#when you exclusively choose dragons-

[the-fools-sideblog]

also did an attack (a friendly fire to be exact) before the 3d model one

and so, this is it

attack (friendly fire) for Churromans !

character name: Cyclone

[llamagirl28]

Hello folks! I'm back with good news!

First off, let me get the development update out of the way. These past months writing has been difficult due to health issues regarding my hands, but I've still managed to get some work done and make progress on the demo. The updates have been Patreon/Kofi exclusive so far (since they have early access perks) and I've been waiting for content to build up for a public release. Now, I finally bring you something to sink your teeth in!

I also wanted to let you know that I've read the feedback you left me and I've taken it all into consideration. I have made plans for changes, some major, some minor, but I've yet to implement them. Here's a list of the future changes:

I've received feedback that chapter 4 feels slow, overly-descriptive and filled with scenes of tasks and chores; looking back on it, I do admit I've gone overboard with these things. I'll be cutting down on superfluous bits, altogether removing some scenes or changing them into something more interesting and relevant.

Also regarding chapter 4, as well as 5: I've...info-dumped quite a lot, and it slows the pace. I'll be going over the game and try to spread out information better, or withhold it till later.

Guinevere will be introduced earlier, in chapter 3. Really excited about this change :)

Instead of having one main trait for Mordred's dragon friend to choose from in chapter 2, the option will be between four archtypes. These will allow me to better flesh out the character (I've found the current system restrictive and one-note). I'll elaborate more on these new choices when they're added (which I've started to work on) but know that they incorporate the existent personality traits. This change will also come with not just edited, but entirely new scenes featuring the draconic companion.

Adding an alternative route to showing Elaine around in chapter 5, so Mordreds not interested in her can still do something fun

Alright, now let's talk demo update!

What's new?

More of chapter 5 (it's a big one)

Greet the wedding guests. Reunite with Nimue and catch up, meet Merlin for the first time

Talk to, insult, or ignore Galahad

Get on the dancefloor! (with a RO or friend of choice!)

Edits made: some bits of Nimue's conversation in chapter 1 have been reworked and a new dialogue option has been added, a couple of edits done to Morgana's first POV in chapter 3

Demo link:

[joycrispy]

I'm seeing some confusion out and about over the title A Companion to Owls (generally along the lines of 'what have owls got to do with it???'), so I'd like to offer my interpretation (with a general disclaimer that the Bible and particularly the Old Testament are damn complicated and I'm not able to address every nuance in a fandom tumblr post, okay? Okay):

It's a phrase taken from the Book of Job. Here's the quote in full (King James version):

When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness. My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me. I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation. I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. --(Job 30:29)

Job is describing the depths of his grief, but also, with that last line, his position in the web of providence.

Throughout the Old Testament, owls are a recurring symbol of spiritual devastation. Deuteronomy 4:17 - Isaiah 34:11 - Psalm 102: 3 - Jeremiah 50: 39...just to name a few (there's more). The general shape of the metaphor is this: owls are solitary, night-stalking creatures, that let out either mournful cries or terrible shrieks, that inhabit the desolate places of the world...and (this is important) they are unclean.

They represent a despair that is to be shunned, not pitied, because their condition is self-inflicted. You defied God (so the owl signifies), and your punishment is...separation. From God, from others, from the world itself. To call and call and never, ever receive an answer.

Your punishment is terrible, tormenting loneliness.

(and that exact phrase, "tormenting loneliness," doesn't come from me...I'm pulling it from actual debate/academia on this exact topic. The owls, and what they are an omen for. Oof.)

To call yourself a 'companion to owls,' then, is to count yourself alongside perhaps the most tragic of the damned --not the ones who defy God out of wickedness or ignorance, and in exile take up diabolical ends readily enough...but the ones who know enough to mourn what they have lost.

So, that's how the title relates to Job: directly. Of course, all that is just context. The titular "companion to owls," in this case, isn't Job at all.

Because this story is about Aziraphale.

The thing is that Job never actually defied God at all, but Aziraphale does, and he does so fully believing that he will fall.

He does so fully believing that he's giving in to a temptation.

He's wrong about that, but still...he's realized something terrifying. Which is that doing God's will and doing what's right are sometimes mutually exclusive. Even more terrifying: it turns out that, given the choice between the two...he chooses what's right.

And he's seemingly the only angel who does. He's seemingly the only angel who can even see what's wrong.

Fallen or not, that's the kind of knowledge that...separates you.

(Whoooo-eeeeee, tormenting loneliness!!!)

Aziraphale is the companion.

...I don't think I need to wax poetic about Aziraphale's loneliness and grappling with devotion --I think we all, like, get it, and other people have likely said it better anyway. So, one last thing before I stop rambling:

Check out Crowley's glasses.

(screenshots from @seedsofwinter)

Crowley is the owl.

Crowley is the goddamn owl.

[cinnamonest]

Female-Targeted Doujin Masterlist

Thank you anon! Sooooo, I have decided to compile a female-targeted/yumejoshi masterlist, I'll add this post to my main masterlist soon.

These were the one I could think of from memory, I’ll come back to this list and add to it if I get more, I'm sure I missed a few from my bookmarks. Feel free to add to it in the comments, and I'll try to find and update it! Also, several of these were recommended from anons in the past, so thank you all <3

FYI several links lead to nh*ntai dot net, so be aware of that.

Umekoppe

As per the post anon is referencing, Umekoppe is a doujin group that consistently puts out exclusively good content!

“The Yandere Prince Won't Let Me Slip Away”

(Part One)

(Part Two)

Premise: Isekai/pseudo-reincarnation trope, premise basically explained by the title, MC is isekai'd as prince's lost lover.

"The Sacrificial Maiden Corrupted by Coupling With an Oni"

(Link)

Premise: Historical Japan setting, the "MC is an offering sacrifice to the Creature, but the Creature chooses to keep her instead" trope.

"Until the Trashiest Boy Toy Exorcist Ren-kun Crushes Me in His Embrace"

(Part One)

(Part Two)

Premise: MC is a girl that attracts malevolent spirits, exorcist-kun is obligated to help her ward them off (with orgasms, naturally).

"The Spy Who Ravished Me ~Reborn As a Mafia Princess in a Deadly Game~"

(Link)

Premise: Isekai, MC reincarnated into a game where she knows who the guy who is most likely to kill her is, but in her attempt to avoid getting killed by him, ends up taking actions that make him grow into an obsessive love-hate instead. Top tier, this boy is probably the worst (in a good way) of how all the Umekoppe love interests treat the girl.

"Heibon Onna wa Downer Kami-sama ni Izon sarete Modorenai" (this one didn't have a translated title, sorry)

(Link)

Premise: MC discovers her friend is a shrine god and wolf-boy. Wolfboy fun times ensue (and in the end she's apparently unknowingly trapped into being with him forever, so that's nice).

You’re Cutest When You’re Pathetic ~Obsessed Golden Retriever Boy Haru’s Disciplinary Sex~

(Part One)

(Part Two)

Premise: Softboy™ neighbor finds MC's phone with lewd stuff on it, gets her confessions in drunk conversations, turns out to not be so much of a Softboy behind closed doors.

Oniben Katze

Another group that also does a lot of fem-targeted stuff.

Serious Sex with my Brutish Boyfriend

(Link)

Premise: MC's lover gets mad over rumors that she's a slut, decides to get possessive and rough over it.

Dog Eat Dog Era

(Part One)

(Part Two/Extras)

Premise: a personal favorite, an isekai'd witch adopts two dragon boys who grow up to have a strong fixation with her and noncon ensues.

Parasite Garden

Makes notably darker stuff that contains more controversial subject matter/themes, so be warned.

The Corpse of a Goldfish is at the Bottom of the Swamp

(Link)

CW: INCEST

Premise: possessive brother wants to corrupt/mindbreak sister to keep her forever (spoiler: he succeeds)

The Neighbor in Room 203 Disappeared Leaving their Keys Behind

(Link)

Premise: stalker girl meets her match, as it turns out the boy neighbor she's stalking pulls a spiderman pointing meme and has actually been her stalker for even longer and to a much greater, darker, and more more extreme extent, and is intent on not letting her go.

My Sweet Bunny Cage

(Part One)

(Part Two)

Premise: tiny girl is kidnapped by a crazed guy convinced she is the reincarnation of his lost pet rabbit.

Other

(artist listed below titles)

If you wish, hypnosis ~Maki-san's secret love therapy~

(Link)

Artist: Meeo

Premise: pretty straightforward, after she doesn't believe it's real, MC's coworker uses hypnosis on her for Certain Specific Purposes.

Sakaki the Lazybones Shows His Talents at Night

(Link) (Contains all chapters' links on the page, you might have to scroll down on the chapter list to see chapter one on some phones)

Artist: Potsunen Jin

Premise: (Another personal favorite) MC's younger coworker, peak innocent idolizing softboy, is in love with her and takes advantage of a situation while she's drunk after watching porn to "learn what girls like." Clingy, possessive relationship ensues.

Lady K and the Sick Man

(Chapter One) (site's menu is a bit awkward to deal with, but you have to click in the corner to view the menu to go to other chapters).

Artist: Rororogi Mogera

Yet another personal favorite, this one does have slight male gaze to it in that it focuses on the girl quite a bit, but it still focuses on the guy way more than the average doujin. Also the guy is an older bigger guy, if you ever tire of the twink/twunk standard in yumejoshi stuff.

Premise: guy moves into an apartment with a ghost lady and just kinda accepts it because he can't afford to live anywhere else, but quickly decides he’s down bad for ghussy.

I Became the True Love Object of Mr. Segawa, Who Has a Huge Attitude and Body

(Link)

Artist: Haruo Haruyama

Premise: very straightforward office coworkers to lovers, coworker is a big guy who turns out to be kinda sadistic, which is good for the masochistic MC.

The Man Who Saved Me on my Isekai Trip was a Killer

(Part One)

(Part Two)

(Part Three)

Artist: Ahan Horihori

Premise: this one got kind of infamous and shock-valued the mainstream crowd due to an animated advertisement I believe, it's essentially self-explanatory from the title: isekai'd lady gets saved by a guy who turns out to be a violent murderer, dark and sometimes pseudo-incesty plot twists ensue.

[dalishious]

Hi, hope you're doing well!

I had to unfollow you/block a lpt of tags for a while until I beat datv but I'm so happy to be back. You're one of the first da blogs I followed, and I see you've gotten a lot of argumentative people at the moment, but I just want to say I think that you're great, and I appreciate the candid way you answer people.

Just a quick question, you said Taash's rivaini route had a lot of bullshit? I've just beaten the game for the first time and that was the route I chose so I was wondering if you could elaborate?

Thank you!

Disclaimer: A lot of this is written from a personal place. In no way am I trying to discredit anyone who feels differently. That even includes Trick Weekes, when it comes to the gender stuff at least. And please keep hatred of Taash out of this post; as I say in the end, I do still really enjoy Taash as a character!

The player first meets Taash when still identifying as a woman. However, Taash soon comes to realize they are not a woman; they are non-binary. While most of this answer will be quite critical of Taash’s story, there are positives I would like to acknowledge first. For example, I do think that the dialogue options surrounding the acceptance of Taash’s gender is fairly good. I like that you can be encouraging but not pushy about them exploring their identity further, when the topic first comes up. If you play as a non-binary character yourself, you are able to relate to Taash on a personal level, and provide them with a sense of kinship outside that which they seek from the Shadow Dragons, (who apparently double as both abolitionists and queer support group?) The game makes it clear that Taash’s gender is not just player-reactive; if the player chooses to avoid Taash’s personal questline, Taash still later on announces they are non-binary and use they/them pronouns now, with a game notification letting you know they went and embraced that with the help of Neve and Harding. And while some people have criticized the use of terms like non-binary as “not being fantasy enough” for their tastes, I personally think it’s perfectly fine to be overt like that, instead of dancing around the topic. I saw a post on a recommended Facebook page from some cis person who said they learned a lot about gender diversity because the game went out of the way to be so blatantly inclusive. Yes, there are a moments I can agree are kind of cringe, but lord knows there’s plenty of cringe in other regards as well with the writing, so it’s not like it’s exclusive to Taash’s gender writing. Overall, I think it’s a good exploration about someone stepping outside of a binary view of gender, except for one glaring problem: It is so very, very, white.

Trick Weekes, Taash’s writer, is non-binary themself, but they are also a settler living in the colonial project known as Canada. And that has very clearly influenced their perspective on how they think gender and culture works. With Taash’s writing for the Rivaini route, Weekes paints a picture that their gender journey must come at the sacrifice of their cultural identity, as if the two must be distinctive, separate things. What’s worse, is how binary the cultural identity aspect to Taash’s story is; ironic for a character who is supposed to be about stepping outside a box like that!

Not once, not twice, but three times, Rook is forced to choose to convince Taash if they should be Rivaini or Qunari. The first time, there is an option to say “why not both?” But that option is not present the second or third time the dialogue prompt comes up. The one that hurt me the most is when Taash is clearly having a breakdown over who they want to be vs. who they were raised to be, and the only way to try and console them is to make them pick a singular thing to identify as.

I also think it was a hugely missed opportunity, in choosing to have a bunch of Tevinter humans be Taash’s only source of learning about gender diversity. We know from codex entries that they talk to the Shadow Dragons about that topic, but apparently no one else? Why not have Taash consult a Rivaini Seer for advice, or hell, how about adding more qunari characters who aren’t just standard brutes to mash buttons against in a fight? So, in limiting the scope of this knowledge to just Tevinter humans, Taash is only getting more reinforcement that gender comes before any other cultural identity.

As a Two-Spirit person, I cannot stress enough that gender and culture do not exist in two separate vacuums. They can overlap and/or can be essentially under the same umbrella. So, when Weekes writes about Taash struggling with cultural identity and gender identity at the same time, I can understand that feeling so well. But I cannot understand the written approach Weekes takes. The message I received was “your gender is more important than your culture.” Which again, I must stress is such a white colonial idea of queerness.

I do really like Taash despite these shortcomings from Weekes, though. Just like how I really like Sera despite Kristjanson’s bullshit in Inquisition. I’m not about to hate on a character just because there are certain parts of their writing that I think should have been handled better, when there are more parts that are really fun about Taash. They are so refreshingly autistic-coded in a way that doesn’t punish them for being so, for example.

[dead-end-draws]

Do you think WOF dragons have last names?

I like this question a lot!

I could see it extending into some tribes, but perhaps not being exclusive to all. Interesting one to approach!

Mudwings, for example, don’t have any strong ties to parents, so last names likely wouldn’t hold much weight being passed down. But it would be fascinating if they formed troop names that would essentially act in place of their last name.

I also like the idea that Nightwings can change their first name to fit with their current identity/occupation (if they wish), and their former name could become a last name of sorts.

Icewings & Seawings seem like the type to have distinct last names due to their royal family lines staying mostly consistent throughout.

Skywings & Sandwings feel like they’d receive last names based on great achievements, as status symbols. Getting a last name is an honor, perhaps they do ceremonies for granting this?

Rainwings may do simple nicknames or color themed last names based on their main scale patterns.

Regardless, just for funsies, here’s what I think the first arc’s last names would hypothetically be in this universe. I’d love to hear your or anyone’s own ideas on this!

Arc 1:

Clay Broadhorn (Mudwings may base last names on their common physical characteristics as a troop)

Tsunami Rippleroar (Water related, tough sounding for a lineage of royalty)

Glory Lightbloom (A last name Glory adopts as Queen when her fellow Rainwings comment on her scales ‘blossoming’ gradually with more suntime, like a flower taking in its first spring.)

Starflight Scrollsort (Assigns himself his own last name based on his occupation at Jade Mountain, and his love of scrolls being a key part of his life)

Sunny Thornsage (Based not only on a desert plant, but on the ‘Sage’ wisdom of choosing Queen Thorn in place of the warring Sandwing Sisters)

[gamemakerm]

In honor of Mermay and the current trend of Animal/Therian HRT going around (inspired by @ayviedoesthings's Dragon HRT series, @welldrawnfish's Fish HRT, @kaylasartwork's Bat HRT, @nyxisart's Puppy HRT, @deadeyedfae's Human HRT, etc etc etc, love all your work), I wanted to share the short story I wrote last year about medically turning yourself into a mermaid. This got published in WriteHive's Reclaiming Joy anthology, and we're now just outside of the six-month publishing exclusivity, so I can make it publicly available.

This was really raw to write for me, and there are trigger warnings for transphobia(/whatever the equivalent would be for mermaids?), implications of violence and hate crimes. However all the stories in the anthology were ultimately about perseverance, courage and love. I hope you enjoy, and if you want to get this and eleven other uplifting stories I can't recommend the anthology enough (though this is the only one relevant to the tags as far as I know). And if you really, really like it, you can buy me a kofi!

Scales

When the scales began to break through skin, they said you were becoming a monster. Blue and green, seafoam to pearl. You weren’t certain at what point you started to believe them.

You began to wrap yourself in tighter layers, a futile effort not to draw attention to the rough patches. Elbows, knees, along your arms, mottled with foundation and concealer caked on like spackle. Toner to offset the iridescent shine so that a passing glance wouldn’t be drawn to it. Constant checks and double checks, bathroom visits far beyond the routine. 

Your careful camouflage is usually enough to deflect scrutiny, but occasionally a stranger catches on. Nobody has said anything to you yet, but you have noticed more glances on the train. The old woman’s frown of disapproval. The young man with something to prove to you, himself, the world. His jaw tightens as he calculates his ability to start something. You tuck your chin and pretend to be busy with your phone. In the dark screen you can see the skin flaking on your cheeks. The beginnings of another patch betray you.

As you touch up in the bathroom mirror you tell yourself you wanted this, that you were prepared for the hardships. 

You walk to the public library after your shift ends. You walk most places these days, telling yourself it’s a last hurrah. The fact is you sold your car to make a dent in the cost. You’ll sell everything eventually. You’re going to have to. 

The forums have a list of books everyone checks out when they choose this path. There aren’t many and most are fantasy. There’s a running joke: if anyone mentions Hans Christen Anderson, run. You spot The Little Mermaid on a small display. You don’t run. You check out your books. The librarian gives a knowing nod, but doesn’t remark. You silently thank her for the discretion.

You take a long shower, makeup swirling down the drain. You can’t help but scratch at the itching patches on your thighs, peeling skin tearing away for new growth. Shampoo and blood circle under your feet. Your fingernails are sharper than they were this morning. You exfoliate, letting the city, public transit, the glances of strangers be cleansed. Your reflection in the mirror, a colorful smattering of new scales dusting your cheeks, is tear-streaked, ethereal. Beautiful.

You knock the concealer into the trash bin.

Your mother left a voicemail. She avoids the elephant seal in the room, talking about her gardening, your cousin’s new baby. She lingers for a moment, then: You’re being selfish. She burns brightly as a beratement begins, emboldened. But without someone to riff with she loses her steam, trails off and repeats it. You’re being shellfish. She can’t help it; she laughs despite herself. There’s a minute where she doesn’t speak, but you can tell she’s waiting for the sob in the back of her throat to settle. She promises she’ll come to your party and the voicemail ends.

You still haven’t heard from your father. You don’t expect you will. You’ve made peace with that.

You do your weekly injection on the alternating leg, needle piercing deep in a gap between scales. The plunger delivers 200mg of concentrated hope directly into your bloodstream, salt water in salt water. You put a hello kitty bandaid over it and wait for the feeling of ice in your veins to settle, the tension to go out of your muscles. It doesn’t.

You pass an enraged man on the street, spit flying, a home-made sandwich board making his message clear: The Siren Is The Devil’s Agent. The back offers an equally cogent argument: Go Back To Atlantis, Fish Freaks. You would if you could, you think dryly. He notices you and seethes, but the current of the crowd carries you away before he can curse you out.

You drag your potted plants down to the front stoop and post a craigslist ad: free to a good home. They’re gone within the hour. You allow yourself the rare indulgence of posting a selfie, eyes closed, serene, to the reddit: Learning to love my scales <3! It’s still difficult to type on your phone with the new claws. The upvotes start to come in; everyone loves a guppie.

You catch up on the shows you haven’t gotten to yet. Where there was once only the metaphorical List, there is now an actual list. Despite your best efforts it’s becoming increasingly clear you’re not going to finish all of them. You knock a few off, restructure it based on length. It still looks too long.

You have dreams about choking on toxic waste, getting minced by a boat propeller. You keep a running count of the number of times you’ve dreamt of getting your head stuck in a six-pack of soda rings. You’re up to four. 

Every few days you do laps in the local pool. You’re getting faster, but you feel exposed. There are whispers around the locker room. 

Your cat knows something is happening, but doesn’t understand what that means for her. You hold her whenever and for as long as she’ll allow, give her as many pets and treats as she wants. Despite clearing out your apartment you’ve spoiled her. She licks the scales on your cheek as you cry over her. This seems to inspire something in her; she demands her tuna crunchies. Dutifully you give her the tuna crunchies. She can have as many tuna crunchies as she wants.

You doomscroll your twitter feed, making sure this isn’t the day you lose access to your meds because of some white man in a suit. A sister is assaulted by a violent extremist with a sense of humor: he shot her with a harpoon gun. Her crowdfunding campaign starts on the maidens reddit and goes viral.

You triple check to make sure your friend is still willing to take your cat when you go. They promise to spoil her and tell her stories of you every day. You continue to cry over it. They invite you out for sushi to talk about it, then backtrack to ask if that’s a microaggression. You go to sushi. You’re thankful for the distraction.

By the time your legs are more scale than skin and your fingers begin to develop webbing you’ve given up on pretense. The looks are now constant, but you get reflective sunglasses and a new patch for your jacket: Don’t like it? Drown, with a scaled hand reaching out of water and flipping the bird. You put the energy out into the world, and the world doesn’t fuck with you.

Children love you. Their parents do not. 

On the train a young girl quietly asks if she can feel your scales. You allow her to touch her little fingers to the aquamarine pattern running up your arm, giving her your most reassuring (but still fanged) smile. She’s fearless, enamored, reverent. Her mother pulls her daughter away and hastily apologizes for her, not looking you in the eye. But you know that girl believes in magic now.

A group of white supremacists go out on a boat loaded with assault rifles for “no reason” and get lost at sea. This is somehow your fault.

The day your fins begin to push their way out from your arms, your boss calls you into his office. You both know he can’t fire you in this and seven other states, but you both also know you won’t be staying much longer. He’s done his best to make you aware you’re making his life more difficult. You put in your two weeks before he can flounder for another excuse. He moors you with paperwork for the rest of the afternoon.

Someone leaves a rotting fish in your pool locker. You don’t go back, and you don’t file a report. You tell yourself the chlorine was bad for the gills freshly forming under your ribs anyway.

Your friends take you out clubbing. You lose yourself under the waves of music, submerged under strobe lights and the salty sweat of dancing bodies. You whisper sweet nothings into a stranger’s ear, entrancing her as you move against each other. You can see iridescence shining around her eyes, shimmering glitter and an emerging pattern beneath makeup. You brush a thumb against her cheek and she melts into your touch. You don’t get her name. You don’t need to; you’re both not long for this world. You catch up with your friends smoking outside, your lips still tingling with vermouth.

Weeks pass. Work ends. Your apartment is down to furniture and cat supplies. You take longer showers. News stories continue to come out, the machine churns and roils: monsters walking among humans, the mark of the beast, sacrificing daughters to the ocean. 

You make sure your meds are reupped for the final stretch.

When your legs start to merge you know you don’t have much time left. You donate the last boxes of your clothes. Your friends get first dibs on furniture before it’s put on the street. They bring drinks and sit on your floor, an impromptu celebration and wake. They ask all the usual questions: what are you going to do for food? Shelter? What if you get hurt, or attacked by a shark? Do they have waterproof laptops yet? Will they ever see you again? What if it isn’t right for you? Can you ever come back?

You don’t know how to answer most of those questions. The group stays with you through the night. At 4AM you put on The Little Mermaid and the group drunkenly sings along. Everyone knows the words. It’s juvenile and you can hear the maidens on the reddit rolling their eyes and tutting about misrepresentation, but you know everyone in your position does it. You try not to cry, but the waterworks start and don’t stop.

At daybreak you put your cat into her harness and everyone piles into a friend’s van. It’s not far to the beach, but they take the long way around. One final tour of the land. Your cat sits on your lap and stares out the windows as you pass old haunts, your grocery store, your gym, your high school. You realize you still have library books to return and almost get them to turn around, but someone promises to go back for them afterwards.

There’s an isolated area on the beach where a canopy and tables are set up; banners, food, friends. It’s a regular going away party, as if you’re going on a short trip abroad. You suppose you are, in a way. Someone rented a wheelchair with fat tires to help you get down to the beach.

When your mother arrives she pulls her shirt off to show her custom-made clam bra. Her eyes are already red and puffy, but she’s doing her best to be energetic and upbeat. She holds you for a long time and says she’s happy for you, that you’re beautiful, that you’re so much stronger than she ever was, and then she puts on a brave face to help everyone get served at the buffet. Your cat chases small crabs across the beach around you, and you sit in the sand. The party goes strong.

The tides come up until your fin is tickled by the seafoam. Everyone knows that means it’s time to go. You pass your cat off to her new owner and she gives you a last headbutt. She seems to understand. You kiss your mother’s cheek one last time and she clings to you. The group raises their drinks as you paddle out, disappearing beneath the waves. You give them the money shot and leap out of the water on your way out of the sound, and you can hear cheering from the shoreline. You hope someone got a video for the maidens.

You keep the city in sight for a while, but the currents lead you further into open waters. There are boaters out on the water who wave to you. You wave back and keep swimming up the coast. 

At dusk you rise to the surface and watch the setting sun turn the horizon from blue to pink to purple and orange. There’s nothing for leagues around. As the sun sinks below the waves and the skies darken you sing your first real siren’s song. Shaky and imperfect, it soon resounds over the ocean breeze. You leave everything behind in it. There are no words, only feeling and sound. It’s a lament, an invocation, a dirge. It is many things, but it isn’t an apology. You have nothing to apologize for.

In the seas beyond a chorus joins in with a language you never learned but understand, integrating your song into theirs. You swim to join them.

[felassan]

New today on DA:TV from Game Informer, 'Breaking Down Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Classes And Factions':

"Breaking Down Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Classes And Factions by Wesley LeBlanc on Jun 25, 2024 at 02:00 PM "As part of the character creation process for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, players will have to select both a class for their player-controlled Rook and a faction. After customizing much of your Rook's body, including things like a Qunari's horn type and material, for example, with the hundreds of options available in Veilguard, it will be time to pick said class.  [embedded link to DA:TV reveal trailer] There are three classes to choose from: Rogue, Mage, and Warrior. As the names suggest, each features a unique combat system and plays differently as a result. Though you’ll be performing things like light and heavy attacks using the same buttons, what those attacks do varies based on your class. For example, a sword-and-shield Warrior can hip-fire or aim their shield to throw it like Captain America, whereas a Mage can use that same button to throw out magical ranged attacks – read more about the combat of Veilguard in Game Informer's exclusive feature here. Plus, as you spec out these classes and unlock their individual specializations, the differences will only grow even more stark.  - The Rogue has access to three specializations. The Duelist is the fastest of the three, with two blades for rapid strikes; the Saboteur uses tricks and traps; and the Veil Ranger is purely range, sniping enemies from afar with a bow. - The Mage can utilize necromancy with the Death Caller specialization; Evokers wield fire, ice, and lightning; and the Spellblade uses magic-infused melee attacks. - The Warrior can become a Reaper, which uses night blades to steal life and risk death to gain unnatural abilities; a Slayer, a simple but strong two-handed weapons expert; or the Champion, a tactical defense fighter. While these specializations don't matter upfront – you class into them via the skill trees you progress through the game – it's nice to see the potential of each class before you choose it."

"For the penultimate step of the character creator, at least during the demo BioWare shows me, players select a faction. The Grey Wardens return, joined by other returning favorites and new additions like the Antivan Crows, the Mourn Watch, the Shadow Dragons, the pirate-themed Lords of Fortune, which is what I chose in my demo for the current Game Informer cover story, and the Veil Jumpers. Each faction has unique casual wear, which is worn in specific cutscenes when the character isn't donning armor, and three unique traits. The Lords of Fortune, for example, gain additional reputation with this particular faction, have increased damage versus mercenaries, and perform takedowns on enemies with slightly less effort. Veilguard game director Corinne Busche says this faction selection, which ties into your character's backstory, determines who your Rook was before, how they met Varric, why they travel with Varric instead of their faction, and more. "The message of The Veilguard is you're not saving the world on your own – you need your companions, but you also need these factions, these other groups in the world," creative director John Epler tells me. "You help them, they help you now.""

"He says BioWare wanted to avoid the trope of needing to gather 200 random resources or objects before helping you save the world. Instead, the team aimed to create factions that want to help you but have realistic challenges and problems in front of them so that narratively, it makes sense why you help them in return for their help when the time comes.  "Gameplay-wise – each of our classes has a specialization, and each of them is tied to a faction," Epler continues. "But beyond that, each faction has a [companion] as well as [people we're calling agents, ancillarily] who exist as the faces of these factions. We didn't want to just say, 'Here's the Grey Wardens, go deal with them.' We wanted characters within that faction who are sympathetic, who you can see and become the face of the faction, so that even if there are moments where the faction as a whole may be on the outs with you, these characters are still with you; they've still got your back."  [old version of this paragraph] If you find yourself unhappy with your lineage or your class, you can change them using the Mirror of Transformation, found in the main Veilguard hub, The Lighthouse. You can also change your Rook's visual appearance there, too." [new version of this paragraph] If you want to make changes to your character's physical appearance, you can do that with the Mirror of Transformation, found in the main Veilguard hub, The Lighthouse. However, class, lineage, and identity are locked in and cannot be changed after you select them in the game's character creator. [Editor's Note: This article previously stated players can change their physical appearance, class, lineage, and identity using the Mirror of Transformation. That is incorrect as class, lineage, and identity are locked after you first select those. The article has been updated to reflect that, and Game Informer apologizes for any confusion this mistake may have caused.] For more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features, and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below."

[source]

[just-some-user-hunny]

What if bastard!princess reader had a secret(but not really) relationship with one of her court friends? Like a lady in waiting or if you want, her favorite maid? Choose any characters you'd like<3 I'm a complete sucker for this trope^^

Anon I adore this trope, you have no idea 😔

Bastard! princess reader may be locked up in a tower, but darn it, she's going to have whatever fun she wants. Due to her being a bastard, thankfully there's no actual political duty for her to marry some random man that the king chooses, and Daemon is exclusive about his daughter. The richest, most powerful man could swagger up to him and demand for your hand, and he'd still tell them to f off 💀 he doesn't play when it comes to you.

If bastard!princess reader were to have a secret relationship with a lady in waiting or a maid, then there's not much your family would do to intervene (well, most of them).

Rhaenyra would see no problem with it, but encourage you to keep it hush hush to avoid drama amongst the family- members like Alicent would prefer you stay single, so that all your attention is on them rather than this other person.

Daemon would be a complicated character in this scenario. He's extremely possessive and controlling as a yandere, and he'd want his daughter to stay home and single, but at the same time he wouldn't particularly forbid you from having crushes or flings. He himself has obviously gone around, kinda hence why you even exist in the first place 💀, so he wouldn't be judgemental if you were to have a one time fling with a favourite maid or lady in waiting. As long as it stays that way. A fling. If you were to ever ask him to give your hand away, you'd be met with a firm no. Especially if he doesn't approve of them. In his eyes, you don't need a spouse to take care of you. Your family is there to do that, you'll always have a roof over your head and food on your plate.

I like to imagine a possible scenario where when the dance of the dragons begins, bastard!princess reader packs up their necessities and their loved one, and flies away on Cannibal to escape the mess that's about to happen.

[ranticore]

thinking about characters fursonas is always more fun to me than directly anthro-ifying them because it's not just a question of "what animal would they be" since before you can even ask that you have to figure out how they would pick a fursona, and i almost feel like that says more about a character than what animal they choose.

like. would they want an animal that represents their ideal self? something that represents how they see themself to be currently? and how well does that perception match up with these actual reality? or would they pick based on something less complicated like "favorite animal"/"movie character they liked”.

all that leadup to ask, how do you think your mvf guys would pick their fursonas?

💯💯💯 literally it's one of the most fun characterisation exercises you can do, it tells you SO much about them, how they view themselves, what they want others to think of them and so on. all that good stuff. and then you get to delve into furry subcultures, influential artists etc

so on to the actual fursoneys themselves

Jean-Baptiste - aforementioned hummingbird with a suit from idk clockworkcreature or something. the subculture/art style is realistic but very humanised, basically a bird head on a feathery human body, no wing-hands, with a Georgian style of dress (potentially with steampunk elements) and named after a famous scientist from the period. He would not be an artist, but he would be one of those ppl who's a bigtime engineer making huge money who invests heavily in commissions of art (usually traditional media like oils, colouring pencil, etc) and writing about this character, who is a kind of inventor/old-timey scientist with a highly detailed backstory and canon setting. He chose the hummingbird because it's beautiful, precise, and tenacious, and also just because he likes the 'rare fursona species' aura. He has VERY strong negative view on poodling (when someone wears a partial fursuit with their skin showing) and has been posting to the same old rp forum for the past 20 years. Rude and bitchy but one of those guys who always pays well and tips for commissions because money is no object. an important part of the economy

Bowman - exactly the opposite to everything above. His fursona is a retriever-ish dog called Dog or Mutt or something with a single-colour palette and the art style is new school big toothy grin etc. fursona exclusively wears board shorts. He draws at a beginner level and he's obviously having a blast with it. The muscles are very detailed (so's the bulge) & the art is clearly bara influenced, especially around the eyes. He wouldn't have any interest in suiting i don't think but you will find him at the furry rave in a neoprene harness. He wouldn't have much money to commission with and his twitter feed would be mostly reposts of other people's art (without permission)

Islin - ok you know that one genre of art style used exclusively by dragon furries where it's got realistic scale textures, backgrounds, and the ref sheets are usually incredibly detailed and the dragons in their anthro forms are always absurdly ripped. He can draw this, i know it in my heart. The design is pretty generic western dragon, all things considered, I don't think he has the imagination for more (sorry). Character's name is something appropriately fantasy-ish like Xyrgoryx. He could definitely take commissions as a side hustle but as a perfectionist and professional worrier it would overwhelm him easily. You would probably not find him at a convention at all, I'd say such spaces do not appeal to him. He's been on Furcadia tho.

Félix - generic twinky fox in a thin-lines washboard abs disney-inspired art style with an absurdly deep backstory which we never get to see because the character is only ever drawn being railed. He can draw but more importantly he knows how to take the commissioner's money and run, delete his account, and remake under a different username. Was able to afford a fullsuit from Made Fur You and that alone gave him enough clout to continually avoid allegations of past misbehaviour. Every so often someone goes "hey isn't that a known scammer" when they see him at a con but it never sticks. Later he would get cancelled immediately for saying he "didn't care about" right-wing furries as long as their art was cute.

Senca - Almost certainly a feline-based original species or hybrid. The art style is very goldenwolf with spiritual/neopagan influences, mostly traditional media and ACEOs in oil pastel so it's got a kind of smudgy look. Her character has the same name as her and she considers it a 'truesona' of sorts. She's an established artist and well-respected but struggles to keep up with what Tha Youth are doing and her personal website has looked the same since the year 2006. She has a realistic partial suit but doesn't wear it much anymore, preferring to vend at the dealer's den instead. She always knows way too much gossip about any given person you could point out to her but she insists she isn't involved in what she'll delicately & vaguely refer to as 'drama'.

Léa - she was attracted by the promise of easy entry into a supportive and friendly readymade community and bought an expensive Closed Species design to be her fursona. She tried to participate in events but instead got sucked into a cesspit of petty warfare between her CS community and a very similar CS with design elements that may have been inspired by hers (after all, 'dog with kinda long pointy ears and a big fluffy tail' is VERY copyrightable). She goes along with it, afraid of losing her space in the panopticon discord community by voicing a dissenting opinion and it'll eat her up from the inside. until one day she wakes up and realises she paid €400 to gossip and participate in a group that bans you from adding horns to your fursona's head (a legendary trait restricted to the CS owner and their favourite sycophants) whose main form of bonding ritual seems to be reposting their enemies' art to mock it and colour-pick to prove the palettes were copied. She explains all this to Bowman in one big tearful rant on their first offline date at Eurofurence and he helps her get away from that community.

Helena - that was her copyrighted closed species. and she IS litigious about it.

Erica - it's a pine marten in a modern sketchy "just got an ipad and procreate" style, really cute, fun design, good coordinating outfit, honestly ticks all the boxes but then 5 days after he posts that awesome themed ref sheet he's got a brand NEW fursona and this time it's a cute lil jackdaw, again lovely design all around looks great but wait no in 5 days time it's a roe deer, no wait it's an otter, it's a gecko, it's a

Pascal - a sick as hell cartoony golden eagle with an electric guitar and sunglasses and you can imagine it airbrushed onto the side of a campervan because that's where it lives. he's strictly offline, doesn't know what a furry is, never been on twitter, but he is 100% certain in his heart that this bird is a true representation of himself

[satoshi-mochida]

FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time launches May 21 for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Switch, and PC - Gematsu

Social slow-life RPG FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam on May 21, publisher LEVEL-5 and developer LEVEL5 comcept announced. The PlayStation, Xbox, and PC versions are newly announced. It will support English, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish language options.

In the west, the game will be a digital-only release available in the following editions:

Standard Edition ($59.99)

-Base game

FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time

Digital Deluxe Edition Upgrade ($13.99)

Upgrade to the Digital Deluxe Edition to claim amazing rewards, including an exclusive mount, equipment and costumes!

Digital Deluxe Edition ($69.99)

Pre-orders for all platforms include the downloadable content “New Adventurer’s Pack,” which contains the following:

Flutter Charm – An accessory that increases Exp earned.

HP Potion + (x10) – Heals HP.

SP Potion + (x10) – Recovers SP.

Power Aid + (x10) – Temporary Attack UP effect.

Resistance Aid + (x10) – Temporarily Defense UP effect.

Life Cure + (x5) – Revives and heals HP.

Great Bomb + (x5) – Damage to a massive area.

Fireworks (x5) – Sets off traditional fireworks.

Courtship Fireworks (x5) – Sets off heart-shaped fireworks.

Celestia’s Gift (x100) – Use to revert a Strangeling back into their original form.

In Japan, the PlayStation 5 and Switch versions will also be available physically for 7,678 yen. The physical edition contains the same content as the standard digital edition.

Here is an overview of the game, via LEVEL-5:

About

Step into this slow-life RPG where you can freely switch between 14 unique jobs, so called “Lives,” and enjoy a carefree life in a fantasy world. Fish, cook, shape the island to your liking, or team up with friends to battle monsters across the vast world. It’s up to you to choose what kind of Life you’ll live!

Key Features

A Dragon Guides You to a Mysterious Island

You are an adventurer who sets sail with the archaeologist Edward and his team.

Following the light emanating from a dragon’s fossil, you discover an uncharted, deserted island.

A vast abyss, a dragon made of bone, and a girl’s message that begs you to save the world…

Travel between the island that thrived 1,000 years ago and the present-day island to unravel the mystery of its downfall!

14 Unique Lives to Make Yours Brighter

In this world, a “Life” is the equivalent of a job.

Each has its own characteristics and provides various ways to enjoy yourself.

Collect ingredients or materials with Gathering Lives, create weapons or cook dishes with Crafting Lives, or fight monsters with Combat Lives. You can switch between any Life at any time, creating a life that’s uniquely yours.

Shape the Island! Create Your Town!

Use Lives to gather materials and restore the island to its former glory!

Not only can you place houses and objects, but you can also alter the landscape and draw rivers and roads to create a truly unique island.

Expand your house, place some furniture, and decorate the interior however you like!

Embark on an Open-World Adventure!

Freely explore the largest continent in the series!

Climb ledges, swim across rivers and lakes, or ride on mounts – With these new actions you can explore the world without limits!

Endless Fun with Multiplayer!

Enjoy multiplayer with up to four players!

Invite friends to your island, explore dungeons, or find your own ways to have fun together!

If you have two controllers, you can also use the 2 Player Family Co-op feature where one player can join the adventure as your travel companion without needing to connect online!

Supports Cross-Play and Cross-Save!

Play freely on any platform! Play in handheld mode when you’re outside and enjoy the game on a big screen at home.

To access online play, a paid subscription to Nintendo Switch Online, PlayStation Plus, or Xbox Game Pass is required, depending on your platform.

An Epic Games account is required to use Cross-Save.

Watch a new set of trailers below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery. Visit the official website here.

All Features at a Glance

English

Japanese

Traditional Chinese

Simplified Chinese

New Life Guide

English

Japanese

Traditional Chinese

Simplified Chinese

[hoboblaidd]

Veilguard Verse Tags, timeline, and headcanons

timeline: - rather than list what we're all familiar with, some basic points:

In addition to dreams, Solas can talk to Rook and those who are sensitive to spirits ala Emmrich and Lucanis/Spite in places where the Veil is thin or in the Crossroads, as long as Rook's around. Anyone can talk to Solas at a Fen'harel altar; they're like walkie-talkies.

Rooks start at very low approval, for obvious reasons. Their relationship is adversarial. To Solas, Rook is "an irritant", a "child", and a tool. They tossed him in jail, took away his control and his goal, and unleashed his worst enemies. It doesn't matter how kind, snarky, or aggressive a Rook is. They are, to him, a jailor and an enemy. As such, I don't see how a ship with Rook and Solas would work.

Solas is a textbook trickster god in datv, far more than he is 'the god of lies.' He bargains, he cheats, he uses people. It's in his lore, and it's in every mythological story that has a trickster irl. He'll act accordingly.

tag:

VEILGUARD | : The events of the game. Solas is trapped in the regret prison, but not before he uses blood magic to bind with Rook. He advises the team up until they kill Ghilan'nain, when he's finally able to pull a switcheroo and break free. He fights Elgar'nan's forces in Minrathous, and tries to trick Rook into killing Elgar'nan and bringing down the Veil. Unless I’m interacting with an Inquisitor or we've talked about it before, I will use my default romanced Lavellan/world state, but it will have no effect on whatever ending you choose.

important headcanons:

General

I'm convinced "You've earned the Dread Wolf's respect" is a Fourth Wall trick.

Solas knows Rook's real name, but he almost exclusively refers to them as Rook (in italics, and derogatory).

Solas can communicate with Rook more frequently than in the game

Anyone can talk to him at a Fen'harel altar

Solas loves his People and is motivated by them - including modern elves

Power Levels

Power levels in Veilguard

Solas’ power during the final Veilguard battle

Regrets

The veracity of Solas’ regrets and memories

Regret Prison

Solas in the regret prison

Sensory experience in the regret prison

Trickster

Solas the trickster

Solas keeps a Batman-like dossier on everyone

The Dread Wolf - Ratdog

Ratdog

Quest-specific

The End of the Beginning (Solas threw Rook into the wall so they'd bleed and he could use blood magic to connect them)

The Enemy of My Enemy (Solas could kill Rook in their sleep, but it's against his interests)

The Blood of Arlathan (placeholder)

A Cage for Gods (Solas took over the Shadow Dragons in Minrathous for those weeks Rook was in the prison)

The Dragon and the Dread Wolf (The archdemon fight scars linger) (Injuries, scars, and shapeshifting in the final battle)

The Dread Wolf Rises (Atonement ending) (Non-Atonement endings)

[mammoth-clangen]

I just wanted to say that you've greatly inspired me to start working on my own clangen comic!! I'm TERRIBLE at drawing cats, so when I first started reading clangen comics I figured I would never make one. But yours was the first one I read that wasn't based off "cats" per se. After I read yours I sought out more clangen comics that didn't feature cats, and I finally started my own!! @scaleclan-clangen (I'm still not very good at drawing in general, but better dragons than cats haha). Obviously you don't have to respond, but if you do choose to, then I would love to hear any tips that you may have!

Oh dragon clangen that's so neat! 🐉

I'm definitely not the first to use non-cats for a clangen, so i can take 0 credit for that cx Even before I started there was at least a few around using other species (pigeons, wof dragons and chickens off the top of my head), I think there's even one using inanimate objects out there!

I've done a few comic/clangen tip asks but as for art advice, it's tricky because it's mostly the same old "practice always" cx

For dragons specifically I can give one bit of personal advice which is: References are great even if you're drawing a made up animal!

Find a living creature with similar anatomy even just in one area (wings/legs/head/etc) and boom, references! I originally learned to draw almost exclusively from my silly original species so this does work I promise cx

Something I always say is "if you used a reference and it still looks wrong, it is". Which is to say, use references but don't marry yourself to them, go with what looks right! Usually I find a couple of similar ones and draw from both, rather than replicating one completely. When I'm drawing a particularly in-depth pose (such as Poppy hunting in Moon 8) I often try to find a video of the moments surrounding it, to get a better idea of movement. Also the line of action is your friend and it's Not just relevant in animation, it will also make your still drawings hold more motion c:

When learning a new species, or a particularly hard pose, I'll often doodledump loosely from a reference then put that reference right next to the doodle to compare where I went off.

This way you get a better feel for shapes than you would from tracing (which isn't The Devil, but should be used sparingly), and better proportions than just loose referencing c:

don't try to work out who the characters are i intentionally anonymised them rjhrfh

[lovemikewheeler]

Stranger Things Pokemon Teams Part 1: Will Byers (LONG POST!)

Hello and welcome to the very first part of my Stranger Things Pokemon AU! I wanna preface this by saying I am a huge Pokemon nerd, so that is mostly why I made this and I just had this idea in my head 3 days ago, and I wanted to make it into a reality. I want to do the core four first in this series, so first will be Will! I put a lot of thought into each Pokemon on their team, including their move set. Each Pokemon is based on their personality, motives, etc. I’ll stop yapping now, I’ll get to the team now :)

BACKGROUND:

How I view Will as a Pokemon trainer is that he isn’t too keen on Pokemon battles, I can see him preferring Pokemon contests. Maybe at some point when he was younger, he tried to become the Champion, however down the line of collecting gym badges he realized he didn’t enjoy it. Now, he mainly has his Pokemon for occasional battles and uses his Milotic for contests. I choose all Pokemon that would use special attacks, given he is a clerk in DnD.

THE BREAKDOWN:

First Pokemon:

Musharna was first introduced in the Unova region in Pokemon Black and White on the DS. A core part on this Pokemon is their “Dream Mist”, so powerful that it’s capable of making people have nightmares for a lifetime. I made this correlation of Nightmares to Will’s visions of the Mindflayer. If you look at the move set, hypnosis and dream eater are seen within the four moves. Hypnosis putting the opponent to sleep, and dream eater taking damage from your opponent while healing yourself. The move dream eater is similar to how the Mindflayer would host onto Will, sucking the life out of him.

Musharna is a psychic type

Move set: a closer look

Hypnosis: hypnosis is a status move that puts the opponent to sleep

Dream Eater: Dream eater can only be used if the opponent is sleeping, taking 50% of the HP they drained. These two moves paired together is a well thought out strategy

Future Sight: This moves will hit the opponent in two turns, like a future attack. Depending on the placement of this move, like writhing the first 3 turns, it can be extremely useful. Waiting for the right moment to hit, while healing his Pokemon, that’s the battle-style I would imagine he’d have

Moonblast: a fairy-type move is a perfect counter to dark-type Pokemon, which is what Musharna is weak against, just in case if a scenario where he is placed against a dark-type Pokemon

Second Pokemon:

Alohan Ninetales is an exclusive Pokemon for Pokemon Sun and Ultra Sun on the 3DS (Kinda unrelated but I thought the Alohan Ninetales tail looked like the Mindflayer’s tentacle things) following the theme of “he likes it cold”. Has the move blizzard to represent how cold the upside down was when he was stuck there. Plus, I think this version of Ninetales looks really pretty and Will would definitely like it :)

Alohan Ninetales is a fairy/ice type

Move set: a closer look

Dazzling Gleam: a fairy-type move that can deal a huge amount of damage (power: 80). Plus, this move will hit every opposing Pokemon in double battles. An overwhelmingly powerful fairy-type move

Blizzard: blizzard paired with hail is a a dragon types worst nightmare. Typically, blizzard has a power of 110, but that is balanced by only having a 70% chance of hitting. However, pair this with hail, and blizzard never misses.

Hail: hail only lasts for 5 turns, however within those 5 turns, any Pokemon who isn’t an ice type has their HP chipped away slowly. This, and ice-type moves are made significantly stronger in battle

Draining Kiss: I purposely gave most of his Pokemon the ability to heal themselves in battle, because I feel like he would use that strategy. When using draining kiss, 75% of HP is recovered

Third Pokemon:

Introduced in Generation V, Pokemon Black and White. Chandelure reminded me a lot of Will-The-Wise. That’s mostly because of its fire abilities, and with the move Will-O-Wisp being able to burn opponents, similar to Will’s “fireball” in DnD. A fire type was very appropriate on his team, wherever that may be… =]

Chandelure is a ghost/fire type

Move set: a closer look

Confuse Ray: the opponent becomes confused, but has a 33% chance of hitting itself. This move will most likely be the first turn

Shadow Ball: a powerful ghost-type move that has a 20% chance of lowering the opponents special defense stat, which is ideal for his playing style, because of how high Chandelure’s special attack is

Overheat: a powerful fire-type move, however it is powerful at a price. After dealing damage, it decreases its special attack greatly. Has a 10% chance of missing, but has a base power of 130, which means if it hits, and it’s weak to fire, the opposing Pokemon is done for

Will-O-Wisp: guarantees the opposing Pokemon is burned, their attack decreases by 50% and their health is chipped away slowly

Fourth Pokemon:

If I didn’t put the painting Pokemon on his team, that would have been a missed opportunity. This couldn’t be any more on the nose. I mean cmon, in the Pokédex he’s literally the painting Pokemon. A perfect companion for when Will is painting :)

Smeargle is a normal type

Move set: a closer look

If you’re unfamiliar with Smeargle, he has only one move, called Sketch. This move essentially allows him to copy any move in the game, allowing the trainer to create its own move set in a sense. However, I think this is the move set Will would create:

Spore: puts the target to sleep

Recover: restores the Pokémon’s HP, up to 50%, would most likely use while the target is asleep

Protect: prevents the Pokemon from being attacked for 1 move

Hyper Voice: deals a base power of 90 with an accuracy of 100. Useful if you’re unsure of what Pokemon your opponent will send out next, since a normal-type move is the most neutral option

Fifth Pokemon: 

Vileplume can be strong Pokemon, if you lay your cards correctly. It has a great special attack stat, and a well established special defense stat. I don’t necessarily have a correlation to Will with this Pokemon, but I’d imagine he had found an oddish within the first portion of his journey and kept it on his team.

Vileplume is a grass/poison type

Move set: a closer look

Petal Blizzard: a strong grass-type move with 90 base power

Giga Drain: this move deals damage to the opposing team’s Pokemon, 50% of their HP lost goes to Vileplume, which heals it. Continuing with the theme of most of his Pokemon are able to heal themselves in battle

Stun Spore: paralyzes the target, making them unable to move and slower with their attack. This is where Giga Drain can be best utilized. The target has a 25% chance it cannot move

Sludge Bomb: a poison-type move with 90 base power, and has a 30% chance of poisoning the targets.

Sixth Pokemon:

Milotic is his ace, and it is the last Pokemon he sends into battle, that is because he has constructed a perfect move set for it. Milotic is said to have “rainbow scales” (Will’s rainbow ship) and have the ability to “smooth hearts” (you’re the heart) this Pokemon in country Pokédex entries, is always described to be so beautiful that it is the most painted Pokemon. This is fitting, considering Will is an artist.

Milotic is a water type

Move set: a closer look:

Hydro Pump: extremely strong, with a base power of 110. Can be well utilized with Milotic’s strong special attack stat

Aqua Ring: restores a spall portion of the Pokémon’s health each turn, this along with its high HP stat and special defense stat, can be irritating to battle against

Surf: not only used to go across water in Pokemon, but this move is guaranteed to hit every time, since its accuracy is 100. A good move to finish off an opponent

Recover: restores the Pokémon’s HP. However, what makes this difficult to go against is this paired with Aqua Ring and its high HP stat. That means if the target does hit Milotic, it not only can take damage due to its tank-like stats, but it heals whatever damage you do end up doing.

BONUS: what the Poke balls would look like

Dream ball: effective when the Pokemon is fast asleep

Poke ball: standard ball, used in the beginning of your journey

Ultra ball: strong pokeball, high success rate of catching

Dive ball: effective in catching water-type Pokemon

Heal ball: when Pokemon are caught with this poke ball, it heals them when caught

I also think he would have a companion Togepi he wouldn’t battle with it or anything he would just take care of one. Plus they’re also very cute 😋

Thank u for reading! I put a lot of thought into each Pokemon and their move set, so I hope you all like it! I’ve already made Mike Wheelers Pokemon team :) so I hope this post does well!! Bye bye for now :D

[fleshwerks]

EDIT I MADE A MISTAKE: For some mysterious, not at all my own fanfiction related reason, I confused Treviso's location for Seleny, which is a river city, while Treviso sits on the delta of a river near the coast. Still. It's one major trade city out of two major trade cities. It's just a trade city. However, this renders the 'save treviso to prevent blight from flowing downstream' point moot.... ooff. Sorry, Treviso, your ace in the hole just went.

EDIT 2 it doesn't even seem to sit on a river. New question:if Treviso has no plumbing, tell me, where does the wastewater go?!!?!? Say it. Say it with words. I'm laughing at myself though, Seleny has absolutely dominated my 'antivan lore' mind lol. But seriously, if Treviso doesn't even sit in a delta... what realpolitik reason in a world-ending threat is there to choose it over Minrathous. It's an isola, even though it sits on the continent. it affects no other cities around it. Boats will have to make a longer trip to Antiva City, but that's it. The blight doesn't spread through waterways, it gets no more washed out to the sea than it would in Minrathous.

I think it should. The problem with 'sustained war' is that you're never at 100%. Minrathous has been under siege for a very long time, it has never really had the time to build up to fight off dragons and gods and Venatori who know the city inside out. Treviso, on the other hand, yeah, has no standing military.

But in the end, like this person said, one of the cities is a capital city, a major hub of commerce, and the other's a riverside town, 2nd largest, sure, but strategically the loss of Treviso is both more inevitable because of its home country's fucked up governing and military system (DAV crows are all rah rah we rule treviso until an actual war comes to its doorstep), and it's just not as strategically important. The only real issue is that the river carries the Blight down its course, and infects other river settlements. That's really the only reason why, when you have two 'maybes', you should choose treviso. otherwise i'd always choose minrathous because it's not just strategically more important, but because you can be almost 99.8% certain of it getting saved, as opposed to reducing the survival of both cities to like 50%. because in the end you're still just rook and two arseholes with some sad, struggling local forces who are barely coordinating anything.

treviso is a victim of its own government, and the MASSIVE hubris and flaws of the Crows who see themselves as an armed force while being completely ineffectual when it comes to repelling actual assault.

minrathous was easy to take because it was 'taken' by its own citizens, with the aid of gods. and that means the entire tevinter is now vulnerable, whereas taking treviso doesn't render all of antiva vulnerable. antiva's seashore capital still stands.

moreover, antiva itself is kind of a loser country. it's half-devastated desert from previous blights, and its economy relies entirely on commerce. it's a nation sized hanseatic league. antiva is a facilitator, a middle man because antiva almost exclusively produces LUXURY GOODS. not (survival) food (only fine, fancy, expensive gourmet shit), not arms, not resource. luxury goods. antiva simply isn't important in a total war. it produces nothing that's conducive towards survival. it has the right to exist, and gods willing, it will be saved, but when gods come knocking and you have choices to make, then with a broken heart and a choice that weighs between 'bad and worse', antiva will be sacrificed. except again, it isn't, it's only one river city. i'd be more worried if antiva city was under siege.

[raymantogether]

Rayman Together Community Spotlight #1 - Rayman Collectibles & Merchandise

This exciting new series hopes to introduce you to Rayman Fans across the World on a more personal level and make you the reader feel more connected to the community. I look forward in the months ahead to showing you the many faces of the Rayman community and some of the exciting projects and accounts they are working behind. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Rayman Together Community Spotlight in the future please feel free to reach out through Twitter. 

Rayman was published by French video game publisher Ubisoft in 1995. Since Rayman debuted on PlayStation and Sega Saturn, the series flourished after receiving outstanding reviews from critics and multiple publications. Rayman went onto spanning decades of videogame releases. Rayman was a Ubisoft Mascot until later years, when its various franchises such as Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Tom Clancy, and the Rabbids stole the spotlight.

After almost a decade, Rayman has slowly begun to creep back into the spotlight thanks to his return in Rayman in the Phantom Show. Ubisoft has begun to drip feed the loyal and patient Rayman community with various releases with collaborations from its multiple partners, such as Flyos, YouTooz, and Netflix. Rayman has made a major appearance in the Ubisoft Netflix series Captain Laser Hawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, Flyos is publishing the eagerly anticipated Rayman: The Board Game, and Youtooz has created Rayman figures and pin sets. YouTooz are even working on more figures, including an upcoming plush toy, collaborating with someone within the Rayman community. 

Although it may seem Ubisoft never supported the franchise outside of digital releases until now, a lot of you may be unaware that during the "Golden Era" of Rayman, Ubisoft released often rather obscure and bizarre merchandise that was exclusive in Europe or often released without public knowledge. 

I recently discovered the TikTok page RaymanCollectibles&Merch, which is managed by the extremely passionate Rayman fan Natasha Quinn from the United Kingdom. Natasha has collected various collectibles and merchandise throughout Rayman's history. I am delighted today to take an opportunity to showcase the Rayman Collectibles & Merchandise account as part of the very first Rayman Together Community Spotlight.

Please Introduce Yourself: "Hi I'm Natasha Quinn I live in Hertfordshire Stevenage in the United Kingdom."

Tell us something fun or interesting about yourself? "I have been collecting Rayman merch since 2016 but sadly lost most of it due to moving so restarting again in April 2023 where i have acquired a lot more then my childhood collection."

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? "I have two small dogs called dexter and Bailey which compete in fun dog shows. I also love to spend time drawing and making crafts in my spare time."

4. What are three things that make you smile? "The three things that make me smile are anything animal-related, cute videos, etc. I'm a huge animal lover. 2 Rayman (of course) 3 playing retro games from my childhood, reliving the memories mostly the PS1, PS2, and Game Boy handhold"

5. How did you get into the Rayman series? "I first got into Rayman when my dad got me an atomic purple GBC, which he called the game Rayman to go aside. I fell in love with the adventure and the colorful levels as well as the character Rayman himself, which I thought the fist throwing was a cool design! I remember getting excited about completing a level I would show my dad."

6. What is your favorite Rayman game and who is your favorite Rayman character? "Choosing a favorite Rayman game is hard, but I would have to say for memories and nostalgia alone, it would be the GBC version, although I realize it isn't a popular opinion, but closely following would be Rayman 2 & 3, as they are great games too! My favorite Rayman character is Rayman himself or Ly the fairy."

7. What is your favorite piece of Rayman merchandise you own, and why? "I think my favorite piece I own the last plush. I was lucky and won it in an auction, and weirdly enough, the smaller version went up for sale the same week, so I was lucky to own the pair!"

8. What is the rarest piece of Rayman merchandise you own? "The rarest piece I own is the Rayman Grimace mushroom figure given to staff members working on the Rayman 3 game, and only 100 were made. It's a beautiful statue, and I had to get it shipped from another country. I feel very lucky to have one."

9. Is there something in your Rayman collection that you don’t own? "I would love to own the 25th anniversary coin. I have been searching each day, and I still have hope."

Thank you, Natasha, for participating in the very first Rayman Together community spotlight. It has been a pleasure getting to know you. I am a huge fan of your account. I look forward in the future to seeing what else you can collect. Hopefully, in the future, Ubisoft will help you get a Rayman 25th Anniversary Medallion. Who knows, maybe next year there will be a 30th Anniversary Medallion. If you enjoyed this spotlight and would like to follow and support Rayman Collectibles & merchandise, I have included links to her social media platform below. 

Thank you for reading everyone and I look forward to seeing you in future Rayman Together Community Spotlights.