#we will see this game in 2025 :D

[miyku]

[slimyhipster]

A short 10 minute prototype of "Heart of the Matter" is out now!!

Your friend, who'd invited you to a party in the middle of nowhere, has suddenly stopped texting you back. Nobody here seems to know her, and you don't recognize any faces, either. In fact, you can barely comprehend if they have faces at all.

(We recommend trying to click on everything and maybe even click on them more than once, sometimes it may yield extra interactions :D Total play time is about ~10 minutes; there is one special scene to unlock a fun item; and try clicking on the phone charm in the ESC menu...!)

Everything you see here is subject to change as we're still in development. We're hoping to release a full demo sometime in 2025. 

DOWNLOAD ON ITCH.IO

DOWNLOAD ON GAMEJOLT

We're just a two-man team making our first game, so if you have time, you can fill out a player survey, or submit a bug report if you've encountered any ^-^

[pokeshippingweek]

POKESHIPPING WEEK 2024!

It's that time again, pokeshippers!

Last year, we announced that the format of Pokeshipping Week - one theme per day - was getting retired. We also said that we'd still put on a celebration of some kind going forward. Well, the time is here, and I'm happy to announce that we are planning a pokeshipping zine...next year!

If you'll forgive the bait-and-switch there, we have seriously talked about doing a zine, but time got away from us this summer. So, while we do hope to tackle that undertaking in 2025, for this year, we're planning what you might call an open Pokeshipping Week!

How does it work, you ask? Simple: over the years, you all have submitted a lot of potential themes for Pokeshipping Week. For every seven that got chosen each year, plenty were left behind. Well, now you can fill November 1 to 7 with art, fics, AMVs, GIFs, graphics, etc., all about our favorite Poke-couple, using any seven you'd like from the unused themes list.

Any and all contributions are welcome, and if they're tagged #pokeshipping week 2024, we'll reblog them here and on the main @pokeshipping blog. Besides Tumblr, we’ll keep our eyes out for the tag on Twitter and DeviantART for artwork, for fanfics on FF.Net and AO3, and for AMVs on YouTube (no NSFW, please).

The full list of unused themes (from years 2020 through 2023) is below the "Read More" break. Use, combine, and create as your heart desires, and we'll see you November 1!

A bad fight A day in the life  A never-ending road A ship full of shippers Alola sunset scene Amusement park Anime characters meet their game/manga counterparts Anniversary Art classes together/Drawing each other Ash and Misty in Sinnoh Ash’s hat Avatar: The Last Airbender AU Birthdays  Breakup Cameran Palace ball (as in Movie 8) Celebrating Celebrities Champions/Masters  Cheerleader Misty Childhood sweethearts Chocolate Comfort during a natural disaster Comforting each other Competition Confiding in one another Cooking disaster Costumes Criminal/Detective Crossover Crossover with game/manga-verse D&D Dealing with Team Rocket’s teasing in “A Scare in the Air” Dewpider/Araquanid Different hairstyle Disaster dates  Disney AU Double dating Elder years  Elders Ash and Misty Evolution Fairy tales/Fantasy AU Fankids Fireworks First day on the job Food Fortune-telling/foresight Game of Thrones AU Giving advice to a younger generation Grey hair Gym leader Ash/beginner Misty Halloween/horror/ghost story Hanahaki disease Handkerchief Happily Ever After/Fairy Tales Hiding Hogwarts AU Horizons Hot tub/Hot springs If Ash heard Misty’s Song If Ash or Misty weren’t from Kanto If Ash started his journey at 16 or older If Ash’s journey had ended after winning the Indigo League (in season 1) If Misty caught Lapras If one came from another region If their parents met If they didn’t meet on Ash’s first day In-universe Pokéshippers Intimacy Japanese-style confessional love letter JRPG AU (ie, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, etc.) Karaoke Ladybug and Chat Noir Last goodbyes Learning a different language Lost Pikachu Love Letter  Love triangle Lovers across the multiverse Lovestruck (if Ash acted like Brock) Meeting the parents/relatives Mewtwo Strikes Back alternate ending Misty and other Pokégirls discuss their loved ones together Misty meets Goh and Chloe Misty overcoming her fear of Bug-types Misty the coordinator Misty’s Bug-type phobia Mixtape/playlist  Mystery dungeon Nervous Ash  Never have I ever Other Pokemon games AU (Detective Pikachu/Pokemon Masters/etc) Out of their element  Overprotective Misty  Perspective of Oak Ranch Pokémon on their relationship Photo shoot Pirates Plot twist Pokemon daycare Pokémon Mystery Dungeon AU PokéNav communication/Video calling Possessed/evil Misty Pregnancy/Birth Pro-gamers Puberty Reappearance of Ash’s father and/or Misty’s parents Regency Era Romance  Return to Orange Islands Romeo and Juliet Sci-fi AU Scuba diving Secret identity/superhero AU Slow Slumber party Spies AU Stargazing Studio Ghibli AU Sunshine and Rain  Superhero AU Swimming lessons Sygna suits Tabletop RPG AU Taller (height differences)  Tauros ranchers Ash and Misty Time capsule Training together Umbrella Vacation Visiting Oak’s ranch  Water and electricity/water and fire What if Ash didn’t take Misty’s bike? Yoga together Z-ring/Mega Stone

[remidyal]

So I'm going to start speculating a little about future D20 seasons, just because we're running out of JY and thinking about that makes me sad.

My guess is that we're getting another four side quests, plus the replays of the Time Quangle live shows, before whenever the next IH season is (probably jan or feb 2025). From Dropout's production schedule, most likely at least two, probably three, and maybe all four are either already filmed or filming presently. The strikes may have disrupted this somewhat, however.

We know the names of two from the 5th anniversary video; we also know from the JY FAQ for a fact that one of these two, called "Never Stop Blowing Up" is next.

In the last few years this has been the slot for a campaign not GMed by Brennan or Aabria; I'm going to actually guess that there's a decent chance Brennan also won't be a player though I'm not at all sure of the timing with paternity leave and all. What the season is from that title could be a lot of things, though social media stars or stuntpeople have been guesses I've enjoyed. I think this is going to be a new setting, rather than something set in a preexisting universe, but I could be wrong there and there's been speculation that it might be something Starstruck (in which case I WOULD expect Brennan at the table).

GM possibilities for this or any other season even just from among people who have played on D20 before are too widespread to even do a complete list; highlights who have played on but haven't GMed for D20 and who I understand have experience (and would be excited to see) include but certainly aren't limited to Jasper, Ify, and Anjali from various side quests. Among the IH, Siobhan has made it fairly clear that she's not interested in GMing. I don't know if Ally has experience or not but they would obviously run something wild and I'd be here for it. Lou I believe has DMed home games but not actual plays; I'm uncertain if he'd be interested in running for a show, but I'd certainly watch if he did. Emily and especially Murph have a ton of experience as well but I think NADDPOD is kind of too much for Murph at least to GM outside that. Zac is low-key the IH I think is the most likely to end up GMing a season; rotating heroes is a thing, of course, but I don't think the workload there is as high as NADDPOD's.

We also know a Dungeons and Drag Queens 2 is coming at some point. The most likely format for this is a straightforward sequel with Brennan GMing for either the same four players or four different Queens, but I would actually love to see one of the players from the prior run step into the GM seat if any of them have gotten deeply into the hobby in the meantime. If they swap Brennan out for another DM here, this would maybe be the one season where I'd be delighted for it to be Murph, simply for the makeup possibilities. (One possibility is simply that he wears Cody Walsh cosplay for the season.)

I also think (or maybe I'm just trying to speak into existence) that we will get another 10-episode Aabria-GMed season this year, probably as the lead-in right before the next IH season for the third time running. Burrow's End and ACoFaF are both out of this world, stellar seasons to me (MiMa is... complicated by how much I want the property it's mocking to fade from memory, but that isn't its fault or hers) and I want to see what she does next.

Last, probably between D&DQ2 and that 10-episode season if that happens, we'll probably have another 4-6 episode original. If Brennan DMs D&DQ2 and Never Stop Blowing Up, this will probably be someone else; otherwise, not much to go off of.

It's possible that the live shows end up filling in one of these slots and are treated as a season until themselves, but I think they're going to be released not all in a row but rather to fill weeks between seasons. This might just be a greedy hope on my part, though! I do hope Brennan sits out at least one season, and I'd love it if the person who GMs who isn't Aabria or Brennan is someone who's done less prominent projects. (I'm actually talking myself into really rooting for a Zac-GMed season, though Ify's been my main hope for a long while.)

One thing that does seem to have shifted lately, specifically in Dropout's marketing - in the past, they were always extremely secretive about seasons past the currently airing one until it was complete, with the names not even known until the release of the season trailers. This changed a little when they teased Matt Mercer gming a season (which turned out to be RavWar) during Never After's airing; it's changed much more in the last two seasons, with a teaser for Junior Year coming out before Burrow's End had even started airing and with the names of multiple seasons being given in advance. It wouldn't surprise me if we continue getting little seeds for future seasons as we move forward.

[merakiui]

AHHHHHH I’M SO EXCITED AND SCARED FOR THE ANIME IISRNUXIFSF XIJSDNXXIDI

Tbh I hope they make yuu/mc/y/n gender neutral in the anime cuz that was one of the appeals of the game for me

(since most games like it will just have the mc be female end of story)

I CAN'T WAIT!!!! October 2025 is going to be so wonderful!!!! >0< it's a good day to be a Heartslabyul fan because they're the first book hehe. I mourn for the Diasomnia fans,,, T_T but I've heard they're adapting it from the manga, so it's possible we might see each Yuu from their respective book animated!!! Yuuken, Yuuka, and Yuuta!! :D I hope this is the case because I adore the manga Yuus. They're all so beloved.

I think books 1-3 have been approved!!! There are so many moments in each that I'm excited to see animated. Lots to look forward to~

[kradeelav]

status update ~

thought i'd write a summary of what I've been up to, and what's next art-wise! honestly, I'm finding that I work well mentally consolidating projects to quarters of the year; it gives me hard deadlines while allowing nuttiness to blow up two weeks (or more) of my life at a time and still not be stressed.

year recap first!

(Q1) collaborated with @/lululeighsworld to give gunter the fabulous possessed gacha entrance he deserves!! leigh's writing here to this day feels uncannily and perfectly in-character, no small feat with the mind games this devious possessed old man likes to play ~

(Q1) also finished the 140k your ruin, my ruin gunter/corrin revelation fic! the reception from y'all has been absolutely exceptional and while I don't think I'll ever write another fanfic of that length (lol) being able to point to it re: my fire emblem fates: revelation feelings is so ... satisfying. the ossan smut holds up pretty damn well too.

(Q1) NaZine (I) anthology printed and completely sold out, but the digital version is eternally available on the shop if you're still interested. I'll admit that anthologies are not normally my thing for being too prim and milquetoast, but this is anything but. if you've been dying for more sleazy uniform fetish, we got it there!

(Q2) Comics-wise, both Dead is Calling and YRMR:[Epilouge] were finished and ready to be collected in my planned gunter/corrin doujinshi called ashes and ghost; there's one more (eye-blistering smut) strip planned there with a few internal pages.

(Q3) Website-wise, IRON CROWN moved to rarebit from wordpress, and the main landing page was revamped entirely to better pave a road for preparations to self-host the website.

that's not even counting the smaller flash artwork like the fe: alphabet challenge, and hellsing exchange work also done in between everything else.

what's next?

(Q4) you might have seen me show wip's from a FE:Heroes (gacha) comic; while it's tonally softer than my usual work, It's 14-ish pages of some very, very guilty pleasure topics. raw feelings but in a different way? idk, you'll see.

(Q4) I have a personal deadline to get the website updates done by November, namely moving my art/update logs off of wordpress, and also likewise either moving to a different host or self-hosting the entire site (on a rasbpi lol) and removing the middle-man entirely.

(Q4/2025) finishing ashes and ghost (the gunter/corrin doujinshi)! I've been taking a needed break from it (something learned back in the webcomics days) but I can't wait to get back in some hentai level smut that's frankly, going to push me in so many ways. :D;;

(2025) NaZine II will likely be printed in the upcoming year with the same team heading it up. There's delicious stories already planned including multiple shotas and Daddies, oh my - needless to say, it's the kind of sleaze and sauce i dig.

that's all for now!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dan Pfeiffer at Message Box News:

In close races, nothing is more important than closing strong. And with four days to go, Donald Trump is most definitely not closing strong. Just look at the last week of his campaign:

On Sunday, Trump held a disastrous rally in Madison Square Garden filled with racist, misogynistic regret including the Puerto Rico joke heard around the world;

On Tuesday, Trump talked about the major role that anti-vaccine crank Robert F Kennedy Jr. would play in setting health care policy in a Trump Administration;

On Wednesday, Trump brought up both his history of sexual assault and his role overturning Roe v Wade when he said would protect women “whether they like or not;”

On Thursday, Trump sued 60 Minutes for $10 billion for a laughable series of reasons; and

Also on Thursday, Trump suggested that Liz Cheney should be shot for not supporting him.

I am writing this midday Friday, so it’s likely Trump will find another way to self-immolate politically between now and when you read this post. Trump’s surrogates like Speaker Mike Johnson, Elon Musk, and Trump Transition Chair Howard Lutnick make matters worse at every turn. Kamala Harris, on the other hand, has been closing very strongly. I have seen polling on her ellipse speech in front of 75,000 people, and she knocked it out of the park. Over the last week, her campaign played offensively, dictating the terms of the political conversation. Trump is reacting to her and is clearly off his game.

Why Closing Well Matters

While most voters made up their mind months if not years ago, there is a slice of voters who don’t decide until the final week. The news environment in the final week is very influential with these voters. They have either been going back and forth for months or, more likely, are just tuning into politics in the final days before the election. This is particularly true because our media ecosystem makes it challenging for all but the biggest junkies to follow political news. Campaigns track what voters are hearing about the candidates. In focus groups, the first question asked of respondents is often how much they have heard about a candidate and whether what they heard made them feel better or worse about that candidate. The poll often includes an open-ended question asking voters to volunteer what they have heard. Those responses are then put into a word cloud to see what’s breaking through. Here’s an example from a recent Navigator Research poll about Project 2025.

Want more proof that Kamala Harris (D) has the edge as we get closer to the finish line?

Donald Trump (R) has made gaffe after gaffe in recent weeks, and late-deciders are going towards Harris instead of him, unlike the last two elections.

[sergeifyodorov]

Any interest in grading everyone’s first day of free agency? Would love to hear your thoughts!!

ooh okay ! well as tuned in as i am i didn't catch everything so this is going to be pretty incomplete/fairly uninformed but here's my attempt:

boston bruins: that zadorov contract LOL AND LMAO (i say as if hes not going to immediately skyrocket to excellence.) that lindholm contract might be even worse with the same caveat. A+ for me, a hater

buffalo sabres: what did they even do? C.

detroit red wings: kane is a bad move + jack campbell is fine at that contract + cam talbot is the epitome of "goalies? what's up with goalies?" + why do they have 4 goalies now. C-

florida panthers: lost montour, lost oel, lost lomberg. that reinhart contract is really good though. C+

montreal canadiens: if slaf continues on his upward trajectory that contract looks great; if he doesn't, they're already bad so it doesn't matter all that much. B

ottawa senators: what did they even do? get noah gregor? i hear he's very fast. C.

tampa bay lightning: where do i even start with this one

toronto maple leafs: the problem w/ all of the leafs' acquisitions is that they are Fine, some of them even Good, but they're just overpaid enough for me to not only get annoyed about it but also see 30 ft of insufferably rancid discourse every time i open twitter. B+

carolina hurricanes: appear to have lost half the guys i remember being on their roster, but the one dude they did end up signing was one of the small handful of good deals i saw handed out today. C

columbus blue jackets: this team's quality does not matter. you know what does matter? gaudreau/monahan reunion. A

new jersey devils: brett pesce's good. B+

new york islanders: anthony duclair's good but i mourn what lou lamoriello will make him do with his hair. C+

new york rangers: what did they even do. C.

philadelphia flyers: MATVEI MICHKOV IS COMING. TELL YOUR FRIENDS, TELL YOUR ENEMIES, TELL TRAVIS KONECNY, TELL EVERYONE!!! A

pittsburgh penguins: incredibly committed to the bit of only signing players over 30 and they don't have poj back yet. C

washington capitals: genuine home runs in here. chychrun... pld... matt roy... didn't even give out valuable picks to acquire these assets! A

chicago blackhawks: i think they're trying to crawl out of this rebuild with no other serious potential core members other than bedard, which don't get me wrong is a bad move, but i also think they're not doing a terrible job of crawling out of the rebuild. B

colorado avalanche: kept jo drouin. C+

dallas stars: lyubushkin is incredibly bad and they gave him 3.25 aav. and casey desmith is there. F

minnesota wild: extended one of the sexiest toothless men on earth jake middleton. A

nashville predators: A+

st louis blues: what did they even do. C

utah hockey club: that durzi price is a bit steep but hey, if you've never had the money before i guess you might as well spend it. also sergachev was a BALLSY move i will miss you my cunty mistress. also we (the nhl) have a fucking iginla again... for our health. we need an iginla. B-

winnipeg jets: what did they even do. C

anaheim ducks: what did they even do. C

calgary flames: sharangovich extension + anthony mantha. tidy bit of business. zayne parekh YOU are the 2025 calder trophy winner. C+

edmonton oilers: managed to get a couple good players on nice cheap contracts, improved their rush game even more somehow, and will have to re-print their goalie's jerseys because they now have two different guys named skinner. A

la kings: gave joel edmundson nearly 4 million dollars a year. D

seattle kraken: stole brandon montour from florida. B+

san jose sharks: unlike the hawks, seem to be actively prepared to break out of the rebuild and trying to do it. toffoli? great! wennberg? a little overpaid but they're trying to hit the cap floor at this point so it's quite good! rumours of pavs return to san jose but you didn't hear it from me. B+

vancouver canucks: jake debrusk is gonna be a good linemate for petey imho. the hronek and myers contracts were a little rich but honestly they seem to be a lot more coherent ideologically than they were just a couple years ago. B

vegas golden knights: basically lost every remaining original misfit/otherwise quality forward in an effort to keep marchessault, and then lost marchessault anyway to the Power Of Divorce. and now they have ilya samsonov as their starting goaltender. F

[cryingatships]

Gmmtv 2025 Thoughts Tag Game

Rules: write your thoughts on all the gmmtv series pilots released today (or just the ones you plan to watch) and tag any 3 (or more! or less!) ppl whose thoughts you wanna know about!

We actually have quite an assortment of shows this year, so much variety!! Woo!! And very little school and uni too, count me a happy cow!

Dare You To Death - I'm not a big fan of JoongDunk (tho I do enjoy Joong alone), but the story is interesting. But it doesn't stand out much with all the offering we have from gmm this year. Will I watch this? If I'm very bored/in a watchy mood and this comes up on my yt page

Head to Head - I'm sold on the chemistry but the story is an old one. I do enjoy a good enemies to lovers, but unless it gets stellar reviews from folks here, i won't be taking a peek

Burnout Syndrome - THE SHOW THAT COULD HAVE HAD IT ALLL. It had OffGun, it has Dew. Gmm could have gone along and given us whole OffDewGun tbh. Oh well. I don't much enjoy love triangles, but GOTH GUN? WITH BLACK LIPSTICK??? and EVERYTHING Dew and Gun have going together? Don't mind if i do~

I Love "A Lot Of" You - Nanon was interesting in the trailer but it's straight. so.

Whale Store xoxo - cuteeee girliessss. what else does one need! The story hasnt captured my heart but ig i'll give it a try. if i'm bored and have time.

Only Friends: Dream On - THEY BROUGHT BACK MY HORRIBLE TERRIBLE AWFUL UPTO NO GOOD BLORBO?? and earthmix?? and JossGawin?? AND NEO??? I have been SCREAMING for months to see Boston going back to wreck-havoc-of-ppl lifestyle again and this. was an absolute dream come true. Tbh I didn't dream this big lmao. And it reminds me of a danmei i read recently so double yay! It does looks messy tho, and messiness stresses me out unless it's very well done so.... I'll start it, but idk if i'll finish it (much like the og Only Friends)

That Summer - It does look cute... but... hmm.... unless it's a real good story. i'll have to pass on. Nothing personal but with so many good shows, it's hard making time for mediocre ones (and like... real life obligations exist sob sob sob)

My Romance Scammer - I love the story line (con artists woot woot!) but the strength of the pairings remain to be seen. I'll wait for the reviews u.u

Melody of Secrets - I do love the aesthetics of this! And forcebook are great together. But the overall story line... Please don't start strong and fizzle out later, gmm, not on a good one like this!

Love You Teacher - Well i am Fascinated ✨✨I saw some 'ehhh' feelings in the show tags, but I've always loved the strange storylines so let's gooooo!! I'll watch this just to see what they're cooking, strength of storyline aside. And like PerthSanta are pretty on the screen together, they sold this series to me!

Mu Te Luv - I didn't see the trailer when it aired (needed to get me some water) and i haven't managed to gather enough motivation to see it yet. so.

Cat for Cash - CATS?????? MANY CATS???? YES. COUNT ME IN. And FK look good together too. I've been on and off with Fk over the years. Eclipse was meh. Moonlight Chicken was great. Only Friends had highs and lows. This is more cats than fk for me but i'm sat for this

Girl Rules - messy messy girlies. ON one hand i don't like mess ( i struggled to watch OF and skipped the middle eps), on the other hand - the ladies. Again, I'll start this but who knows if I'll be able to watch it all the way. I do HOPE i can watch all the way but if there's one thing in ik then t's that i can't ever trust my brain to finish smt :')

Boys In Love - I'm.... not sold. But I can see why we might need a few predictable, overdone bls. And I don't blame gmm, tho i won't be watching.

My Magic Prophecy - I do like JimmySea together but I'm not sold on the story. I'll be waiting for the reviews for this one too

A Dog and A Plane - TayNew have never disappointed me AND the story looks great! Predictable, but we enjoy easy romcoms in this household. I'll be watching this one :D

Me And Thee - again, i can never hate an easy, predictable romcom that's up my alley! And the pilot made me realize just how damn pretty Pond Naravit is. Like ik he's pretty, but this was downright illegal. I'm parking myself here more for Pond's face than the story, but i do hope they give us a good one, or i'll probably leave this unfinished, too :')

Wu - I've heard the talks about SkyNani.... and they do look good. But the pilot was too vague. I'll wait for the actual trailers to air.

Memoir of Rati - Historic bl??? in my life?? YES AND THANK YOU. I didn't manage to finish Wandee Goodday but that was cause of the story. GreatInn and always great. And also AouBoom??? Class difference?? Potential long distance relationship?? Maybe a bit of colonial hints? Delicious~

Ticket To Heaven - Now I ain't christian, but damn me if catholic guilt and religious imagery isn't peak aesthetics and feels. This gives me very missionary school vibes we have in the local here, and i've grown up hearing all about them even if i didn't see it directly (and thank heavens for that!) Also GemFourth are always a treat ❤️

No pressure tags: @ohanny @le-trash-prince @valentinaonthemoon

@enigmaharper @bubbalakebrome @persistinghorrors

@gaiaxygang @mrs-lunna @binary5tar1117

@poetry-protest-pornography @neolynne @doublel27 and every person who sees this! Join innnn :D

[captainlexapro]

✨🐳ASTROLOGY OF THE CANUCKS 2024-2025🐳✨

Hello again ~extremely niche group of~ Canucks fans and astrology nerds!!! I’m back with the astrology of the ‘Nucks: 2024-2025 edition. I wanted to get this out towards the beginning of the season (with full awareness there will likely be trades/various changes as the season progresses). If you're an astrology fan or just curious, please join me below the cut!

⚠️ THIS IS A VERY. LONG. POST. I'M SERIOUS WHEN I SAY THIS IS A DEEP DIVE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. ⚠️

OMFGGG LITERALLY RIGHT AFTER I POSTED THIS SPRONG GOT TRADED SOOOOOOO YEAH. NUMBERS WILL BE SLIGHTLY OFF. I'M NOT REDOING THIS UNTIL MAYBE THE SPRING SO WE'LL JUST DEAL WITH IT. THAT BEING SAID MY NOTES ABOUT HIM MAY TRACK. 👀

Pretty much the same format as last time but in a few slides for better visuals and by default (hopefully) better understanding. 

I’ll just list a bunch of stuff, put in some charts (comparing this year to last year), then dive into my own insights/interpretations (still very much an amateur astro enthusiast). BUT this time i explored more into the team’s moon signs (there’s some weird - or at least very intriguing - stuff going on there), as well as a bit of mercury/venus/mars signs, AND some aspects (i’ll quick cover all this stuff at the beginning if you need a refresher or have no idea wtf any of that means you’re just here to have a good time - and i thank u for that 💕)

MANDATORY DISCLAIMERS: 

1) this is just for fun!!! If you’re not into this, that’s totally fine. 

2) Again, i’m not a professional so if i’m way off, please be gentle with corrections or your own interpretations. 

3) as context for last year’s roster numbers: i included the players who were in at least 10+ games. 

4) My percentages will not add up perfectly to 100 every time bc i wanted whole numbers, not decimals.

5) Canucks fambly first and foremost. I am still including Dak and Demmer even though they are presently on IR (because of course! we anxiously await your return, kings!!!), as well as the AHL players we may or may not see a lot of (except Nils Åman - we will miss our most beautiful boy as he goes back to AHL😪).

6) Even if you don’t care about astro or barely know wtf any of this means, i would still LOVEEE to have people just look at the various groups of players and provide their own observations/interpretations - are you seeing patterns, too? What are your thoughts?? Pleaseee share i’d love to chat!!

HERE WE GO!

REVIEW/FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH ASTRO TERMS:

☀️ENTIRE ROSTER SUN SIGNS OBSERVATIONS☀️

🔥 🌊Once again, the canucks are mainly water and fire, which is a very passionate, emotional combination. They are both creative and caring (though they may approach these things differently). They keep each other in check- fire makes water more active while water keeps fire from raging out of control. They are complementary/equal but opposite. 

♓For sun sign, pisces STILL reigns supreme with 20% of the roster (5 players, with 4 being forwards. ♈ Next highest is Aries, with one forward, one d-man, and one goalie). We actually have at least one player for each sign (at this point in time). Still very heavy on the fire and water energy, but now we have a little more earth (stability) and air.

Pisces key words: responsive, sentimental, sympathetic, unselfish, psychic, vague, escapist, imitative, shifting - Boeser, Garland, Miller, Sprong, Forbort -

🐺The Lone Wolves are newbies to the team (only person on roster with sign) are Heinen (cancer), Brännström (our new and only virgo!), and Bains (cap).

The Canucks offense vibe is keeping that heavy water and pisces energy. Defense is more air (cerebral, objective). There is a fairly even distribution between modality as well, which I think is good. You need the initiators, the sustainers, and the refiners all to be present to complete the ‘cycle’. Mutable signs are most common on the team, and I do think that energy overall lends itself to a more free-flowing, creative vibe, which i know rick has said he wants to emphasize in their playing style… That being said, i like that there’s at least a little more distribution between the elements as i think that helps build a more rounded team. 

✍️COACH & CAPTAIN OBSERVATIONS

Let’s mention coach really quick: rick is an aries sun, pisces moon, taurus mercury (because OF COURSE he has signs that are found repeatedly amongst the nucks…) Last time i looked at this stuff i didn’t dive this deep, but i thought about how for being an aries AND an nhl coach, i think rick does an impressive job keeping his emotions in check. We hardly ever see him truly get pissed off. He always seems very open and forthright in interviews. We know he can flip the switch if necessary - and i bet he does behind closed doors so we don’t see it - but it’s intriguing to me. Now this tracks since checking his chart: aries sun = passion, pisces moon = composure/keeps calm, taurus mercury = practical, common sense. Bingbangboom. 

♎️Remember that quinn’s a libra, which is the sister sign to aries. Libras are diplomatic and have go-between/relator energy, but can get bogged down by people pleasing. 

to be fair, the way quinn talks about his role and just hockey in general gives me the impression he’s pretty damn well-adjusted and has a good support system. But you can often sense his repression during pre/post-game interviews and how he holds his cards close to his chest. We have seen him be more light-hearted and libra-like, but he takes his leadership role very seriously and doesn’t want to let his guard down and slip up. Very good at compartmentalizing emotions.

I think the players respect him a lot and listen to what he has to say. As an air sign on a team of mostly fire and water signs, he can separate the unnecessary emotion from the necessary logic. He can act as mediator between hotheads and cold shoulders.

☀️FORWARDS SUN SIGNS OBSERVATIONS☀️

Forwards are still mostly mutable signs (followed by fixed and cardinal equally).

Element-wise, forwards are still water-heavy, followed almost equally by fire, earth, and air.

Forwards need constant fluidity and motion, need to look for openings

Water: seek connection, responsive

Mutable: flexible/adaptable, weave, dodge, complete the cycle

I think mutables and water signs are good traits for forwards. They need to constantly be moving/adjusting/trying new paths, responding to situations and making new/different plans, feeling the connection with others and be willing to sacrifice for the greater good/end goal (literally)

☀️DEFENSEMEN SUN SIGNS OBSERVATIONS☀️

Defense has equal mutable and fixed (this is a shift from last year - mutable has overtaken cardinal). 

The D-line has mostly air (last year was mostly fire), followed equally by fire and water. 

Defensemen need to anticipate, react, and redirect quickly

Air: seek knowledge, communicative

Mutable: flexible/adaptable, weave, dodge, complete the cycle

Fixed: stand one’s ground, patient and stubborn, maintain the energy

Defensemen need to both attack and protect, think ahead, surveying/observing, restart/set the plays, block/interrupt opponents

I think it’s good there’s now an equal presence between fixed (solid/don’t budge) and mutable (evade/be shifty) as they each serve a purpose within the d-man role. There may be something to the logicism of air signs - you cannot let emotions control you or it could lead to a goal for your opponent. You have to stay focused in your specific role. But you also must be willing to make the decision to mix it up. A lot of running through the decision tree as they try to both defend their goal but also help their forwards on the offensive.

☀️GOALIES SUN SIGNS OBSERVATIONS☀️

The three goalies (remember, demmer is still included!!) are two fire and one earth. Fire for keeping energy up and earth for being solid and focused. 

Lanks is the earth sign and he as been so damn solid!!

There’s one cardinal, one mutable, and one fixed. Demko has the best track record as a sag (fire & mutable), but I’m very curious to see how each goalie’s stats shake out to compare modality trends.

I think there will be more to analyze here once we are further into the season.

DIGGING DEEPER: MOONS SIGNS (& MORE)

I checked players’ charts for sun, moon, mercury, venus, and mars placements. I’ll focus mostly on moon but there a handful of trends with the other planets that are blatantly apparent that I want to touch on. Given there are 12 signs and it’s presently a roster of 25, you’d expect there to be a fairly even distribution amongst signs, but nope!!

🌕MOON SIGNS OBSERVATIONS aka what the FUCK is going on here???🌕

(Remember moon signs are your feelings/emotional needs/inner self)

If you’re not an aries, libra, or SAGITTARIUS moon and you want to be a canuck, good fucking luck. 

Basically ONE FOURTH (24%) of the team are sag moons?!?!?!? (blueger, debrusk, garland, miller, hronek, hughes)

20% are aries moons (sherwood, juulsen, myers, soucy, lankinen), 16% are libra moons (boeser, heinen, höglander, desharnais)

I felt like i was losing it when i kept running charts and saw: sagittarius. Sagittarius. sagittarius. Libra. sagittarius. Aries. Aries. Libra. Like how the fuck…. 

And NEARLY HALF (48%) have fire sign moons. So if you can’t get the metaphorical fire going emotionally…if you aren’t living and dying by your team…if you aren’t full of passion and fight…get outta here. 

Also only TWO fixed moon signs on the entire roster (suter & joshua)

MORE ABOUT THE MOST PREVALENT MOON SIGNS:

🗣️MERCURY SIGNS OBSERVATIONS🗣️

(remember: mercury is all about communication)

OVERALL: mostly taurus (20%) and pisces (16%)

Good distribution amongst elements; mostly fixed (serious, deep, focused) and mutable (open-minded, creative) signs. Lots of players think a lot about what they say. Lots of them are also willing to think about things differently.

Descriptions from astrology.com or cafeastrology.com

“Taurus mercury: concrete, meticulous, productive, sensible, steady, boring, intellectually lazy, narrow-minded, slow, uncompromising”

“Common sense approach, practical and proven, can still be creative, refuse to be rushed - need to open up to different points of view”

Canucks players: joshua, suter, desharnais, juulsen, lankinen (and tocchet!!)

Observations: when i think of these guys (i guess mostly dak, lanks, and rick) speaking, i think of being casual yet still deliberate and thoughtful. They feel trustworthy. I could depend on them for something important and it’d be no big deal for them.

“Pisces mercury: expansive, fluid, receptive, subtle, transcendent, absent-minded, confused, indirect, nebulous, self-deceptive”

“Vague communication, dreamers, intuitive - pick up on things overlooked, compassionate, oversensitive”

Canucks players: garland, miller, sherwood, šilovs

Observations: Have a sort of innocence to them (even if they can all channel aggression come game time). Have a protective love for their teammates that is evident. Well, arty doesn’t say much but still! lol

💗VENUS & MARS SIGNS OBSERVATIONS💪

(Remember: venus is about love/beauty/values and mars is about action/drive/passion)

I’m not as well-versed in these planets so i’m not going to speak on them a lot, but I will use them in my aspects observations.

Venus: fairly even distribution amongst elements, mostly cardinal and mutable modalities. 

Mars: less even distribution, mostly earth signs and mutable signs. Need to be stimulated/challenged and can therefore grow and develop.

MY PREVIOUS GUESSES + NEW NOTES

GUESS: JT is so intriguing because i don’t think you would guess he’s a pisces. he definitely has some fire placements in his chart (emotional outbursts but you can tell he cares so deeply). Ngl i kinda dig seeing him fly above all the fighting and then just going ‘fuck it’ and smacking somebody 

Miller: pisces sun (water sign), sag moon (fire sign!), pisces mercury (water sign), aries venus (fire sign!), cancer mars (water sign, will go crazy for loved ones)

Square b/w sun and moon: “Strong-willed and very sensitive”

Moon trine venus: “generally amiable” “natural charm” 

Mercury trine mars: “likes discussions, debates, polemic” “hard worker and has lots of energy” 

I was right - lotssss of fire and water

GUESS: Garly likely has some air (communicative, social butterfly) AND fire (he just does NOT slow down. He’s a spark for the team. Maybe aries energy somewhere). 

Garland: pisces sun, sag moon, pisces mercury, taurus venus (physical affection), pisces mars

Conj sun and mars: “have powerful energy stores you can draw upon when needed”

Right about having a lot of energy (just not from fire sign)

GUESS: I am almost willing to put money on quinn being a pisces rising lmao. “Who’s the little canuck that always looks scared or high?”

Can’t confirm anybody’s rising sign without a birth time, but i stand by this guess.

GUESS: Brock’s pretty lowkey so likely a fair amount of water and perhaps earth.

Boeser: pisces sun, libra moon, aquarius mercury, aquarius venus, libra mars (handing stick back after being tripped with it)

Conj sun and venus: “charming and easygoing”

Libra is diplomatic and aquarius is somewhat detached. Go with the flow. 

GUESS: Petey is kinda mysterious and aloof (both associated with scorpio) but i would venture a guess that there’s some aquarius in there (maybe moon? Alien vibes lol).

Pettersson: scorpio sun, virgo moon, sag mercury, scorpio venus, virgo mars

Conj sun and venus: “charming and easygoing” popularity can be important - same as brock

Sextile b/w sun and mars: “powerful energy stores”

Virgo moon and mars - can mince words. Particular. Sextile sun/mars- can generate a lot of power. 

Wrong about air - aloofness comes from scorpio sun and venus. Sag mercury - dgaf.

OTHER THING I NEED TO SHARE: HRONEK AND HUGHES ARE NEARLY TWINSIES👬

The only difference in personal planets that they have besides their sun sign is their venus sign. And since venus-moon aspects between partnerships are a positive, the fact that fil has a sag venus and huggy a sag moon is a good thing (i mean huggy also just has a fair amount of sag anyway but still). 

Hronek: scorpio sun, sag moon, scorpio mercury, sag venus, sag mars

Hughes: libra sun, sag moon, scorpio mercury, virgo venus, sag mars

They may feel like they’re looking in a mirror sometimes - but the houses that their respective planets are in (this is more in-depth astro stuff that i’m not even touching on - because i can’t calculate it without the birth time) will affect how the planets show up and are expressed, but the matching energy is still very much there. I will say quinn’s chart was more ~crunchy~ in terms of aspects going on. So maybe that would explain how they are both sooo similar on paper but the actual pinpoints of those placements has a huge effect in how they come off to others. 

Scorpio energy = observant, reserved, intense. Sag energy = freedom, competitive, needs space.

📐THE NITTY-GRITTY: ASPECTS📐

*THIS IS THE LONGEST SECTION SO PREPARE YOURSELF LOL*

(Remember: these are the degrees and angles formed between planets)

I organized these based on planet combos and whether they are beneficial (conjunct, trine, sextile) or challenging (square, opposite) aspects. I tried to include everybody at least once. Some of these aspects aren’t as relevant to hockey/sports, but hey, maybe it gives some insight into them as people which you may find interesting.

*Stuff in quotes is from astrology.com or cafeastrology.com*

☀️BENEFICIAL SUN & MOON ASPECTS🌕

“balanced personality” “emotions and will are at peace with one another” “likely personally popular” “relaxed, easygoing disposition” “has lots of vitality and more potential than they may realize”

These individuals have a good balance between what they want and what they need. They are generally easygoing and well-liked. Their core being is often in alignment with their emotions. The sun and moon work well together, so they have an attractive personality and disposition.

Canucks: These are the chill guys. The cuties. Everybody likes them. 

Sun sextile moon: höglander, hughes Sun trine moon: soucy, räty  Sun conjunct moon: forbort

☀️CHALLENGING SUN & MOON ASPECTS🌕

“internal struggle between needs and wants” “strong-willed and very sensitive” “Can be one’s own worst enemy”

These individuals have a disconnect between what they want and what they need. Can have a lot of internal turmoil and difficulty reconciling how they feel with how they want to be. The sun and moon are pushing against each other, resulting in a sort of identity crisis unless it is recognized and harnessed.

Canucks: Can be extreme emotionally. Have a lot of feelings and sometimes it’s hard to reign them in.

Sun square moon: heinen, miller

☀️BENEFICIAL SUN & MERCURY ASPECTS🗣️

 “verbal, intelligent, observant”

These individuals are often naturally well-spoken and genuinely enjoy communication. They may like to talk but they are also just as good at listening with intention. The sun and mercury are working together, making the individuals easy to talk to.

Canucks: Great conversationalists. Active listeners.

Sun conjunct mercury: blueger, joshua, räty

☀️BENEFICIAL SUN & VENUS ASPECTS💗

“charming and easygoing” “popularity can be important”

These individuals have a great social presence and may often care greatly about how they are received by others. They like to be liked. Enjoy looking good and there may be an interest in art, fashion, style, etc. 

Canucks: Have superior fits. You can tell they care about appearances. Can be very charming when they want to be.

Sun conjunct venus: boeser, pettersson, sprong, juulsen

☀️BENEFICIAL SUN & MARS ASPECTS💪

“Powerful energy stores you can draw upon when needed”

These individuals have alignment between their ego and their inner drive. Their energy fuels their personality and vice versa.-They can get going and keep going and this energy is contagious. Need to be careful of sitting still for too long as this disrupts the action that comes naturally to them.

Canucks:  Giving 100% effort. Can will the team back into the game themselves. Don’t give up on the play. Seemingly energized all the time. (I will not accept any Petey slander!!) These guys are the ones who people NOTICE as being energetic, don’t let up, checking/falling/popping back up and keep going. Inner drive and don’t give up. They’ll give you everything no matter if you’re flying high or in the depths of hell. THIS ONE GETS ME!! LIKE HELLO?!? ARE YOU SEEING THIS GROUP??

Sun sextile mars: debrusk, höglander, pettersson Sun conjunct mars: garland Sun trine mars: sherwood

☀️CHALLENGING SUN & MARS ASPECTS💪

“competitiveness and a ‘me-first’ attitude” “abundant energy” “can rub people the wrong way” “motivated” mutable signs = “restless and frustrated impatience”

These individuals may have problems with embracing their strength and power and using them constructively. They must recognize how their motivations can get in the way of their natural talent and learn to channel their energy with care. Learning patience is important.

Canucks: Don’t know much about sprong but general guesses: May want too much at times. Gets frustrated more quickly than others.

Sun opposite mars: sprong

🌕CHALLENGING MOON & MERCURY ASPECTS🗣

“conflict between the head and the heart” “love to chat” 

These individuals may struggle to communicate their feelings and desires. It may feel unnatural to them or they perhaps cannot articulate themselves in the right way. Things may come out wrong when they speak.

Canucks: Maybe more shy because openness is harder for them to do. Perhaps more uncomfortable than others giving interviews? 

Moon square mercury: suter, brännström

🌕BENEFICIAL MOON & VENUS ASPECTS💗

 “generally amiable” “natural charm” “diplomatic disposition”

These individuals can have a natural charm and care deeply for others. Highly sensitive to the emotions of themselves and others, there is a softness to them even if their initial impression suggests otherwise. 

Canucks: Deeply caring, even if they can show aggression. Good “in-between” personalities - they can get on with many people.

Moon trine venus: miller, desharnais

🌕BENEFICIAL MOON & MARS ASPECTS💪

“passionate person who loves life” “frank, honest, full of vigor and ambition”“emotions are powerful and immediate, your passion is generally controlled and directed”

These individuals have strong emotions, yet they are expressed with intention. They can let things flow through them instead of wallowing in them. They can accept their feelings for what they are. Have genuineness to them. Not afraid to (calmly) tell it like it is.

Canucks: Steady, solid. Calming presence. Even-keeled.

Moon conjunct mars: höglander Moon trine mars: myers, lankinen

🌕CHALLENGING MOON & MARS ASPECTS💪

“unrest is characteristic” / “if you can channel your excitable energy into sports or some other competitive field, all the better”

These individuals probably struggle with having their energy overwhelm them. They want to go, go, go but that doesn’t work for every situation. They likely feel unsatisfied unless they are being active and feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Canucks: Demmer is probably dyinnggg not being able to play. Wants to be out there badly.

Moon opposite mars: demko

🗣️BENEFICIAL MERCURY & VENUS ASPECTS💗

“agreeable, optimistic, sociable, enjoys speaking, very charming”

These individuals likely have a great leadership presence - they are well-spoken and well-liked. People listen when they have something to say. Have light and positive disposition. Get along with others with ease.

Canucks: Mysie is a great veteran leader. Can speak well with everyone - team, coach, staff. Soucy is very well-spoken (and I really enjoy listening to his interviews).

Mercury conjunct venus: myers Mercury sextile venus: soucy

🗣️BENEFICIAL MERCURY & MARS ASPECTS💪

“likes discussions, debates, polemic” “worker and has lots of energy”

These individuals have good alignment with their communication and their actions. They say what they mean and do what they say. They are good at generating ideas and directing others. Take challenges head-on and are always willing to work to find solutions. 

Canucks: Enjoy the puzzle of the game. Talk to teammates a lot, which is visible on the ice (especially with Miller!!) 

Mercury trine mars: miller Mercury conjunct mars: suter, desharnais

🗣️CHALLENGING MERCURY & MARS ASPECTS💪

“Quick-minded” “spirit is lively, it is also cunning” “often acts without thinking”

These individuals have struggles with controlling their actions and can be too eager for their own good at times. Their minds move quickly, but they must learn to discern the best path forward before committing. Act on instinct, may speak without considering the consequences first. 

Canucks: Can be a little wild. When they are focused and stick to the system, they are very effective and can beat opponents with their reaction time.

Mercury square mars: bains, brännström

💗BENEFICIAL VENUS & MARS ASPECTS💪

“amorous” “demonstrative in love” “passionate lover with strong temperament” 

These individuals have harmony between how they give and receive love. Very powerful emotions and expectations when it comes to affection and what they expect from those they care about. 

Canucks: Lol they don’t say much but there’s a lot going on beneath the surface. They care deeply, but that doesn’t mean it will show on the surface level (depends on other placements). High expectations.

Venus conjunct mars: hronek Venus trine mars: šilovs

👤PLAYER SPECIFICS👤

Here’s everybody’s chart stuff and some notes I made (not everybody got notes - sorry 😓 i just don't know them all well enough to confidently make comments for everyone)

FORWARDS

Bains: cap sun, virgo moon, aqua mercury, aries venus, scorpio mars

Blueger: leo sun, sag moon, leo mercury, libra venus, gemini mars

Has a lot of sociable placements- leo and sag like to have fun and bring energy, libra venus gem mars - likely pretty flirty. 

Boeser: pisces sun, libra moon, aquarius mercury, aquarius venus, libra mars

Libra is diplomatic and aquarius is somewhat detached. Go with the flow. Pisces + Libra = a lot of just kindness and sensitivity (of course i must reference the mr. sensitive nickname)

Libra mars - handing stick back after being tripped with it 😭

DeBrusk: libra sun, sag moon, libra mercury, virgo venus, leo mars

Seems like he has pieces in his chart that are the same as several of the core nucks players - probably gets along really well with most of the guys

Garland: pisces sun, sag moon, pisces mercury, taurus venus, pisces mars

Right about having a lot of energy (just not from fire sign)

Taurus venus = enjoys physical affection

Heinen: cancer sun, libra moon, gemini mercury, cancer venus, virgo mars

Höglander: sag sun, libra moon, sag mercury, aqua venus, libra mars

Libra energy = likes to be liked, sag energy = likes to be goofy and have fun!

I feel like he’s kind of a happy-go-lucky lil guy

Joshua: taurus sun, taurus moon, taurus mercury, gemini venus, taurus mars

Heavvyyyy taurus energy. I like taurus mercury and garly’s pisces mercury together (water and earth). Steady. hard-working.

Miller: pisces sun (water sign!), sag moon (fire sign!), pisces mercury (water sign!), aries venus (fire sign!), cancer mars (water sign!)

I was right - lotssss of fire and water. Very intense. Can be hard to contain that emotion.

Cancer mars = will go crazy for loved ones once he’s pushed over the edge

Pettersson: scorpio sun, virgo moon, sag mercury, scorpio venus, virgo mars

Virgo moon and mars - can mince words. Particular. Observant. Sensitive. 

Virgo energy is actually pretty sensitive to criticism - especially words. A Virgo moon i know will remember exactly what you said from years ago and call you on it if you contradict yourself. Take words to heart. Driven by sense of duty. Can be perfectionists and get in their heads too much.

Wrong about air - aloofness comes from scorpio sun and venus. Sag mercury - dgaf. Can be blunt. 

Räty: scorpio sun, pisces moon, scorpio mercury, scorpio venus, libra mars

Sherwood: aries sun, aries moon, pisces mercury, pisces venus, leo mars

Aries sun/aries moon = firepower, spark, energy!

He has a lot of fire and water like millsy = we know they are both very expressive on the ice and not afraid to show emotion (good or bad)

Sprong: pisces sun, cancer moon, aries mercury, pisces venus, virgo mars

Suter: gemini sun, leo moon, taurus mercury, gemini venus, taurus mars

DEFENSEMEN

Brännström: virgo sun, gemini moon, virgo mercury, leo venus, scorpio mars

Desharnais: gemini sun, libra moon, taurus mercury, gemini venus, taurus mars

Forbort: pisces sun, pisces moon, aries mercury, aqua venus, aqua mars

Hronek: scorpio sun, sag moon, scorpio mercury, sag venus, sag mars

Sag energy - freedom, competitive, need space 

Scorpio energy - observant, reserved, intense

Hughes: libra sun, sag moon, scorpio mercury, virgo venus, sag mars

That libra likes-to-be-liked sun and sag likes-to-have-fun moon (reverse sun/moon of höggy)

Everybody looooves huggy :). Might struggle with speaking up.

Scorpio mercury - observant

Juulsen: aries sun, aries moon, taurus mercury, aries venus, virgo mars

Myers: aqua sun, aries moon, cap mercury, cap venus, cap mars

Direct and honest communicator - like lanks

Cap energy is very hardworking, straightforward, grounded

“Consistency, dedication, communication” - descriptors from canucksinsider article

Soucy: leo sun, aries moon, cancer mercury, virgo venus, gemini mars

He has good aspects in his chart so he’s just a pleasure to be around (and look at :))

GOALIES

Demko: sag sun, cancer moon, sag mercury, cap venus, cap mars

Cancer moons are very sweet (also very sensitive) which i think tracks for demmer. Sag energy likes to (lovingly) poke fun at people, which also tracks.

Lankinen: taurus sun, aries moon, taurus mercury, aries venus, leo mars

Has passion and steadiness with some energy/firepower to boot!

Šilovs: aries sun, pisces moon, pisces mercury, aries venus, sag mars

pisces energy - innocence, dreamy-eyed

COACH TOCCHET

Rick: aries sun, pisces moon, taurus mercury, gemini venus, aries mars

His sun sign is the second most present sign amongst players

His moon sign is one of the more present ones on the team but ALSO having a pisces moon will help him mesh well with all the pisces sun players

Has the most common mercury signs present amongst players

So - on astrological paper - he probably gets along well with a majority of the players and they can relate to each other/connect easily

OKAY THAT'S IT *lies on the floor* thanks for reading if you managed to make it to the end 🫂 💕 you're a real one. PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS i know there's observations other people will have that i did not!!! okay thanks and i hope you have a good day!!!

[roleplaysolovinoiu]

Who am i?

Hey everyone, it’s still me, Serhii. I thought it might be a good idea to write this post since some people have misunderstood my invitation to join the jam as a scam. So, I’ll tell you a bit about myself.

I’m 33 years old, I work at a hospital, and I live in Ukraine. TTRPGs are my passion, and I try to combine my love for them with doing something good.

Before 2022, our small group of 40 people used to play various games in Ukrainian on a local Discord server. Before the Russian invasion, the development of roleplaying games in Ukraine was almost nonexistent. We just played in local groups without much interaction. Meanwhile, there was a huge post-soviet russian-speaking space, and everything Ukrainian developers created benefited that sphere, despite the ongoing war since 2014.

However, the brutal invasion and shared hardship brought Ukrainians together. By spring and summer of 2022, after we gathered ourselves, we started building our own community. Since then, we’ve achieved quite a bit: offline and online festivals, our own games (even in English), over 30 translations of well-known and indie games, educational work, lectures, reviews, new YouTube videos, and of course, ongoing charity fundraising. Charity has become part of our daily lives because we know if we don’t donate, both we and our families and friends won’t survive.

Personally, I helped found Roleplay Solovinoiu, a Ukrainian-language group I started with my wife to promote RPGs here. We’ve hosted tons of online festivals, introduced people to games other than D&D, and I co-organized the international Roleplay Ukraine festival, which we’ve held twice: in 2023 and 2024. Hopefully, nothing will stop us from holding it again in May 2025.

I’ve also been involved in translating games into Ukrainian, like Lady Blackbird, Call of Cthulhu, Vaesen, Dune: Adventures in the Empire, Fallout 2d20, Lasers and Feelings, and some indie stuff. Soon, Durf will be released—we hoped to finish it this summer, but we had an unfortunate situation with our layout designer. And I’ve also made the best social deduction board game, but I’m not allowed to talk about that :).

Now, we’ve decided to organize a bundle to raise money to help Ukrainian hospitals. Since I work in a hospital, I can see the massive need that the government can’t fully cover right now. In the jam’s post, you’ll find pictures and stats on how many hospitals have been completely destroyed, and how many are still hanging on, despite the damage. We’ve partnered with one of the biggest charitable foundations and know that all the money will go directly to helping hospitals.

So, that’s a bit about me. Yes, I’m a real person, not a bot. Feel free to ask any questions you might have!

Wishing you peace and skies free of rockets.

[vertebrae-entertainment]

04.11.2024 - Status update!

Hey!! You're being too quiet!! Whats going on over there!! Well, good question- lets get into that:

Things are going slow! There are multiple reasons for that. First, we took on a load of side work this year to keep the lights on. Second, we're moving apartments right now, with very sudden and short notice!! Third, we have two projects and half the team is absent because of sickness! Bad news for project productivity, indeed.

Other Projects

Theres some cool stuff going on here! People who keep up with our Facebook page may have seen that we're currently collaborating with Likestillingssenteret (The Centre for Equality), Ungdom og Fritid (Youth Work Norway) and streamer MarinaaD on the multi-year educational project Trygg Gaming (Safe Gaming) on how to build safe and equality-minded gaming spaces for youths and discourage hateful conduct! This is our second time collaborating with Likestillingssenteret and MarinaaD, and we are supplying the project with some gaming and game design expertise, as well as our knowledge on the queer subset of game and gaming culture. Additionally, we have had the honor of supplying the campaign with its visual design, much helped by the center's in-house media team!

Other than that, we have some updates on the game development scene in our hometown of Hamar! I was invited to participate in a small project group to map out the potential for establishing a new hub for game development studios in the region, alongside the capable hands and minds behind Sarepta Studio, Encircle Games, Raidho Games and Snowleaf Studios. Last week we presented our proposition to the other businesses in town. Big things are happening, and i advice any game developer in town to keep their ears open!

As well, Global Game Jam Hamar 2025 is right around the corner! Like '23 and '24, buying a ticket to the event ensures you an event t-shirt designed by yours truly. Operations here are now in the hands of the freshly established Hamar Game Events... which is to say, its the same group as before but under a new name! Its gonna be loads of fun, and i hope to see some of y'all there :D

Life and stuff

Earlier this year Åge got very sick, and has been unable to regularly join me in the office. This has affected development greatly, as i am unable to work on Fangst by myself- and i can only do so much graphical work before the pile becomes too much to implement for a two person team.

Then a month ago we got an email that our apartments are getting torn down in favor of a new block project!! Poor luck!! So in short, now we're moving. We should be relocated by December, hopefully before the snow starts setting in.

Teknokrat > Fangst

The main point of this blog post, really. So, given that half the team is sick for the unforeseeable future, what are my options? I have little chance of finishing Fangst in any defendable state by myself, and we do not have the means to hire or outsource.

I decided i should focus on giving Fangst a fighting chance by releasing an self-driven project before it, which ended up being Teknokrat.

So here i am, making an unfiltered gay romance sci-fi visual novel. I write, code, make the art and the music. The rawer and raunchier the better. This should help us gain experience with a commercial release, and help us find our audience. Its lack of workforce and budget will be both its strength and weakness. And when its out, we will be readier for Fangst than we ever were earlier!

I'm very excited for this one- its currently resting at a comfortable 15k script length, soon in a demo-worthy state which will get an early playtest run in our Discord before being dropped on Itch and Steam.

If you havent heard about it before, its about class warfare, cyborgs and techno! I hope you'll look forward to it :3

In the meantime, consider Fangst on hiatus until Åge is able to rejoin full time. This doesnt mean their unmistakable creative flair will not be found in Teknokrat, however! Åge is helping me with design, marketing and planning- as well as lending me their video editing expertise. Get well soon, your presence is missed!

Twitter is dead!!

We moved that branch of our social media operations to Bluesky. Hit us up here! We're also here on personal accounts, and are really enjoying our time here so far. Live updates can as usual be found through our Discord.

_______________________________

OK! I think thats most of whats been happening lately. As always, i hope you're all well, and that you know we appreciate your patience and enthusiasm for our projects! Talk soon, when Teknokrat is looking more ready for sneak peeks!

-Hauk

[totaldramafan-lauri]

Looking at the futures of both of us

S-so, with the end of this year's Golden Cheese content, and the empty feeling that comes with the end of all updates I love.....I've been doing some thinking, in order to keep my spirits up. About her, and when we'll be seeing her again....and about the near future of my blog, and what I'm gonna be doing while waiting for that day....

Th-this might be kinda rambly, so...s-sorry if you're not interested....^^;

---

The future of Golden Cheese in CRK

Now....our queen needs to rest. I think that's....p-pretty obvious. X////D Sh-she deserves a nice time away from any action, just.....chilling in her kingdom with Smoked Cheese and the Cheesebirds. After what she went though in Beast-Yeast, I'm sure she doesn't mind not seeing any danger for a while.....

B-but....still, my simp self is gonna get i-impatient, when it comes to waiting to see her again....and I've been thinking about when the earliest that'll be....First off, there's the New Year's event next month, which usually consists of recaps of sorts of all the updates we've had over the year, in the form of portraits that show us short scenes that take place after every story. We MIGHT see her there. It's not guaranteed, like....i-it might also be a scene of the Kulfi talking about what happened, or something....but it COULD happen.

But, then......a-after that....when will be the next time we see her.....? Since she's one of the ancients, chances are, she won't be in any side-stories....It'll have to be the main story, and....

I-I really, really, really hate to say it....but....unless we have a REALLY pleasant surprise......I-I think it's gonna be another year.

Why do I think this....? Cuz....if anyone's seen the 2024-2025 roadmap we got a couple months ago.....Well, here's how Beast Yeast is gonna go. We're gonna complete all the Beast stories through the course of 2025....and then, in early 2026, for the game's fifth anniversary, we're gonna get playable Dark Enchantress. This heavily implies that, for that update, we're gonna be seeing Dark Enchantress summon all the Beasts at once, and the ancients are gonna all come together to stop her. And, that'll be the finale of Beast Yeast, probably.

If that's how things are gonna go, then....yeah, obviously, Golden Cheese is gonna be in that story. We're gonna have all the ancients as a group together for the first time since the prologue, and it's gonna be really cool and stuff.....There is the possibility that she might be sidelined, and that White Lily and Pure Vanilla are gonna get the most focus for obvious reasons, but....I REALLY hope that isn't the case....I hope all the ancients get moments to shine.....

(Also, I REALLY REALLY REALLY hope we get to see her getting in some hits against Dark Enchantress....L-like, c'mon, she deserves it more than ANYONE-)

I-I also hope that, at the end of that story, they at least....mention her going to wake her subjects up....W-we don't need to SEE her wake them up if the story's too busy (altho I would love that), I just need her to mention she's going to.....Cuz, she said she was going to after Dark Enchantress' defeat....I-it's gonna be the best time to hear about that, y'know....? They even slightly allude to the Kulfi maybe being able to help!

So....y-yeah, that's my prediction for when we'll see her again. I'd be MOOOOOORE than happy to be proven wrong. I'd freak the heck out if she popped up somewhere sooner.......but, for now....I-I think this is most realistic.

Sooooo....if we're not gonna get new canon content of her until early 2026......How am I gonna try to keep her fanbase alive throughout 2025....? Well.....

The future of my writing

I-I don't think I need to worry about my interest in her waning any time soon. I've been playing CRK since 2021 and I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I'm deep in the trenches for this game, and at this point, for her, too. I-I THINK the only thing that can make my interest in her wane is if another new cookie shows up that I fall for, which....c-could happen, but it's unlikely.

F-first of all....I still haven't worked up the courage to spread MUOM on Tumblr by putting it in any fandom tags. I-I'm gonna do that soon. I dunno when, but when I do, it'll hopefully bring more interest to it and maybe bring more people to my blog....Right now, I'm thinking.....maybe when it gets its 100 kudos, I'll do it in celebration. Cuz it's at 99 right now....b-but I dunno how long that'll take, so...M-maybe just SOMETIME next month.

Next. there's my self-shipping drabbles. I-I'm gonna keep those going. Both SFW and NSFW. F-following the....er, loving advice of a recent anon, I've realized that....m-maybe I'm leaning too hard on the smut, when I'm still not very good at writing it. I-I wanna keep at it, so that I can get better at it, and also needy sub rights, but...a-also, I wanna bring it back just a little, by writing more SFW stuff too. M-maybe try to explore our dynamic a bit more outside of the smut. I-I already have a few ideas for SFW interactions, so I'll definitely be doing that. I'm more confident in writing fluff than smut, so hopefully this'll strike enough of a...uh, balance, between making more of the stuff I'm best at writing, and trying to improve at the stuff I'm not great at yet.

Finally......th-there's the matter of new big fics for AO3. I-I'm on break from these for now....b-but I think I'm gonna be in the mood to write more of that soon-ish. Like....m-maybe as early as next month (a Christmas gift for my followers, maybe....? Ehh, we'll see. I don't wanna set specific dates...)

L-like I said multiple times before....I have a few X Reader fic ideas rattling around in my head. They're all oneshots, so they won't take up a fraction as much time to write as MUOM did. I-I dunno which one I'll be writing first, so...I-I was thinking of making a poll or something, but....I-I do plan on getting to all of them eventually. I-I wanna fill her tag on AO3 a bit more, after all....a-and, if no one else is doing it, then......"fine, I'll do it myself", y'know? X/////D I-I'll keep going, for her.....cuz she deserves more.....

To give a short summary of each of my ideas: There's one fluff, one smut, one SFW but a bit suggestive in places and also has some angst moments, and one fluff with some angst. The whole spectrum here. X/////D

A-and even when I start writing X Reader again, I'm still gonna write more of the self-ship stuff on the side, cuz it takes less effort, and it'll tide people over while I'm working, I-I hope....

And....yup, that's about it for my plans for the future! H-here's hoping I write plenty throughout 2025 until we see our queen again, and here's hoping those choosing to stick with me throughout the wait continue to engage with me, and that our little corner can keep each other company!

Th-thanks everyone for your support, and I promise you more content soon! ^^

[chronologicalhomestuck]

karkat pov liveblog: hivebent, part 1

we begin in a lab on a meteor in the furthest ring.

computer enhance.

look at all those little goobers! i am not replaying this whole flash just for this moment but in lieu of that, here's hussie's commentary on the scene from the book, just for a bit of spice.

as far as i can tell, karkat's first chronological appearance in hivebent is 2177.

vriska has just jumped tavros off a cliff, and he chooses to message karkat about it. im not sure what he hoped to get out of this since karkats only reply is characteristically snappy.

we then jump to 2025. karkat is messing around with some .~ATH files. in the middle of examining the mobius double reacharound virus (titled check_thii2_2hiit_out.~ATH), he gets trolled by its author. hello sollux.

CG: SO YOU MADE THIS GAME? TA: no no. TA: more liike ii adapted iit. CG: FROM WHAT. TA: 2ome crazy technology AA dug out of 2ome ruiin2. TA: havent you talked two her about iit? CG: MAN, NO. CG: I CAN'T TALK TO HER, SHE'S SO SPOOKY.

we start talking about the game that will take up the rest of karkats story, and get a hint about this mysterious "AA."

he then hears crabdad complaining, and chooses to put this off...long enough to introduce himself, i guess.

karkat's introduction is 1992, written in a way directly referencing john's introduction.

Earth, also for convenient reference, is a planet that does not yet exist.

see how we are doing this? logical! earth doesnt exist yet, so of course we arent starting with the humans!

homestuck does not want me to read it chronologically. it is doing everything possible to stop me from reading it chronologically.

This game, for convenient reference, is a game that DOES NOT YET EXIST.

please. please let me obey chronology.

Later on, you would swap your modus with your hacker friend, a guy who unlike you happens to be competent with programming. It would only make sense.

i thought i would embark on this quest and find its purpose along my way. that purpose, it seems so far, is to acknowledge just how stupid this chronology is.

It is your sixth wriggling day, and as with all five preceding it blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

yeah i was about to say something like that. that being that i wont have much to say so long as the plot remains linear.

It figures that installing this new beta chat client would open the floodgates

i always forget that trollian was brand new when hivebent starts. i wonder what they used to message each other before then?

speaking of which, his first pesterlog after his introduction is page 2010, with gamzee. its kinda sad how mean karkat is to a lot of his friends tbh.

TC: iSn'T sOmEtHiNg BiG aLl GoInG dOwN? CG: WHAT? TC: i HeArD sOmEtHiNg bIg WaS gOiNg AlL dOwN. TC: JuSt AlL bE tElLiNg Me AlL wHaT mOtHeRfUcKiN iT's Up AnD aLl AbOuT. CG: STOP SAYING ALL. ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT TA'S THING? TC: yEaH!! fUcK yEaH mAn, So MyStErIoUs. TC: I'm NeVeR bEiNg GeTtInG cEaSeD tO bE aMaZeD bY aLl ThEsE fUcKiN mYsTeRiEs LiFe'S gOt FoR uS. CG: UUUUUUGH. CG: ANYWAY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S UP WITH THAT. CG: MAYBE I'LL TALK TO HIM TONIGHT ABOUT IT. MAYBE I WON'T. CG: IT'S PROBABLY JUST ANOTHER ONE OF HIS PROJECTS THAT WINDS UP BEING COMPLETELY USELESS AND A HUGE WASTE OF MY TIME.

(apologies if the text is hard to read on dark mode. i use cyber theme myself and cant see a word gamzee says here)

according to the pov cam, the next page karkat is on chronologically is 2058. the great team divide / team leader argument of hivebent has officially begun, with karkat and terezi. and in the end, it wont even matter at all. lmao.

CG: OK WELL CG: SPEAKING OF THAT CG: I SHOULD GO DOWNSTAIRS AND DEAL WITH THIS GRUMPY CUSTOMER. CG: IT'S GOING TO FONDLE MAJOR SEEDFLAP, BUT HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE QUICK. CG: YOU CAN ESTABLISH YOUR CONNECTION AND DO YOUR TRIVIAL SIDEKICK STUFF I GUESS IN THE MEANTIME. GC: OK! >:D

and apparently karkat intends to deal with his quite grumpy crabdad at the end of this conversation.

but then his computer explodes.

interesting. sburb equipment already? i suppose he was right:

CG: TEREZI AND I HAVE ALREADY ESTABLISHED A CONNECTION AND WE ARE MAKING GREAT PROGRESS HERE. CG: WE ARE A GREAT TEAM, AND I AM A FANTASTIC LEADER.

welp. guess he didnt have to deal with him after all. although the drawing on the fridge is very cute.

terezi has continued to make progress on his hive...

and he gets his new weapon...

only to find his toilet detached from its fixings.

GC: 1M YOUR S3RV3R PL4Y3R SO PR1OR1TY H4S TO B3 ON M3 G3TT1NG 1N TH3 G4M3 GC: B3FOR3 1 G3T K1LL3D BY M3T3ORS GC: 1N WH1CH C4S3 YOUD B3 SCR3W3D 1N TH3R3 GC: TH3N TH3 N3XT GUY COM3S 1N, TH3N TH3 N3XT GC: 4ND YOU BR1NG TH3 L4ST ON3 1N CG: WHOA WAIT, WHAT? CG: METEORS? CG: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT. CG: WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH METEORS. GC: OH BOY YOU N33D TO G3T W1TH TH3 PROGR4M K4RK4T

karkat, i think you are a bit behind on what this game is going to be like. yet you are already on your planet despite that!

i gotta go now but ill be back

[ru-bwee]

PROJECT SEKAI 4TH ANNIVERSARY NEWS UN-LIVE REACTION / WARNING THIS IS EXTREMELY LONG

there doing it on stage at the thanks festival?? my cod i dont really care about the winning costumes so supernova . hi miku yuri

SO BURN MY BURN MY HEART!! (news intermission started)

large crowd of people screaming wondahoi, life is beautiful

BRAND NEW YOUR WORLD!! I LOVE YOU PROJECT SEKAI!!

NEW CAMPAIGN INGAME STAMP THINYG??? I SEE A LEONEED WISH JEWEL??? UNIT ONLY WISH JEWELS?? RAINBOW SKILL BOOK??? ALSO THIS IS OUTFIT IS SO SO PRETTY

develop reading skills for free gacha tickets?? yes ma'am!!!

NO WAY. THERE ADDING ALL THE MISSING ONES IN ONE GO. ALSO NEW KIZUNA TITLE!! MIZUKI AND MAFUYU FAN!!!!

there gonna announce mizukis been exploded and is gonna be removed from the game or something 140 GACHA TICKETS FOR FULL COMBOING? ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTY??

AUTOLIVE FOR CHALLENGE LIVES I LOVE EVERYTHING. ALSO RAISING THE CHALLENGE STAGE YOU CAN REACH BEFORE EX IS EVIL.. I WANNA SEE MIZUKI EX RANK :(

project sekai online crystal store no way LOL

character rank raise..!

LIVE BONUS ENERGY CAP TO 999 I LOVE YOU PROJECT SEKAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

more exp.. lets go mizumafu rank 66

bloomfes members get 70% event bonus. lets all kill ourself NOBODY WANTS THESE CHANGES??

LIM GACHA STAMPS FOR 50 GEMS. IM SO BACK. (person who has like 40 of them)

oh god there merging the birthday gacha reprints in 2025...

WHAT IS THISSS?

PROJECT SEKAI HOUSING OH MY GOD LOL

PROJECT SEKAI ANIMAL CROSSING

THEY JUST CASUALLY ANOUNCE PROJECT SEKAI ANIMAL CROSSIN BASICALLY?? WHAT THE HELL??

you ask "how can they top the 3rd anniversary it was so good!!" Game. Whole game inside a game.

YOU CAN DISPLAY UR CARDS IN THE HOME!! IM JUST GONNA HAVE A MIZUKI FILLED HOUSE

MIZUSAKI KIZUNA!! LETS GO PINKS!

we can now gamble for items in pjsk with the new tickets ive always wanted to gamble more

FIVE FOUR STAR TICKETS FOR BEGINNERS??

you cant make this stuff up theres a chance if enough people vote for it you can get 30 L cans for free

MORE MORE JUMP HAVE LITTLE PUPPIES ON THERE COSTUMES HEAD. OH MY GOD. SO CUTE!!

ARE NIGHTCORDS OUTFITS ALICE IN WONDERLAND THEMED??

RUI BLOOMFES!! NENE FOCUS??????

MY MIZUMAFU CRUMBS I WIN

THE REAL LIFE SHOWS ON YT FOR A LIMITED TIME..

MESMERIZERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MEIKO 15TH ANNIVERSARY SONG!!! WXS REINCARNATION APPLE!! GOD THEY NEED A 2DMV FOR THIS IMMEDIATLY.. THE REINCARTIONS AS PAST SHOWS.. BLACKJACK!!! MOVIE TRAILER? OH MY GOX ITS THE SONG ITS THE SONG

I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THAT IS!! BUT IT RINGS A BELL!! ALSO OH MYGOG THE TEASERS MIZU5 MIZU5 MIZU5

THE FIRST TEASER SONG SOUNDS SO GOOD BUT THE NUMBER COLOR SEEMS LIKE EMU...

(JUST TRANSLATED IT) OH MY GO D ITS CAMILLIA??????/ THEY COMMISSIONED CAMILLIA

mizu5 oh ym go gofkgnifjMZIUK5I 55 MIZU 5 MIZU 5 MIZU 5

Its akito again NO FUCKING WAYY

OH MY COD AN WE STILL HAVE THE MOVIE TRAILER

oh my fish is she the miku of painful feelings..

AND THERE GETTING CUSTM OUTFITS?? HELLO??

SHES SO PRETTY AHAHh

MIZUMAFU ARE NEXT TO EACHOTHER

(with head in hands) i am so normal

[jiniwae]

i came up with that!

What I like to think is the Swan Army will go out and start dominating danceverses, and Jack Rose will make a group of people, call them "The New Just Dancers" or "The Second Just Dancers" and try to free the good guys from Night Swan and try to defeat her for good.

This might be a bit of a stretch but I really hope Agent D is on her way to save the day

ack goes rouge, Night Swan remembers a time when dancing was fun and uplifting , Wunderlust kinda snaps out of it due to The Traveler or Si'ha Nova, Battle with Night Swan ends with the darkness purging off and we get a cleansed happy Night Swan, Sara goes back to the real world for the last time

(or they get rescued by real just dance players, with the power of dance or whatever :P)

Mine doesn’t contribute much but Wanderlust isn’t strong enough to stop Night Swan on his own because he needs the love of his parents to power him. he can’t get that because they’re not able to be together in the same realm. This would give Ubi the excuse to bring back Traveler and Si’ha Nova

THATS WHAT IVE BEEN SAYING!! i thoroughly believe we’ll see either siha and the traveler OR maybe cygnus show up in 2025

Sounds like a good idea, maybe we bring in master panda to help cure mihaly in some duo song or something, who doesn’t like playing the panda

Traveler and Si’Ha return along with Agent D

I am hoping the story will proceed sooner like 6 month. , Don’t tell me I need to wait for a year to get the story ….

Jack , would you please swim faster , otherwise your Frd will be trapped for entire year ( side eye )….

Imagine how cool it would be if jack rose recruited all the coaches of the jd2025 songs, but unlike wanderlust and night swan, jack can't make portals for himself, so he'll need to save wanderlust and dip, but I'm pretty sure they're just gonna recruit new original just dance coaches and try to save his friends (and beat the shit out of his mom)

That sara will fall into a eternal sleep in JD25E and she'll be the last one that the others will save sara by getting the 10 gems from JD17 and other coaches

I doubt it will happen but I'd love to see an avengers end game like battle where you've got all sorts of coaches from different maps fighting nightswan and her minions. I think that would be v cool

Jack is able to save his friends on his own;

Wanderlust awakens his ultimate/Chosen One form and destroys Night Swan once and for all;

Wanderlust realizes he no longer wants to be the Chosen One and relinquishes his duty to live a normal life with Sara on Earth;

Surprisingly, the Traveler and Si'ha Nova still do not show up at all (sorry, but I think Ubisoft has closed the book on them)

I like the idea of a new group of Just Dancers. Would be better than having the same five characters every time.

Jack gets a bunch of coaches together (including The Traveler and Si'ha Nova), saves his friends from his mother's corruption, and faces off against his mother