me think and wonder about their missions in the pthumerians labyrinth. Plus idk Dores seems to have quite a wild personality! that's very cool. And the set descriptions and the 2 hunters is very interesting

13. If you could draw effortlessly and as much as you wanted, what scene (s) would you draw for this character?

Caryll : Hm... lots go things lol. Caryll do have a huge role in my Bloodborne stories and is very present so I have lots of ideas XD but would be difficult to draw... hm maybe caryll with tons of hunters around them and explaining smt. Or Caryll staring at water (sea/lake), or caryll fate... or idk smt with lot of runes to draw something esoteric when they ear great ones! Caryll & friends too. But I would also like to illustrated Caryll getting very scared and encountering a sick man who's at the early stage of beasthood. At Byrgenwerth. During prom night. Yeah can't wait to write that XD

Dores : hmm either Dores' childhood (with almost everyone treating her as a weirdo creepy kid 💀 and featuring Gehrman) or well badass fighting against pthumerians. That also make me think I need to draw Dores being task to watch the kids (Rom & Laurence when they were younger) by Willem while he's out and she panicked and ask if they wanna see organs in jars or smt. Or maybe draw her withe the twins. Yeah I haven't decided yet if the Madaras twins are her kids or long lost brothers I am hesitating because there's the 2 guys with the graveguard set too. OR ALSO (sorry last one) Dores doing artisanal liquor and almost accidentally killing people. (I mean Laurence is the only one who almost died but he was fine after few days. Her other attempts where better)

20. Do you feel affectionate towards this character?

Caryll is my lil guy (gender neutral) 🥺 I love them so so much they remind me of one of my friend too. I really like Caryll I am so mean for all the tragic scenarios I imagined toward the end of their life 😔 but I swear the 3 decades before that are very wholesome if we forgot some lil details. But yeah must protect and deserve the world. So yeah.

Hm idk if it's "affection" but yeah I do like my versions of Dores yeah! I really like to develop her backstory and personality and I can empathise with lot of things she went through that weren't easy.

49. What’s your favorite personality trait in this character?

Well it's purely headcanons but I like their soft sides? I think.

So Caryll kindness and everything would be ok attitude.

As for Dores her more harsh and scary traits are very cool but with her very close friends she can show a way more carrying side <3 she still a bit of a brute XD but I like this too. Everyone is always surprised of it at first.

Hope it answer! Thank you a lot Faree I really like to wrote about it!

[deusexlachina]

Wannabe Warden Part 15: Defeat the Qunari with their/my own medicine and also drugs

In which I fight the most infamous battle on the highest difficulty level and am forced to actually come up with a good strategy.

Just then, Isabela shows up to save her girlfriend from being mashed. She gives the Tome of Koslun back to the Arishok. Finally, they can leave! As long as they also get the thief. Who is my girlfriend. I tell him he's already got what he came for, but the Arishok was assigned to be a general, not a compromiser, so we're at a standstill and the best solution he can think of is to duel me for the girl. Isabela objects because she is literally a duelist and holy shit is he stealing her thunder right now.

But I alone have the Arishok's respect, so it's time to duel him. He's incredibly tough and has deadlier moves than me. Everything says I will lose. But I've got a secret weapon. Back when I was dealing with the saar-qamek gas leak, I gave Other Aveline a weapon called Desdemona's Blade, a purchase from the Black Emporium just for that fight, since Fenris won't wield wimpy one-handers and only Other Aveline can decree the poison gas safe. Ole Double-D here deals nature damage because it's covered with poison or something idk.

The damage looks low, but elemental weapons ignore armour, and against enemies weak to nature damage, it does double damage. This is immensely helpful against every fight with mercenaries, such as the saar-qamek fight, since they're vulnerable to nature. It turns out, so is every single Qunari. I bought this weapon to deal with enemies trying to kill Qunari and now I'm forced to kill Qunari with it myself. I would appreciate the irony, but I'm too busy soloing the Qunari army after they wiped out my entire squad. Practice self-care. Get Desdemona's Blade.

It is almost unanimous among the DA2 fandom that this fight is next to impossible as a warrior. It is also nearly unanimous that Sword and Shield is bad and so is Pommel Strike. For some reason, they haven't seemed to realize that this fight is hard precisely because they refuse to use shields or, uh, pommels. Along with Cleave doubling my damage again, and a high critical hit rate from other gear, Double-D can do enough damage to slightly interrupt the Arishok, meaning more fighting and less running. Assault deals even more damage and interrupts him even more - with equal DPS, Assault beats any 2-handed talent for single-target damage. And I'm not doing equal DPS, I'm doing more DPS, because I have Desdemona's Phucking Sword.

Even the shield itself helps a great deal. With a shield, Courage (stuffed with armour runes like everything else I'm wearing) I take substantially less damage, which also means less force, i.e. I don't get ragdolled. Without a shield, I get thrown around the room, even getting stuck behind this Qunari beefcake. The indignity.

Pommel Strike is a warrior move where, instead of hitting the enemy with the business end of your blade, you cleverly surprise them by hitting them with the much less dangerous pommel. This is so stupid that it stuns them for several seconds. This disrupts most of the nastiest threats in the game - it shuts down commander auras, stops mages from using their nastiest attacks, and keeps rogues from stealthing. And it works on the Arishok. He sometimes resists it, but if he doesn't, he's helpless for several seconds, and by the time he's done wiggling around I've nearly got another Pommel Strike waiting for him.

But there's one truly cruel thing about the Arishok fight. Even if you're winning against him, he will...you might want to sit down for this. He will drink a potion and heal himself. Apparently he can do this up to three times, but I can't confirm this because anytime the fight lasted that long I either died or went into a fugue state as I kited him for like half an hour. "But Aveline!" you might say. "You use potions all the time, especially in boss fights. Why is it so obnoxious when they do it?" Because the boss is an NPC. They don't have to actually experience the horror of nearly winning before their enemy unilaterally decides to not die and make the fight even longer.

But my respect wasn't just to Sword-and-Shield and Pommel Strike, which, to remind you, nearly everyone says are horrible. To further spite the Wrong Dragon Age Community, I unilaterally decide to join the Templars, which is also supposed to be the worst specialization, and even the wiki thinks you should spec out of it for this fight. Yes, that means using deadly and addictive lyrium. But I'm just using it to get out of a rough patch, and I'll simply stop using it when things get easier. (THIS IS A VERY BAD IDEA. NEVER THINK THIS FOR ANY DRUG -ed.). Being a templar lets Silence the Arishok, which can lock him out of his abilities. This seems to include the potions, giving him effectively less health. This is one of the only times in a game the boss tries to use a potion and I can Just Say No, which I probably should be saying to addictive drugs but I am not. It also makes him glow white, which is pretty embarrassing.

Oh, and it also gives me another source of stun. The fight's starting to look even, but I have one last trick that makes it unfair in my own favour. The Qunari disguised deadly poison as explosives, killing civilians, forcing me to nearly get killed by deadly mercenaries and, worst of all, I had to use Other Aveline. To repay them, I hire my poisoner to make Combustion Grenades - explosives, not poison gas. These deal fire damage, which he's completely immune to, because he's from a hot country I guess. But he's very much not immune to the stun, perhaps because using fire on a fireproof man is stunningly stupid. I bring ten of these and don't even manage to use half before I've killed him. I probably didn't need them at all, but you can never be too careful.

With the Arishok dead, the City of Kirkwall proclaims me worthy. (And when I say the City of Kirkwall, I mean this milf with a crown, but the Viscount got killed so she's now the most important lady) My heart soaring, I await to be finally dubbed a Grey Warden for saving the Grey Wardens from almost certain death at the hands of the Qunari (and, indirectly, Other Aveline). Instead, I just get the Title "Champion of Kirkwall."

GOD

FUCKIN

DAMMIT

[redisaid]

Today's boredom list is D&D classes I have played, ranked:

Unranked: Pure Rangers, Rogues, Warlocks, and Artificers - I haven't played these and don't want to play them pure. They just don't interest me unless used for multi-classing.

9. Monk - I just did not vibe with monk. It was the first class I played at any length and the first I played in 5E, so you'd think I would have some nostalgia. Nah. Catching arrows is the coolest thing you can do, otherwise you're just punching people and are not great at passing most checks. Hard pass for the future.

8 . Barbarian - These guys are fun. I haven't played one for a long campaign but a few times on short ones. I don't think I'd want to play one long term because it's not super fun for me to just be the dumb smashy smash type.

7. Sorcerer - Also fun, but would not be a long campaign choice for me. Good for rolling a quick caster for a one shot or for newer players to play a spellcaster. Long term games, these guys lose out to Wizards for me.

6. Wizard - I have not played a wizard in a campaign yet, but it will be my next choice when I can fit it in. These fragile little paper boys are full of potential and self-defining game play. Plus, you can copy spells from books! Be that library nerd you want to see in your fantasy world.

5. Druid - I tend to prefer the less-shapeshifting versions of this class, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. If you like turning into bears and kitties and such, this will be much higher for you. Otherwise, the caster circles like Spores and Stars are great, underrated class fantasies. These guys can also have super fun RP moments in all kinds of settings.

4. Bard - Who doesn't love being a little slutty now and then? I'm actually currently playing an unslutty bard, but the point stands. Having the ability to pass many checks, and actually being the best support character you can be is very rewarding to me in general, as well as having an excuse to have a massive playlist for the character because, you know, music.

3. Fighter - Underrated faves. A well-timed action surge and save your party and turn an entire fight around. Battlemasters are insane and another character I need to play in the future. Plus, the versatility! No class is as versatile. Be a battle wizard as Eldritch Knight, or a cowboy as Gunslinger, or a heavily armored Rune Knight with a massive great weapon, all with the same class rules.

2. Cleric - The support character that is actually not really a support character, but a vehicle to put whatever you want into some chain mail with a shield and a mace. Oh, and religious trauma. We can't forget the religious trauma. I refuse to stop playing clerics that choose violence. You can't make me. I don't have to heal anyone if I kill the bad guys before they can hurt people, right?

1. Paladin - No surprise this is number one for me. I love fucked up little paladins in every media, and now I get to make my own. That said, they are both a wonderful support class, tank, and damage dealer in one. You still get spells, but can also turn your brain off and bonk shit. And you can still have religious trauma on top of it! And good charisma, so you can still pass some checks and be the face of the party when needed.

[sburbian-sage]

First of all, thank you. I'm not sure you remember me, because while I tried to aim for relatively soon after my last message, all my computer is willing to confirm is that this will reach you at some point after you advised me on getting the Sand roleplay coefficient up and shattered my faith in a co-player, but before other points somewhere on the timeline of the universe. (I should clarify those are both good things. See, I thought I was struggling because I sucked at Sand, but turns out I was struggling because I sucked at Sand AND because I was trusting someone whose advice was actively making me worse.)

I do also have a question, probably not life-or-death this time. See, I've made a grudging truce with the concept of weird language shit, and I'm really confused by the metaphors in this game. Like, in a way I don't think is just a me problem. For example, I find the Blood aspect's meaning mostly intuitive, but according to the trolls in my session, blood's metaphorical role in their culture was more about organization, division, and/or getting fucked over by life, though they eventually got it on an intellectual level. Meanwhile, I've figured Breath out on an intellectual level but I feel deep in my soul that having it stand for destruction is some absolute bullshit. Both of us have cultural dissonance with the system of metaphors the game has thrust upon us.

So is there any known sburb-playing society for whom ALL the aspects are metaphorically intuitive? It's not humans, it's not trolls, I haven't interacted with the other player species much, but is the target audience of this shitshow known or did I just unearth/rediscover another fucking Sburb Mystery?

In my honest opinion, Blood as organization mostly gels (pun not intended) with Troll's cultural conception of blood considering that their Hemospectrum is an organizational system that promotes social cohesion with the roles of one's own caste. It's a bad organizational system, don't get me wrong, and the caste-specific roles are bullshit, but it fundamentally is about consolidation (though the invulnerability and creation of life is completely dissonant). And if Breath-as-destruction sounds off to you, think of how the winds erode the mountains over centuries, or how much absolute havoc hurricanes wreak. Maybe that's a stretch, but it makes a sort of sense to me. Though I am still willing to admit that some of the associations are loose, or that the designers seemingly put several mildly-to-not-very related associations in one Aspect.

But to answer your actual question, no, I am unaware of any species or society for whom all Aspects are metaphorically intuitive. This might have something to do with the fact that SBURB's actual creators are unknown. On Earth, most copies come from SkaiaNet, a company whose origin is completely unknown, seemingly having ocme out of literal nowhere, whose only purpose for existing is to make SBURB happen. But on Alternia (and some iterations of Earth), it's made by some solo auteur, most of the time seemingly having found some ancient crypts containing mysterious runes or symbols or slabs or grimoires, which they then translated and used to create the game's code. A process which, if they were the player, they seemingly don't remember much of what happened, as if they were possessed while doing it. But who left those crypts and code? Assuming we even know where the discs came from.

Some people theorize that the creation of SBURB is a sort of paradox. It's some mystic "here's my conception of the universe" stuff, where time is a circle and the final session of SBURB will result in the creation of the first universe to receive SBURB, making it a self-perpetuating thing with no actual point of origin (hence paradox). I don't put much stock into any of the fake religions people made after playing SBURB (or for that matter, any of the fake religions made before SBURB), but this does answer your question. There is exactly one culture for whom all of SBURB's Asepcts and mythology is intuitive. And it's replayer culture.

[1358456]

Generation VIII Pokemon Nicknames, Part 2

Last one, and I will be all "caught up" in a sense, of all the Pokemon that I've missed. Maybe.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A shattered variant of Cofagrigus? It has the same stats, but with Atk and Sp. Atk swapped. Huh. That's neat. I will call this thing... "Mangled". Because it looks like a mangled heap of Cofagrigus. With runes.

... Why are so many food items turning up as Pokemon? So... is this thing a cake frosting, or just cream? Hmm... "Famine". You know, like "cream of the crop", but without the crop.

Hey, I know this thing! I've done a lot of research on this guy! ... A lot of wasted potential, I think. I will call this "Pursuit", after the Pursuit Formation that I absolutely love to use in <Redacted> 9.

This has got to be the slowest Electric type I've ever seen. Suitable, I guess. But this is just fodder.

I remember this thing. Someone once said that this might fit in Platinum's overhauled team. And I said no, because... I don't like bugs. Hehehe. Well, as a Bug type, it probably has access to Quiver Dance to get over its low Spd stat. Hmm... what to call this thing... I have a Venomoth named "I SEE YOU" given how its eyes are so big. So, as a frozen counterpart to Venomoth, I will call this... "ICY YOU".

Good HP, great Atk and Def, non-existing Sp. Def, eh? ... Why is this thing faster than most of the Generation VIII Dex? ... I got nothing.

... I remember this thing. I fired this thing from Shield's team for a reason.

... ? Psychic/Normal is actually pretty decent for a type combination. Doesn't resist much, but hey. It may still be just Moxie fodder, but I can see myself making one. I don't have a clue as to what to call this thing though.

Another Electric rodent. "Coffee Cream", if it fits. Because this thig is half & half, like the milk-cream used in coffee.

Another slow ass piece of- Has sh*t defenses, vulnerable to fire, and shaped like an elephant. ... I'll have to call it "Elephant", after the elephant troops in <Redacted> 10, that has really high offensive capabilities, not particularly mobile, but has really low defenses for its cost and go on rampages when on fire, attacking allies.

Interesting quartet. It's very rare for all of them to suck.

Hey, this is that thing that becomes the bridge Dragon in Generation IX. I still don't know what to call it.

Moon's overhaul! Nickname "Brood Lord". Looks nothing like it, but Zerg Brood Lords are flying units that shoot Broodlings to attack, and Broodlings are tiny Brood Lords that haven't grown up yet that claw haplessly at their opponents until they time-out and die, or just flat-out killed since they have the lowest HP in the game, even less than Larva nowadays. Dragapult shoots Dreepy projectiles, so... Brood Lord.

Hello, power creep! +1 Atk immediately? Sure. Why not. Nickname "Power Creep".

And the reverse. +1 Def immediately? Sure. "Peerc Rewop".

... Huh. That's interesting. Looks like a dragon skeleton in a way, and its... er... whatever-that-is form kind of looks like an End City in Minecraft. Or a UFO Catcher crane game. I think this one needs lore info for a suitable nickname.

... A hand-to-hand combatant that has a Brawler style and a Rush style. ... Yo, KIRYU-CHAN! ... But this isn't a Dragon type though. Boo. Hmm... it's built pretty well, so I need the name of a built fighter. But this thing has Brawler and Rush. Hmm... Kaito comes to mind, but he copies Kiryu's Brawler and Beast style, and not Rush. Yagami comes to mind with Tiger and Crane styles, but he's pretty skinny. Hmm... Maybe "Hijikata". Hijikata Toshizo, the Yakuza Ishin version of Mine Yoshitaka, the final boss of Yakuza 3. It's read mi-ne, and not "mine" like... "that's mine" or "Widow Mine drops are bullsh*t". But the full name probably won't fit as a nickname, and "Mine" by itself doesn't seem right, so... the Ishin variant it is. Mine is very fast and nimble, and hits like a beast. I absolutely hate his fighting style. And ever since Yakuza 3, his fighting style is in almost every single game on the hardest coliseum opponents. And the Dark typing actually fits him too. He's supposedly dead, but considering how 3 of the 5 characters who died in Yakuza 3 are alive in 7 and 8... who knows.

Hmm... A Grass monkey, but this one isn't a drummer. It kind of looks like a wendigo from Fallout 76. So... "Wendigo" it is for now.

Huh. When did this happen. Similar to normal Regi stat distribution, but no Clear Body. But free 50% STAB boost because why not. The Electric one has 200 Spd which is absurd (Deoxys Spd has 180), with decent offenses, so with a free 50% Electric boost, if it was to be used alongside Tapu Koko and Electric Terrain... ouch. I'd call that one "Flash Bolt" or something. I could just call it "Flash", but the Electric Regi doesn't resemble the greatest gamer ever to have lived. As for the Dragon Regi... hmm... Ah yes. "Tendo". The man with a blue dragon on his back in Yakuza 7. Easily the 4th most intimidating man with a dragon on his back... out of 4.

An apocalypse horse that... was apparently parked in the north pole or something. Now it can't move all that well. And a physical attacking Ice type? I don't know how much the situation improved, but there was a reason why Black Kyurem did not fare as well as White Kyurem. ... I assume the Japanese name is supposed to say "Freezer Horse" here. But at a glance at the small font, it kind of says "Freeza Force". Hahaha. I'd probably call it "Glacierhoof". Because it moves at the pace of a glacier.

A Ghost type apocalypse horse. Cool. Hmm... Well, if the first one was called "Glacierhoof" then this one must be called "Doomhoof". It's a horse-o-doom.

Huh. Now there's the rider of the horses. And the... er... spore king's presence adds +20 to every stat for the horses. Which puts the Knight of the Frozen Throne at a whopping 50 Spd. ... Did you know that the original Regis have 50 Spd? That's a slow ass horse. The Ghost one on the other hand... wow. Those are quite the stats. Nickname "Shadowform". Only use the Ghost horse.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There's a lot of fodder this time around, I feel. Oh well. It was like that in SM if I recall. A whole heap of garbage.

And I once again fail to find a suitable candidate for the nickname "Dark Archon", quite possibly my favorite unit in Starcraft. Maybe one day, if two Dark typed Atk focused Pokemon were to merge into a single Psychic/Dark typed Sp. Atk focused Pokemon. "The Void burns..." ... Though I don't think Mind Control can be a move in Pokemon games... Now that would be unfair.

Now I'm all caught up! ... Oh wait. Region specific variants. ... Another day, perhaps.

[thunderberryart]

Star's Rune Factory 3 Special 1st Playthrough, Part 3: It's... already nearly over?

So, going into Rune Factory 3 Special, I knew that the main story was going to be a fairly quick affair. That was one of the big things I heard about RF3; it's a good game, but it's not the longest. And I thought to myself "Well, I played RF5 and I'm pretty sure I finished the main story by early autumn of year 1 in my one playthrough. Surely, it can't be as quick or quicker than THAT."

It is, in fact, early autumn of Year 1 and I am just about to rescue Micah's fiancee AKA Shara from Aquaticus.

Knowing that I am very close to the end of the plot, I feel like it is a good opportunity to talk about the story. When I think about RF3's story... it's weird. Vishnal's marriage event comes to mind because the flaws of that event, I feel, encompasses a lot of the issues I have with RF3's plot. I have an older post going over my experience watching Vishnal's marriage event via YT, but to explain its biggest issue; it's short. I don't know if it's THE shortest of all the marriage events (I've still haven't gotten around to watching Forte's, Margaret's, Clorica's, Doug's, and Dylas'), but it is the shortest of the ones I have seen so far. And because it is so short, everything in that event comes in rapid fire--the plot, the emotions, Vishnal's proposal, the resolution--and so for what is there, it never feels like there's enough time to enjoy a scene and let it set in before the next thing happens.

That is essentially what happens with Rune Factory 3. The game has an incredibly good plot in concept, but because it's so short and things happen so quickly, it's difficult to appreciate what's there when it's there. For instance, compared to the likes of Frey/Lest and Alice/Ares, there is a lot less mystery with Micah; he starts recovering his memories immediately after defeating the first boss and it's always a sort of "Oh, that happened" kind of deal whenever he discovers an orb that triggers a recollection, even though him regaining his memories should really be that much bigger of a deal (the most emotional memory recovery scene was, I feel, the third where he remembered that he was the one tasked with defeating the monsters causing problems around Sharance, since it plays into the intro to the Death Wall fight later.)

There is also the matter of the Human-Univir conflict, which is its own problem. It's bad enough that it is resolved fairly easily, but the fact that the conflict isn't rationalized very well beyond "The Univir were exiled from Sharance at some point in the past--no one knows why, but the humans of Sharance and the Univir have hated each other since" is kind of... sad. In what I've experienced so far of the series, Rune Factory plots aren't anything to write home about, but... I don't know. I can't say whether RF3's plot turns out to be forgettable, but I can't say anything from the game's main story sticks out other than getting Kuruna to stop being so prejudiced against humans by giving her a handmade bouquet from the residents of Sharance.

But you know what they say; a mediocre story can be saved by good characters! And while I was initially overwhelmed by RF3's cast as mentioned in my first post, I've grown somewhat used to the eccentricities of Sharance by now and if there's anything memorable about the writing, it's how bonkers everyone is while still managing to convey some genuinely heartfelt storytelling. (And according to people on Reddit, XSEED's new translation for Special is apparently toned down from Natsume's original. Geez, I wonder how I would have reacted if this had been the original DS version.)

My favorites are the same as last time and... goddamn, I really do love Shara. Initially I figured I'd be marrying her purely to see if she was as bad as the fanbase makes her out to be and then in my second playthrough move on to a bachelorette I actually feel has genuine chemistry with Micah, but I really do like these two together. Granted, she doesn't have the most emotionally intensive plot associated with her requests (It's more about helping her younger sister, Monica, come out of her shell than any issues that Shara herself has), but she's so sweet and kind, cares for her family, and she loves flowers! I love flowers! And not gonna lie, her manner of teasing Micah and occasional bluntness do remind me of Frey, so that might have something to do with why she hits just right for me.

Girl, plz. You're killing poor boy.

That said, even though I made the firm decision this playthrough to marry her (and we would have had the wedding by now if Aquaticus didn't * grumbles *), there are other bachelorettes that I am considering marrying in subsequent playthroughs, which is pretty shocking considering my track record with RF4S. And by track record, I mean Arthur is the entire record.

Of the other bachelorettes, I've done a fair chunk of Sakuya's requests and I still like her a lot; besides having one of the more "normal" personalities, her love of travel and commerce reminds me a lot of Arthur (even though she's not a workaholic and is genuinely concerned with profits) and I'm liking the progress of her character development through her events. She also has a cute character design, but that's only ever a nice bonus and not something that determines whether I like a character or not.

The bachelorettes I was most skeptical of were Raven and Pia, and this is because I was aware of the fandom's opinions on those characters going in. Long story short: I figured this was going to be another Leon and Dylas situation for me, and by that, you know, I don't dislike either of them, they're pretty neat and I get why they hit close to home for some people, but it got annoying to see them constantly treated as objectively The Best when hey, their writing is not perfect, there's a reason why not everyone romances them; I'm certainly among those people. And at first, I was disappointed. Pia's personality was too airheaded for my tastes, and Raven... I liked her guest appearance in RF4S, but here, she's a straight up tsundere and tsunderes are one of those hit-or-miss kind of characters for me.

In Raven's case, I think I've done at least half her requests by now and by god, I feel bad for judging her so fast. Despite being a tsundere, she actually has an incredibly valid reason for telling Micah to stay away from her; according to her, anyone who becomes close to her disappears and she's afraid of the same thing happening to him. That... that hit hard and even if she doesn't end up being my favorite ship choice for Micah, I do want her to be happy.

Pia, I think, was just an instance of finding her initial personality overwhelming like many others in Sharance. I can't give any opinions on her character arc because I have only done one or two of her requests, but she is very cute. She is often lost in her own little world and tends to blatantly ignore things Micah says, but I do really love her happy-go-lucky approach to life and I unironically find her personal vendetta against squid hilarious. (She and Margaret would be friends.)

That is definitely the benefit of the romance system in RF3S. I'm sad there isn't a true dating phase and you can just go right to marriage once you've gotten the Engagement Ring recipe from Wells and Marjorie, but knowing that I can help these girls with their personal issues without having to turn down a heartwarming proposal at the end of their last request does make me feel a bit better about "hareming" all these bachelorettes. (And I say that as someone who detests harems and prefers a single dedicated romance in any narrative.)

My next post will presumably be my last for this first playthrough given how fast this has gone. I'm still incredibly attached to Selphia and RF4S is still my favorite game of the RFs I have played, but there really is a lot to love about RF3S despite its imperfections and I am already looking forward to my next playthrough. Cheers, everyone! I'll see you next time!

[azzyfree]

I've been thinking of updating my angel ocs. Its been 84 years since I've thought of them, mostly because I haven't been working on any modern worlds. But lately, I've been reading quite a few modern settings, so here we go!

Maliel is getting renamed to Malrim. They were an angel of creation with the sole task of guarding frogs. Specifically, the free toed species known as Coqui. They may have had a hand in making them. But it was so long ago as to be forgotten. Mal just takes the duty of frog protection very seriously.

Osriel used to be an angel of destruction. Tasked with bringing the end times, but unable to bring themself to do it. They fell in love with the world, and that is what led them to falling. Now, they serve as a protector for humanity. Taking odd jobs to help people in their time of need. They run a private investigator agency called "Against the Wall," In which they solve weird crimes that no one believes are happening or the police won't touch. They often have to work between other fallen angel networks like "The Hand that Feeds" or "Devil's Advocate."

The Hand That Feeds

A network of free moving angels tied to no gods. They work for themselves in order to help themselves continue to be free. Usually, keeping to the shadows and having eyes on agents of gods. For example, keeping track of their movements and collecting any tips fallen angels may need to stay hidden. The Hand doesn't want gods to know they exist, but also doesn’t support extremists like demons going against the gods. The hand sells information, divine technology, runes, halos, and divine upgrades for a price. Any fallen angel knows that gold, silver worldly coins, have no real value... but memories. Memories are the threads that tie a person to a place in the world. Buying and selling moments in time are the most valuable things to an angel or a demon. Sometimes whole people's place in the world can be bought and sold. Souls, as mortals tend to call it, are the most valuable thing to a fallen angel just trying to survive.

Rumors among extremist groups are that the hand is actually run by a god.

Devil's Advocate

Fallen angels that are aligned with Demons. They deal in the sale of souls and contracts between humans and the fallen. They are outworldly the most classically Devil like. They seem to show up when a mortal is most desperate for aid. Silver tongued with promises of the impossible made possible. Be sure if you signed their contract you will get what you want.

But don't think it doesn't come without strings attached. In fact, it is highly likely The Fallen orchestrated the whole event from the beginning, all in a rouse to get you to sign away your soul. Particularly the Fallen who have been at the game for a long time and can manipulate many people at once. This is often why demon "hauntings" tend to have no proof around them.

They can be considered the arms dealers of the underworld. Buying and selling parts of souls to demons to secure their place in the Devil's future.

Still have more lore coming!

[clowncryptids]

Welcome to The Cryptid's Eye (pack)!

This is a new intro post to my Pack in Wolvden! Sorry it has taken so long to post this... i literally just forgot to make this.

For those who want to know who I am on Wolvden: My Pack's name is "The Cryptids Eye Pack" and my player name is ClownCryptids ! my user number is #119087

Some basic info on how I've been playing so far:

I've decided to go with a "Pagan" (mostly Gaelic) name theme for my wolves, bec I feel like those kind of names fit wolves really well! (I've just been using a Pagan baby name site to name them heh)

I really like cool eyes and I want to collect lots of them! Hence the "Eye" in my pack name!

I am going to try to go for a mostly "clean" (not inbred) pack, though I may still have some dirty wolves if i like em enough (cough Rune cough)

Now onto the Wolves!

This is my pack leader Eun! He's pretty boring bec he was my first wolf.. but im emotionally attached to him now. I would love to give him a new base tho!

This is my current Stud and Herbalist Orrin! He is sooo pretty lookin <3 I haven't really used him much for stud tho.. I like getting studs from outside of the pack! Plus Orrin isn't actually that special genetically :P

This is Darragh my Mentor! I bought her bec she was cheep and a high level with maxed out Finisher proficiency but ive decided she has a curse that makes it so she always looses prey... bec of this she has been made a Mentor LOL (She does have great luck in babies tho bec she gave me a pie pup, love her for that <3)

Next up we have Geir and Lachlan! I bought them at the same time as Darragh bec they too had high levels and maxed out hunting proficiencies! They aren't very fancy but they do their job well and I appreciate them for that.

My Teardrop base boy Erwynn! He's a Scout because he has an asshole personality so he would piss off the rest of the hunting party. He is so pretty tho I love the teardrop base sm <3

Imogen! Im pretty sure she's my highest stat girl! She too was bought alongside Darragh for the same reasons as the other hunters! She actually has a maxed out chaser prof i think, but I switched her to a finisher to replace Darragh and she is so good at it (probably bec of her high stats)! Also I think she is very pretty :3

Eirene, my second wolf I got in the game! She's the pack member I got to customize! Im probably gonna keep her around just for sentimentality <3 She is currently one of the hunting party's chasers!

Larimar! My second Scout! I got him as a gift!!! I wanted himb for his cool eyes, he looks so spooky <3

This here is my problem child Rune! I bought him with the plan for him or one of his pups to be the next stud... but I didn't check for inbreeding first... he has 7 instances LOL. Im keeping him bec he's so pretty, the colors just looks so nice ...

The twins! Seila and Sloane! I bought them in the same trade, I really only wanted Sloane but I decided to keep Seila around for a wile! they both have just had their first litters (of which I will be selling all pups from lol) and after Seila's pup is weaned she will be for sale!

Wraith! One of the first wolves I bought! I got her for the eyes <3 She just recently grew up! She's the first wolf Ive had from puppy to adult hood hehe. She is currently expecting puppies! exiting!

Daemon! I bought her shortly after I bought Wraith! She also just grew up and is pregnant as well! I may sell her if I get some better eclipse eyed pups from her... but Im keeping her for now!

Eskel, my beautiful Pupsitter! I bought him for the looks but I found out he's got maxed out Pupsitting so that was a big bonus!!! gosh he's so pretty... one of my faves for sure.

Guinevere! This is Darragh's Pie pup! she is so pretty omg... I REALLY wish I could get the Fox base applicator for her bec she would look sooo good with it!!

Like.. look at this... gosh I want it so badddd

This here is my trans boy Rikke! I have decided he's a boy... and soo he is now <3 He's a Mojave base wolf and MAN I love the tier 3 bases ough I want them all!

My other twins Eirlys and Aoife! If anybody want's Eirlys (the green one) I will sell her to u! I think Imma just keep Aoife!

Here's Sigred and Quillan! they are pretty simple but I really like their look! they are gonna be in my next hunting party!

aaand finally Saoirse! my 3rd pie! I bought her after realizing Rune was super dirty lol, Saoirse's clean!! She's so pretty I lov her

And that's it, excluding some of the puppies I have for sale!