#~winter's star~

[thegatesofinfinitespace]

ALSO TELL US ABOUT THE SYSTEM OF MAGIC LEARNING IN SOUL-BOUND PEASE AND TANK U

WOW OKAY COMING AT ME WITH A KNIFE ARE YOU LMAO

The magic system in Soul-Bound is! Pretty big actually. The best thing I can do is try to narrow it down into smaller chunks or we'll be here all day lmao--

There are many types of magic that can be learned (and instinctual), and we have recoil, the counter-balance to that system and the use of magic in and of itself. Most places of learning for magic are huge campuses that use ley-line transportation to get around them, and are equipped to support each type of magic (the largest category being spell crafting).

They're more or less divided by (in the easiest way for me to write and to digest):

Alchemy

Spellcrafting/casting (and the subsets ⬇)

Inherited/Naturally Attuned Magics

Learned Magics

Intent-based Magics

Then there's the four types of recoil:

Recoil from unlearned magic

Recoil with understanding but a lack of skill

Recoil from magic that a user is incapable of using

Recoil that comes from too much raw magical power used

What is Alchemy?

Alchemy is, while the smallest category, not necessarily the easiest. It is technically a science based magic, and does require a lot of understanding of the world around oneself and how to use it, especially the study of magically charged components that are used when making spells and potions.

While many know of alchemy via the rearranging of existing matter into other things, and that is still a subcategory of it, it's also specifically the form of using physical components to make up, cast, or enact spells. (I'd say that the idea of Witches and cauldrons technically falls into this category).

Existing material is required for alchemical spells. Example: You can't just make fire from thin air, but you can make a potion from a dragon's lung that can allow you to cast fire when drank or used upon other equipment (flaming sword anyone?).

Usually the tactic of employing alchemical knowledge into your arsenal is for preventing the occurrence of recoil when using magic. Since the spell is confined to the potions and materials that are being used themselves, there is no risk of recoil due to not drawing from oneself to use the magic. Example: someone with a water elemental skill could use lightning potions to cast, even if they're not capable of using lightning magic. Someone who doesn't even have natural magical talent can use alchemy, and many alchemists and apothecaries are utilized by the every day citizen for things ranging from using components to warm the house in the winter to healing wounds and getting over certain sicknesses and curses.

What about Spell Crafting/Spell Casting?

Spell Crafting is a far bigger category, a little in part because it covers all magic that isn't component-based. This usually comes from some type of Affinity to magic itself, whether one is naturally gifted in using magic, or they inherited magical traits from their ancestors, or sometimes they honed their skills into being able to use certain spells, or it's an unconscious use of magic in certain situations.

These kinds of magic-use can be learned if one has an affinity for magic naturally; having a strong sixth sense, or the gift of higher sight (the ability to see spirits, fae, among other things) usually is a tell-tale sign of someone that can use magic naturally. Sometimes there is generational magic-- the child of a parent that can use shadow-magic can probably also use shadow-magic, or at least has an easier time using it than other Elements. Equally, it can be a coin toss when both parents have different magics, if their child can use either one-- sometimes they can use neither, or can only use it to a mild degree.

Magics like Necromancy (and its subsets, I'd love to dive into this one more because, well, VESPER, and also cause it's fun), Elemental magics (fire, air, ice, water, earth, plant, lightning, shadow, metal, etc etc), Shapeshifting (natural shapeshifters AND the magic are separate things), Time magics (the ability to stop, slow, reverse, and skip in time), Healing magics (wounds to self, others, and environment), Prediction/Premonition magics (seeing into the future, past, or possibilities of oneself or others), and most other magical skills you can think of would fall into this category.

You'll note that I didn't include 'Holy' magic here, and that's because it doesn't... truly exist. There are many Gods in the Soul-Bound Pantheon, and thus there isn't one true type of 'Holy' magic, though the use of Blessings from these Gods to enact spells is a thing, and also still falls into this category.

Intent-based magics also count here, and are sometimes an unconscious thing; intent-based magics are often emotion based or thought based, and can even lead to the creation of an absence of magic like the Angels in the Soul-Bound universe.

You'll think of intent-based magic as curses, blessings, and wards.

The type of intent-based magic that makes blessings and wards usually require a lot of focus to make, born from repetition. They usually take the form of physical objects like charms and tokens, statues and jewelry, where the blessing/ward is constantly thought of while the item is being made (like making a necklace for someone, and only thinking good thoughts of them or for them).

Sometimes, however, they're made purely on a whim and without much more than extreme feelings or singular powerful thoughts; this kind of magic is dangerous in its unpredictability, usually resulting in a curse. When this magic is made in a large group where the majority lacks natural affinity, it can become an antithesis to itself, and take the form of a being that needs to constantly consume natural magic to keep form: we call these things Angels. They are unnatural, a type of walking curse, and can even absorb Gods into their bottomless forms.

Angels are ultimately a form of recoil that doesn't have a singular individual to redirect to, instead rebounding on the world around them, which leads to...

Recoil.

There's four major kinds of magic recoil that one can suffer from, and that is: recoil from magic that the caster is unfamiliar with, recoil that comes from a caster that is inexperienced in using the magic they're trying to cast, recoil that comes from certain magics an individual is incapable of performing, and recoil can come from an overflow-- a loss of control-- from someone attempting to use magic.

It is always a danger when using natural magics that come from the user/self, and cannot quite be prevented, even for experienced spell casters.

Naturally, trying to cast a spell you've never used or heard of before has a high chance of recoil, a dice roll that can either end up with a successful casting, or a powerful clapback that can scar or injure the user and have dire consequences. Think a more extreme version of playing with fire. At some point you can and will lose control, and you will be burned for it in some shape or form.

Equally, even when casting a spell with an affinity one excels in, if the spell is too advanced (think levels and intensities of the same spell), it can also result in recoil. This comes from spellcasting being a lot like exercising. Lifting a heavier weight than one's stamina is used to can result in pain, or worse.

Sometimes, though, a user can have all the knowledge of a spell, but not the affinity to use it-- like a water mage attempting to use fire, or a Necromancer attempting to heal. The magic they're attempting to use is essentially the opposite of their affinity, and can give them whiplash for attempting it.

Last, and the most rare form of recoil, comes from magical overflow. Certain individuals can have a larger pool of untapped magic, and when casting, can unintentionally pour more energy into a spell than required, causing a painful burst of power. This recoil can be considered the most dangerous, as it is hard for a caster to stop the spell or the energy they're putting into it, and tire them to the point of passing out, and sometimes even afterwards until they die from exhaustion.

[eleutheria4ever]

“source?” divine intuition, gut instinct, and cryptic symbolism from my dreams

[ur-daily-inspiration]

[ashnistrike]

It just struck me how unusual it is that Star Trek TOS had no smoking. Not on the Enterprise. Not while people are relaxing on shore leave. Not by desk admirals. It was the 60s and this was actually pretty unusual. Go under-the-radar accurate predictions!

[without-ado]

Comet Leonard l optiquevideo l Québec Canada

[yandere-wishes]

Normal People: "Why did u start writing Yandere content?"

Most Yandere Authors: "I wanted to express my dark desire for a forbidden romance through a creative medium. Forgoing social norms to create a love that is most cruel yet utterly true. To appease the lethal love that lays dormant within my bones, rattling me with its yearning for freedom. To show the world a love that is hideous, dangerous, yet wholly profuse. The sort of love only found under a moonless sky. A romance that can kill and heal with the same hand. To fashion ballads of broken hearts and damaged minds trapped in a waltz of shimmering hearts."

Me: I want to get kidnapped so I won't have any responsibilities.

[thestarfishface]

“There is no platonic explanation for thi-“ Sprays u with water. Sprays u

[kyurochurro]

and now i bring to you my concept art for my imaginary tos episode: the crew go to the beach planet (the beach episode) 🏝️

[idlesuperstar]

this speaks to me on a molecular level

[turnnoffyourmind]

Bright night

Frutillar, Los Lagos, Chile.

[jennaflare]

So Disco Elysium is the only game you've ever really liked

I get it! It's a phenomenal game with superb art and writing, and its themes are consistent and deeply explored. It sets a high bar for video games. But there are other really, really fantastic games out there. This is a list that is 100% my own taste of things that aren't necessarily similar, other than the fact that they're really fucking good. (A lot of these are on sale for the Steam Summer Sale until July 11 2024!)

In Stars and Time

In Stars and Time is a time loop game where you play as Siffrin, the rogue of a party at the end of their quest to save the day by defeating the King, who is freezing everybody in time! But something is wrong: every time you die, you loop back to the day before you fight the King. You're the only one who remembers the loops, so it's up to you to figure out why it's happening, and how to break out.

In Stars and Time is a heart-wrenching dive into mental health, friendship, and love. It's about feeling alone, and how awful it is when the people who love you don't notice (and how awful it is when they do). It's about falling deeper and deeper into your worst self and your worst tendencies, and how to come back from it.

The creator also did one of my favorite Disco Elysium comics ever, which is only tangentially relevant but worth mentioning.

Roadwarden

In Roadwarden, you play as the titular Roadwarden for an undeveloped and "wild" part of the kingdom. Monsters roam the forests and roads, and it's your job to keep people safe. On paper, anyway. Your real mission is to find out what is of value in the area, and how to take it from its people. How well you perform this task is up to you. It's an oldschool text-based RPG, and I take a lot of notes by hand when I play.

Roadwarden explores exploitation and industrialization by making you look in the face of your potential victims. You can only learn what your bosses want you to report on by getting close to the residents, after all. There are mysteries to be solved, secrets to be gathered, and hearts to win.

The Longing

The Longing is an adventure-idle game where you play as the solitary servant of a sleeping king. Your task is to wait for him, for four hundred days. Time in the game passes in realtime (for the most part). There are caves to explore, books to be read, and drawings to make.

The Longing is about loneliness and depression. It's about whether or not you decide to stay in that hole, and if you do, what you do with yourself while you're there. Maybe you'll wander. Maybe you'll stare at a wall. Maybe you'll just sleep until it's all over.

Papers, Please

Papers, Please casts you as a newly hired customs officer in a country that is rapidly tightening its borders as its fascist government tightens its fist. This game is stressful. Sometimes you intend to help out the revolutionaries when they asked, but then you got so stressed out trying to make your quota so you can feed your family and pay your bills that you didn't notice the name of the person they were hoping to contact while going through their papers. Sometimes someone puts a bomb in front of you and expects you to defuse it. Sometimes someone suggests you steal people's passports so you can get your family out, and with the horror you see daily, the idea tempts you more than you'd like.

Papers, Please is all about hard choices and testing your moral fortitude. Everything you do has consequences. Being a good person in this game is hardly ever rewarded, but not in a way that feels overly cynical. Papers, Please asks you what kind of person you want to be and what you're willing to sacrifice to get there.

The Return of the Obra Dinn

From the creator of Papers, Please, The Return of the Obra Dinn is a game where you play as an insurance investigator for the East India Trading Company. The ship the Obra Dinn has just floated back into port, its entire crew missing or dead. It's your job to figure out what happened aboard the vessel. For insurance reasons.

I don't know how to go into the themes of this too deeply without giving away too much, but the mechanics of the game itself make the game worth playing. You have a magic stopwatch that allows you to go back to the moment of a person's death, allowing you to try and figure out who (or what) killed them, and how. And the soundtrack is extremely good.

Outer Wilds

In Outer Wilds you play as an unnamed alien, and it's your first day going to space! Your planet's space program is pretty new still, so there's still lots to explore and discover on the planets within your system. There are ancient ruins from a mysterious race that once lived in your system, long before your species began to record history. Why were they here? Where did they go? How are they connected to the weird thing that keeps happening to you?

The fun of Outer Wilds is in the discovery and answering your own questions. The game never tells you where to go, and it never outright tells you anything. There are clues scattered through the system, and it's up to you to put them together and figure out your next steps. It's about the way that life always goes on, no matter what, even when it seems like the end of everything, forever. I'd recommend NOT reading anything else about this game. Just go play it. Seriously, the less you know, the more fun this is.

If on a Winter's Night, Four Travelers

In If on a Winter's Night, Four Travelers, you explore the circumstances of the deaths of four individuals.

This is a short one that took me about two and a half hours to play. If for no other reason, play it for the stunning pixel art. The game explores sexism, racism, and homophobia in the Victorian era and leans heavily into horror themes. Best of all: it's completely free!

Pentiment

Pentiment takes you to the 16th century, where you take the role of Andreas Maler, a journeyman artist working on his masterwork in the scriptorium of an abbey. When someone is murdered, Andreas takes responsibility for finding the culprit.

The game is set over 20~ years and you get to watch how Andreas' actions affect the village in various ways (who's alive the next time you come by, have people gotten married and had children...). It's an exploration of how the past affects the future, and what parts of that past we choose to keep or discard. It has beautiful art, and fans of both Disco and Pentiment often compare them.

Other games you might wanna check out

Night in the Woods, Dredge, Oxenfree, A House of Many Doors, Inscryption, Slay the Princess, Citizen Sleeper, Chants of Sennar, Loop Hero, The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, The Pale Beyond, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, Elsinore, Her Story, Before Your Eyes, Pathologic (not delved into above because the venn diagram of Pathologic fans and Disco fans is basically a circle)

[ur-daily-inspiration]

itseriksen

[abyssxal]

🌴🥥

[badkunz]

I wanted to explore the idea that Marceline "accidentally" died by the hands of Winter King, perhaps trying to protect Bonnie, and how he dealt with the guilt by having her reborn as his daughter.

[puppyeared]

my attempt at making a fursona

[its-a-beautful-day]

Winter Night Glow

Alternative Title: Ah Shit Ginger I'm Sorry