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rennybu · 4 months

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hi.... i'm just a poor boy . who does not know the loam lore. would you be willing to share.... a summary.... (so curious i am a loam enjoyer)

oh my gosh hi griff..! oh there is so much to tell... i will h ave no choice but to put this under a readmore. the shortest answer is that he is my character of 3+ years in @jawsandbones homebrew dnd campaign and he is like a son to me. but to start off with baby pictures:

LOAM was born 52 years ago in a city called TILDEN, which is blocked off overland by a CURSED* SWAMP that creeps closer every year.

*Misremembered and only Recently Re-Contextualized Major Historical event

His mom is a shy, worried, and loving woman named Bayla - she's a druid and sells medicinal mushrooms of all sorts. His dad is an unwaveringly positive (but incredibly serious) mason named Uttara who proudly works on all sorts of projects around the city, especially major infrastructure. Yay stoneworkers!

(Because fantasy lifespans are strange and somewhat silly to me I just imagine Firbolgs to be stuck in their mid-20s existential dread until they're like at least 150. The backstory part of this spans literally 51 of his 52 year s of life. he's so young)

He got equal enrichment from time spent in nature with his mom as from time spent in the city with his dad. His nickname in the Tilden Firbolg community To This Day is "Always With Questions" - a kind of affix to differentiate him from any other Loams. He may not know much but he really would like to find out, please!!!! He sees a lot of beauty in the natural world, but his idea of what's natural is skewed somewhat by the uh, Curse. He once fell through some algae into a deep body of water and had a very fun memento mori experience as a kiddo (beautiful golden sunbeam shining onto a silty skull)

He got the name Loam very young from his interest in both his parents' work, which lead to him learning about soil types and uses in gardening and construction aklfhglskg. Loam was important for both jobs so he (in guess-what-I-just-learned little kid fashion) told everyone who would listen about it. The association STUCK and he's Loam now :].

His birth name is actually Rahara! but that's secret knowledge only his bestest friends and Tzip and some scarycool important NPCs know.

He loves beasts and magic and plants so much. And on the flip side he also loves and is fascinated by architecture and engineering. He never got any like, higher academic schooling or whatever, but had many many different apprenticeship type training relationships from his parents, other tradespeople in the city, from the senior rangers etc etc.

Small break to plug @jawsandbones lore packets for the Quarter Cities (including Tilden), Scarabae, and the overall campaign setting!!!! I'm just gonna talk about stuff without adding too much context of my own because AAA WORD COUNT!!!

The hole in Loam's ear was brought about by a shit ass Tilden local trying to tear his earring off him, since he'd bought it from a foreign merchant from a city Tilden/the Quarter has historically warred with. Loam's always been open minded and deeply curious about other cities, due to how isolated the bog is. Any visiting merchants are sources of wonder!!!! Even though he only bought the one hoop earring from the Quietus merchants (Mirjam and Mihail, mother and son!), after the ice was broken he stayed by their stall the rest of the day and talked about all kinds of things, and befriended Mihail!

Loam trained as a ranger as soon as he was old enough to do so!!!! He saw it as the next logical step past what his parents would be able to show him and was incredibly eager to get hands-on experience in the wilds. He met his first ever boyfriend among his peers there!!! Bragi... he has had many lovers and situationships in Tilden since, BUT only recently feels comfortable trying monogamy again after meeting Tzipporah.

Bragi unfortunately died badly to a creature in a traumatic backstory incident that left young Loam super fucking bereft and hyper aware of how easy it is to die. (Big monster attack + group of trainee rangers accompanied by a few more senior rangers + chaos and bloodshed. Loam carried Bragi to safety and tried resuscitating him but he was already gone. The experience made him uncomfortable with the idea of being in a defined, monogamous intimate relationship for the next like. 19 years. He felt like he got ripped in half!)

After the ranger's guild recovers from THE CREATURE ATTACK, Loam meets his close friend, Reece, a fellow ranger and Kenku (she looks like a masked shrike)!!!

He gets his septum pierced by the same visiting merchants from Quietus a few years after Bragi's death. It's a very important moment for him, where it feels like he can finally start to let himself change and grow beyond that event. He also spends more and more time in the city, away from the more rural/overgrown districts, and chases a love for the arts and partying and people, where he meets Kallirhoe (human, not a even a classed bard but like. an indie musician. an eboy if high fantasy had eboys. a tattooed twinkish fellow. you know the type)! They are very good friends who also have sex. Many days spent waxing poetic about THE BIG WIDE WORLD and how they'll never get to see it. (Spoiler: He sees it)

Loam gets into tarot as a hobby, and makes his own deck in a very scribbly freehand style with ink and charcoal!!!! he's slowly replacing them with more Worldly artwork - the deck he left home with was very. Tildencore

Many good years of being a party girl who has to go work a construction job tomorrow and then go be a ranger at 6. A rich and storied life. AND THEN THE GAME TIMELINE STARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A path Through the bog has recently finished being built by Dagda, the Southern representative to the other Quarter Cities, making more trade possible overland, and making local tensions go even crazier. Also there are strange Awful Huge Scary Monsters appearing WORLDWIDE, so the Directions and the Three Kings of Scarabae and the remote island of Geest (ADRA'S HOME!) and the mysterious magical Widow's Wood are all like "STOP WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING RN". Trials are held in the Western city of Dina to appoint FOUR TEAMS OF FOUR to help defend against the new threat. Loam is like. Well I've gotta fucking do that. I've got to try. If I'm not chosen, at least I've set foot outside. He has a fight with his mom about this, because she is terrified she will lose him, like she lost her mother in a previous conflict when Scarabae was occupying the Quarter, before Loam was born. He stands firm and his dad has his back, and ultimately he leaves with both their blessings, but his dismissal of his mom's feelings weighs heavy on him the longer he's away from home. (He has a big cry and reconciliation about this when he is next able to come home.)

I'm clapping and cheering and skipping joyfully because now he HAS MET HIS BESTEST, DEAREST, CLOSEST FRIENDS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD: ADRA ILSA AND TALEE!!!!!!! I have to be so careful now because we have no joke hundreds of pages of notes. I cannot read that shit on google docs mobile app. We are approaching session one hundred and fifty of this game. They love each other so fucking much. THEY ARE THE INFORMATION GATHERERS!!! A PARTY OF SLEUTHS!!!

He also has his meet-cute with Tzipporah at the trials, which in hindsight is hilarious, because of the whole, "Tzipporah was sent to the trials as a spy (by the very people responsible for the giant awful monster crisis) and immediately pegged Loam for an easy mark to get information from" thing. And he was 100% correct. But a lot has to happen before that gets revealed. They took a nice night walk and write each other big long letters. And Loam tells him soooooo much <3

At one point while exploring a wizard tower he attunes to a lightly cursed ring and forgets what his parents look like, like their likenesses are Gone from past and recent memory. Which is a big thorn of homesickness that he writes to them about. He has a big cry and stares at them both for a LONG time when he next sees them.

Also they save an orphaned Kenku from some bandits and now Loam has a little shoulder-sniper named Bubby. We have a son. A perfect little crow son who is really good at killing, with arrows. He hides things in Loam's hood regularly

Other major things include ummm umm Loam's TWO deaths, one during a dungeon-rescue type scenario in a room that was Flooding and full of Phantoms and also a charmed Druid (Feyan, good friends now) wildshaped into a big scary water snake. He was hurt bad and (comedically) levitated so he wouldn't DROWN but then got Phantom Speared right through the torso. Second one was because Tzip's evil half brother Vences was like, mad at him for being a good influence on Tzipporah and interfering with the spy duties. Chill touch so no healing + dagger in the ribs! Ow. Also the reveal that Tzip was a spy was happening like, simultaneously here so we were yowling and screaming. (Well. Talee and Co had their long time hunches about this. Loam and I had turned a beautiful blind eye to all suspicious activity)

ANYWAY HIS DEATH SCARS LOOK LIKE A COMET ABOVE HIS BELLY!!!! The spear scar made a patch of his fur turn white (front and back), and the dagger scar is its crude tail!

I am skipping over so many plot revelations i. This is just the Loam Cut. and it's not even all of it.

His buzzcut was for emotional superstitious reasons!!! He cut it after Death 2 and Tzipporah getting taken against his will back into Evil Gang. Loam's mom has a lock of his hair at home now. ALL THIS TO SAY TZIP IS OKAY, NO LONGER SPYING, WE RESCUED HIM AND RIPPED A MASK OFF HIM AND SAVED HIM FROM GETTING HIS MIND EXCAVATED ! SO LOAM IS GROWING HIS HAIR OUT AGAIN!

The deaths of his close friends and their allies have also been. insane for him to process. To return someone to life in this setting u need to like. entreat a Titan. plead on the deceased's behalf and offer something up for the chance to revive them. (NO player spells like revivify. house rule) So interacting with these entities he sees as like Both forces of the natural world AND of huge religious/cultural importance regionally. And to have their requests be HEARD? He loves magic he loves Titans. And the plot is unfolding in such a way that scares me so bad. He loves his titan (The Curious Spear) SOOOO MUCH he has like the foundational belief that it can see through his eyes. Even if not true it motivates him to always seek understanding of strange new things.

Oh my god I didn't even talk about his multiclass into druid. He's a druid also. Circle of the Stars!! As a navigational point. He loves them. He loves space. He loves geography and regional interpretations of constellations. He used to just do freehand observations but truly became dedicated to charting the skies of every place the party travels to, after Tzipporah gifted him a grid-lined journal <3 <3 <3 STARRY FORM!!!!!!

His awe and inspiration and hunger for knowledge is the well he draws magical power from. My Boy is thematically bound up in the soggiest parts of this earth and also the unknowably distant stars above and I'm normal about it (lie) (There is a new and scary Third Thing rising which is the space between. I <3 Void). I know i draw him beige and green but his like, character colour theme is. Dusk to me. Gloaming. When the world is lit like a dream <3

In summary. In conclusion. He and Adra and Ilsa and Talee (and the rest of the Four of Four) are trying to prevent Global Disaster of an existential scale never before seen and are being very brave about it.

Loam wants to understand everything about Everything. Because understanding is love. Unfortunately there are hostile resentful and vengeful forces making this hard to do. Most recently by saving a city we Unmade a magically sustained centuries-old library. And we haven't had time to like fully let that sink in. Because of the horrors of war and being Four of Four means responding to emergencies and protecting cities as best we can against a foe that was forgotten by history until like, 10 months ago. Less, even. I hope this is anything. I hope u are his friend now too because he is yours

good lord how could i forget. His gender is male in such a way that he does not give a shit about it. He's one of the girls. He's genderless. Like a knight. His sense of identity is built on Living Laughing and Loving.

his personal goals are 1. to uncurse the bog in such a way that the wrongs committed by Tilden historically are brought to light and righted, 2. to get super married to Tzipporah and build a house together, and 3. to somehow, eventually, through great teamwork and effort, cure(?) the dreadful lingering soul plague on the island of demeter. HUMBLE! OH and to make a finished star chart covering the entire planet. humble.

thank u for reading here are his current stats

#titan campaign #loam #aart #theres some secret goodies under the readmore btw #IM SOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE CHAOTIC FORMATTING AND HOW MUCH I JUMP AROUND #i will happily answer more questions. and i wont take months to respond i promi #GRIFF... THANK YOU SM

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herboretum · 1 month

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since i’m full of hatred and negativity i will be answering this

(to emphasize Like these are just nuances and inconsistencies i’ve found with myself and the fandom Like genuinely idrgaf i could care less about any of the points i will make in retrospect)

the anthropomorphization of unpleasant from this fandom has genuinely WRECKED its character and made it. not that unique compared to the other npcs. like i dont know it being this like fucking gooner-type character is so awful? and i really hate it? if anything that trope given to unpleasant should have stayed with scag and ended with her, since she’s a genuine npc with more writing and thoughts attached

i saw people bring up this point again and im glad but HELLO!!!!! LETS STOP JUST ASSOCIATING LAMPERT AS WALLTER AND MARK'S SON? EVEN WHEN IT HAS BEEN DISCREDITED /MULTIPLE/ TIMES? like DAMN this fandom only attributes characteristics if it is attached to literally anyone else besides that person. its horrible. people NEED to learn to find the balance between having fun with that headcanon while also acknowledging lampert as his own separate person that is (to be quite frank) not even associated with them that much in canon

(+ people saying that the headcanon of lampert being wallmark's son is canon and fucking REPLYING saying to people who ship wallter & lampert or mark & lampert that they shouldn't. you are fucking embarrassing)

more of a fandom thing but yall ship too much lmfaoo. like guys i promise, you can interpret some of these relationships as genuine friendships i promise you'll live. can we stop with the rhetoric that just because two characters have good dynamics with each other that means that theyre in love (heavily side-eyeing protoscag and lampfected and milby dare i say)

the regretevator fandom is EXACTLY like the phighting fandom with how shipping is handled. i mean this in not a positive way

people gotta stop relying on the wiki for information man. so much lore from yeucc's tumblr has been retconned and at this point, when there's now WRITERS for the game that are actually keeping tabs, all if not the good majority of what is said on the wiki should be taken with a grain of salt. nowadays the lore is unpredictable, and only a select few (by few i mean like. 4 out of the 17 npcs) has had their lore expanded on significantly

general facts i think is fine so long as theres an annotation backing it but my point still stands . moreso with lore generally

also saw this point being brought up in the qrts but the demonization and infantilization of certain characterss (cough spud pilby pest and poob) is like. wild. i dunno i can't say much since i'm very fortunate enough to not have seen that much but my god is it prevalent from what people are saying

with pest especially since he has npd and aspd i do think that. people generally associating him as evil has NOT been the greatest thing, especially since it reduces him to a stigma of people with personality disorders which is horrific and terrifying. idk what goes on in the background but i feel like the fandom + yeucc & the people working on regretevator should have done more research on the disorders and consulted people who do have these issues better instead of using those labels haphazardly

another thing i will and always will be vocal (dog on) about the axosun team is them keeping gnarpy. like there was no reason to keep xem in other than for revenue gain let's be honest and True to ourselves. the philosophy "ohh but you can separate the art from the artist!!!!" i feel does not really apply to this scenario cause xe got a whole ass revamp despite the obvious fact that it STILL is gnarpy, a character created by a bad person regardless of the ownership change and discredited history. its the underlying thought that they were essentially built off a bad origin if this makes any sense. idk i think it wouldve been better for everyone if xe were just removed ENTIRELY from the game but. you do you i guess

lastly in this essay: i think more people should Be Kinder to each other in this fandom <3 peace and love

#v.rambles #just my squicks with the game/fandom #again most of these idgaf on like im just dogging on em for fun take my hot takes with a grain of salt #its just sometimes . i do wish i could go back to how this fandom used to be #semi popular but mostly unknown

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artharakka · 1 year

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ohhhh OC questions 11, 13, and 20?? 👉👈

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”?

Nila, I think. He/they (the language Nila speaks has no gendered pronouns so eh?) are an old old oc of mine I recently resurrected to be a companion NPC in a ttrpg/dnd campaign "Llehia" I'm currently DMing (more behind the scenes material for that on my patreon). He wants to trust people and see good in them which is why they can come across a bit naïve at times. But I don't think he's necessarily stupid, just trying to break the cycle of being cynical and if things go south, he's fast to dodge (he hopes).

Another one is Willow. Not necessarily in the usual sense but more like "can sometimes be overwhelming and irritating". Might also make you a cup of tea so also warm I guess (expect their hands, they are always cold). We also enjoy a good olde sun & moon symbolism with @artist-rat whose character Ash we associate with the moon. Willow and Ash are twins 🌞🌙 Also Willow started as my Skyrim character Paju (willow in Finnish) and you bet I had the Dawnbreaker.

(Nila on the right, Willow on the left with very fast sunglasses)

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

Ohohohoho so many! But two that do and say stupid shit in order to get a reaction from other people are my Dragon Age inquisitor Sonera, and once again, Willow. Willow enjoys irritating their twin sister Ash's short temper (and Ash's girlfriend Rhea). Too bad those two are strong butches, which is why Willow is always ready to flee with a shit-eating grin. (Don't worry though, Willow and Ash are actually really close). Sonera's humour is lewd her hobby is trying to see how far they can throw a dagger and still hit some poor fool's toes. Both Willow and Sonera would be the types of friends who see something cursed online and immediately send it to everyone.

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

Not many! In fact right now I could only think of one, which might tell more about my own musical talents and how much I think of singing. But I think Rhiam would sing in bath/shower (would never admit that though. They are very shy). And to be honest I don't exactly know what kind of voice they would have! I just know the tone I use when we play the campaign. But I think their singing voice might be a little higher than expected.

Rhiam is good at inventing and sometimes freestyling their own spells, so I think they might even invent their own songs. Or in modern AU where they haven't lived on a farm without electricity, do very dramatic imaginary covers of their favourite songs. I think they would like Lady Gaga and Marina 💕

So many thems I notice! But tbh my first language doesn't have gendered pronouns either so that causes it a bit. But Nila as said is he/they, doesn't matter to him. Sonera is bit same but with she/they, mostly she. Willow is just they, and Rhiam is... kind of at crossroads. Has been he but doesn't really vibe that. So vague they for now.

#oc asks #Nila #Willow #Sonera Lavellan #Rhiam

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furinana · 2 months

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Reminiscing about when Krishna's portrayal in SMT4A got in trouble

Whether Rajan Zed's outrage (or even the necessity of reporting it) is justified or not, it provided a hilarious comment section for sure:

For those that played and understood the observation themes behind the SMT4 duology, there's a nuanced view on the interpretation of religions in the games in which they shouldn't necessarily be seen as the 'raw' look of how they were in the scriptures but a 'biased version' of certain groups of people that might not even be the originators or followers of the faith in question.

Of course, industry trends and favoritism due to Japan being the dev team's country of origin definitely play on what design elements and what kind of personality gets picked for myth figures in Megaten.

The discussion does provide an interesting insight on the aspect that the franchise does have its habit of putting myths and gods of different levels of worshipping on a blender for the sake of being superficially used as tools for the player (which I guess comes with monster-catching game genre territory where titles present themselves with the prospect of monster x human friendships but they are essentially glorified cockfights). Isn't this the point behind what Dagda wanted to convey in his route even?

[N is set as the primary antagonist of Pokémon Black & White for not wanting the creatures to be slaved to their trainers' will. By the end of the game, you will have him convinced that achstually Pokémon do like to follow orders and beat up other Pokémon. Any parallels to an Earth Goddess ending here?]

In any case, at least regarding the snazzy design we got for our blue boy, players that are long familiar with SMT will just associate fedor-I mean, trilby Krishna as he wanting to appear as a non-threatening NPC like how several non-humans entities do in the franchise instead of some mob dandy. I'm trying to imagine Krishna with a gun instead of a flute

And at the end of the day, loud spokespeople tend to be in the minority compared to average followers that mostly won't care about some random depiction in a Japanese videogame.

Our boy Rajan Zed clearly hadn't given up on expressing his dismayal as SMTV got released.

To the point that Nobuyuki Shioda (writer for SMT strategy guides and the "Journey to the Mythical World" colums in the official SMT4A website) couldn't help but give a statement on the issue:

"Please don't misunderstand. The games are not made to denigrate Hindu deities. Focus has been given on respecting mythological depictions in recent years as well. But I know the games are not for everyone. We have to make an effort to gain understanding."

Then we finally have the most sensate comment from the crowd:

And to finish things:

"This guy is a pain in the ass, so let's fuse him with some small fry" "Slime might be the possible result" "I don't want a slime lol"

#smtiva #shin megami tensei iv apocalypse #smt iva

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targentis · 2 months

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- What's your favorite character arc?

- What's your favorite details you noticed about the game?

- What's your favorite character design?

- Do you have any hcs/things you'd like about less popular characters ( the church staff, students like Raphael or Caspar, random npc )

- Idk if you particularly care about shipping, but do you have any rarepair? ( Ok, tbh that one is because of your Rodrigue fic because it was delightful. And because I saw you liked Ferdinand/Dimitri- )

- Do you have any hcs around the characters family? ( This one might also be because of your Rodrigue fic- )

- ALSO is there any platonic dynamic, especially less popular, that you care about?

- Group dynamic too! I'm pretty sure your favorite is the blue lions, but is there anything particular you enjoy/notice about the houses? ( including the Church staff! And it can consider recruits too, as well as either pre or post time-skip )

- This one is a bit cheessy but is there any song you associate with three houses in some way?

( Sorry I know it looks a bit like an interview, feel free to only answer the question you want! And I might not like/reblog your answer bc I'm shy but I'll garantee you that I will have read it! Thanks you if you decided to answer :) )

wowa sure i’ll answer all these why not HDSNDJSN

gotta say dimitri has my favorite character arc 💪💪💥💥💥💥🔥🔥🔥👆👆👆 they literally gave him a trauma recovery arc and it wasn’t even bad. we love the psychotic rep in this game 💪💪💪💪 the healing 💥💥💥💥💥💥 the sexy also 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

THE FACT THAT YOU CAN JUST. WALK AROUND ON BATTLE MAPS TO EXPLORE THEM. I’M STILL NOT OVER THIS, THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO DO ALL THAT, AND YET…

oogh. this is a Hard One. all the character design in this game slaps so hard. i’ll probably have to say post timeskip Edelgard takes the cake for me though because like…that headdress…the gravitas of the whole getup…never seen anything like it before

I LOVE CORNELIA 💥💥💥💥💥💥 i know i already talked about my trans headcanon for her but like genuinely…..she is so fascinating to me…what is trans Agarthan culture like…one must wonder…

LMAO the Rodrigue fic was a commission but i am a Rodriguela supporter forever 🫡🫡🫡 other than that yeah i like Diminand (but i’m a Cymitri truther and Yes this counts as a rarepair to me), Ashelix, whatever Ferdinand and Felix is called but Specifically as exes…i think that’s it off the top of my head. i also ship Cornelia with Valter from Sacred Stones but that’s a whole nother can of worms

OUUUU tbh i think All of my family hcs came out in that one Felix fic that everyone sleeps on HDBSBDJS i just i just i love thinking about Glenn……..and what would happen if Felix just went to therapy ONCE……… Rodrigue is a good father idc what anyone says

yes i think we were robbed of Claude and Hubert supports and i’ll die on this hill. they would have been such incredible worsties. i also really like Lorenz and Ferdinand as the most insufferable friends on the planet. and Annette and Dimitri have such cute supports that i never hear anyone talk about…faerghus four my ass, Annette is Dimitri’s REAL sibling figure ‼️ speaking of the faerghus four i hate that dynamic. Dedue and Dimitri have thee most beautiful friendship and ppl want me to believe he has a comparable relationship with the snotty rich kids he grew up with? get real. that being said Felix and Sylvain have that Exact lasting childhood bond that everyone seems to want Dimitri to have with the rest of them so. i like those two as besties i have a lot of feelings about that.

its so interesting that the Blue Lions come off as my favorite group dynamic because like…i gotta say they’re probably my least favorite as a group AKDKSNSKSA i LOVE the Black Eagles for this. (i am totally neutral on the Golden Deer. i have like zero opinions on them and i am sorry 😔) specifically though i think what gets me about the Black Eagles is that they have this…communal vibe, i guess? it makes it easy to imagine them all like hanging out with each other even though they all have such STRONG personalities. the Blue Lions…i just get the sense that they’re not all very compatible with each other if that makes sense??? it feels like i’m at an awkward family dinner every time i see them all together. it could just be that i like almost all the BE whereas there are quite a few BL i strongly dislike HHDBWNDN because recruiting my faves makes this less unbearable. also i fucking love the church staff…i especially love how supportive all the professors are of each other, and how Byleth really feels like they have a community around them while working at Garreg Mach… Gatekeeper i love you………

yes i do actually and it’s PVP by Amaranthe. i don’t actually know WHY that song makes me think of this game, the lyrics aren’t really applicable, but i have such a vivid animatic in my head every time i hear it so there you have it.

#beneath the ask #anonymous #THANK YOU FOR THIS……#i am exhausted and ill and In Bed but this was fun to answer #feel free to send as many as you want and also tell me your thoughts….

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nerendus · 3 months

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Thoughts and Speculation on DLC Trailer

This isn't going to be anything professional or going Deep Lore Mode, that isn't going to occur for another few weeks when I officially go insane. Most of these things have already been said, I really just want an accuse to just chatter and scream into the void about details I liked.

First things first, I've seen a lot of people say this is Melina guiding us towards Miquella, but it's most definitely not. The skirt is far too long, and her dress is not heavily designed like this. In the trailer, we do hear (most likely) Miquella guiding us into the shadowlands, so this could possible be him, but I doubt it. We've seen him in the art post and this dress doesn't match what he wears. This may be a new NPC looking for Miquella, or even the player character in a new fit and this frame is just a red herring. Who knows.

To the left, you see a map stand, and right next to it is a settlement that looks very Sellian. It's kind of hard to tell for sure, but it does look very similar and that honestly makes me so happy. More Sellia lore please.

In this frame, I think we are seeing most of the entire DLC and it looks so good. At the bottom, you can see the same settlement. There's some ruins on our side of the bridge. On the right on a cliff, there seems to be a cathedral and close to it on the left is a castle or fortress with more ruins to its left. There's this colosseum-looking structure with land islands surrounding it, and I'm really curious to see what's that's all abouts. It seems to be held up by the architecture similar to the Divine Towers you find all throughout the Lands Between which makes me think it may be related to the people who built them. To the far left you see that castle that seems to be going into a Farum Azula effect. And of course, the centre piece is what's probably going to be the main legacy dungeon.

This person....looks so absolutely cool. They sort of look Zamor, but that might just be the mask. Whoever it is, they are probably a boss and that makes me sad. I want to sleep in their arms.

Everyone has already heard about this person and their connection to Caria and the Dectus medallion. When I first saw them, I thought for certain it was the Dusk Eyed Queen because...purple eyes...but the more I think about it, the less likely it seems. They aren't wearing the clothing associated with her followers, but you know...the Carian siblings all have some ties to the Godskin Apostles, so there might still be a connection. As to their identity, they seem to be...priest-like but also scholarly. It's hard to know for sure if they are supposed to be Carian royalty since the Carians don't wear very extravagant gowns and wear very simple but still elegant clothes (except Rykard but....Rykard is Rykard). Who knows. I can't wait to meet them, they give off major Tanith Energy.

I am just...so obsessed with this place so much. I love the trees so much, they look very similar to the trees in the swamp where I live close to. So major vibes already.

Everyone already knows about the dude, but...the woman. She's holding her belly like she's pregnant and that's just...setting off so many electrical shocks in my brain. Wild theory is that she is Queen Marika's mother. Even wilder theory is that she's the Dusk Eyed Queen before her Empyrean status and Marika is her daughter. Messmer does mention a mother which I guess she could fit that role, however there is a statue of Marika right behind him holding a child (don't have a clear image so I can't include it) so it still doesn't seem likely.

I love these two dudes....they are just sitting....

Farum Azula castle. You can see a little bit of the deathblight swamp at the base of the stairs. Wild theory based on nothing, but I think this might be where we fight the King in Yellow dude.

Love this dude. Looks like a Wormface but like....actually a worm. So proud of them.

I love this guy so much. But first, you see a bit of the Sellian architecture behind him with those black draperies that you see in the settlement, so it's likely that he is going to be an early boss. I've sort of been calling him the Royal Misbegotten since he does seem very elegant, but it's possible he could be a priest or just some high ranking official, but either way, his very elegant stature does seem to suggest that the shadowlands are welcoming to the Crucible as seen in many scenes of the trailer. I love it. I love what looks like runes in his eyes and the second set of human teeth behind beast teeth. I can't wait for the model to be exported so we can see how he looks underneath the robes because.....it's strange alright.

Messmer got a ring. It's on the wrong finger, but still. I'd put (another) ring on it.

Okay, first, he's standing in the way and I can't get a clear image of the statue, But you can clearly see the billowing dress of Marika featured in the other statues, and you can kinda see the circular objects that are behind her. On to Messmer himself, mans look WAY TOO FUCKING COOL. Also, unless the snake is really long, he actually has two snakes instead of one fucked up one. It's hard to say if they are attached to him or not, but given how you can see a bit of his fucked up anatomy in the fighting scene, it's probably likely.

LOVE THIS so much. But one, you can see the Evil Erdtree behind them and it looks very close, so I think this takes place on one of the towers of the main legacy dungeon. Also, the twin trees sort of look like Two Fingers that had grown fucked up and started producing roots. Probably definitely not the case, but it does look cool.

We had the blue dancer in the scarlet rot (red), and here we got a red dancer in a field of blue. Given that this takes place in a field of flowers, chances are she's going to be a really memorable boss. I just really want her fit....

New Crucible Magic!!!!! It looks so cool, I can't wait to read its lore description.....

I love those eyes. Beautiful.

I don't have much more to add that hasn't been said about the King in Yellow, but this image goes SO FUCKING HARD. I love it so much, I love how his neck starts to stretch as he tries to remove the branch sword.

Looks like the Duskborn ending. Fits in very nicely with Miquella's goals in the base game...One thing though, is that it seems that the white effect is only affecting the Erdtree and not the (possibly) Deathblight tree. Maybe it's a way to rid itself of the parasite?

Anyways that's all. Please come scream at me, I never want to stop talking about this trailer.

#texts from the underbrush #elden ring #shadow of the erdtree

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sleepymarmot · 6 months

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NPC: Three centuries... Jedi Master... Discovered an ancient space station of untold power... Built by a species that once ruled the galaxy... Me: I Have A Bad Feeling About This

[Major spoilers for KOTOR, major spoilers for this accursed pair of flashpoints in SWTOR, and a lot of vitriol]

One point for authenticity, I guess: the Foundry is just as awful of an experience in SWTOR as the Star Forge was in KOTOR. No, that's not fair: it's worse.

I thought I had a bad time during Boarding Party, crawling through an endless dungeon full of dull trash packs, all the while dreading what the not-so-subtle hints are supposed to mean. I'd let my guard down after the surprisingly respectful Revanite cult quest; I didn't expect to meet the imposwtor (bless whoever coined that name) until the expansion titled with "his" name.

You know what's an even worse experience? Spending an hour and a half in a dull ugly dungeon that exists only to shit on everything about an iconic, beloved character from a different game.

Revan in KOTOR (light side): On second thought, perhaps using weapons of mass destruction isn't the best way forward. "Revan" in The Foundry: Nevermind.

Revan in KOTOR (dark side): Fuck this, I'm not a Jedi. "Revan" in The Foundry: Nevermind.

A Revan who is proudly a Jedi and also proudly into genocide now is the opposite of where my own character was going, and incompatible with either of the paths the original game offers. It's the opposite of fanservice. I have no idea who this mission was for. Was it for ten year old boys who haven't actually played KOTOR but are excited to earn bragging rights of knowing who Revan was so that they could earn clout on message boards?

Not only is "Revan"'s personality an insulting caricature of the character we knew and loved, not only his appearance has nothing in common with what the majority of players must have picked during character creation back in KOTOR (how many different presets are for the male PC alone?) — we also have to kill him.

And to add insult to injury, we have to kill HK-47, too. My heart sank when I heard the word "meatbags" over the intercom. Well, at least he killed me twice in a row, and forced me to look up the mechanics of the fight, like it's a real dungeon or something. That's my boy! Very proud of him.

I went through all of this shitshow with my "Revanite" title equipped, by the way. And took it off after the end. I don't want to be associated with this. Don't remind me.

Well. To look on the bright side — I got like three level ups out of this. The one and only benefit.

Anyway, I have no idea whether to integrate this into my personal canon or not. As a KOTOR player, I want to forget about this like a bad dream. On the other hand, if taken seriously, the psychological impact on the player character should be immense.

The last thing that happened before this story was a Jedi padawan telling my PC that she wants to kill every single Sith. Now she meets someone claiming to be a Jedi who intended to kill every single citizen of the Empire. Was her opinion on the Jedi very abruptly and violently turned from "pretentious, hypocritical windbags with bad metaphysical opinions" to "immediate existential threat to everything and everyone she's ever known"? Are these just a stupid kid and a madman — or is this something to be expected from any and every Jedi? From the Republic? Did Revan keep his plans of genocide a secret, or did the Republic know and still allow it?

Additionally, what happens to her opinions on the Force that have been influenced by the Revanites? Does she feel disillusioned, even personally betrayed? Does this wound her confidence in her beliefs about the Force?

Actually, this is bigger than the player character's feelings. Why is the Empire not publicising this?! Doesn't even matter whether the Republic and the Jedi knew of Revan's plan or not. Can you imagine the impact on the public, in both factions? "Revan" just gave the Empire the biggest propaganda piece in galactic history on a silver platter. They want to escalate, and this is a perfect inciting incident. In the story order guides, this flashpoint is placed immediately before Quesh; on the Foundry you encounter an open act of extreme violence by the Republic against the Empire, then half an hour later you land on Quesh and immediately get tasked with provoking the Republic into violence as an excuse to start the war. I can't believe this stupid flashpoint breaks the story not only of KOTOR, but of SWTOR itself.

#star wars #kotor #swtor #blah blah blah #this was a couple of days ago and i think it killed my enthusiasm for the game #i had been thinking about it non-stop for a week; planned new characters and when and how to subscribe #now it's just empty

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happysadyoyo · 2 years

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@transmascrage

Okay so like. I haven’t completely thought through all the plot plot shit but what I have I’m putting under a read more in case like anyone besides us are reading these and don’t wanna know about Lightlark 3.0 (2.0 is gonna be my ghostwrite edit I’ve decided. All this and school and Constellations? RIP my own book I guess)

Are you familiar with the plot of Curse of Strahd? Doesn’t matter if you are I’m saying it anyway. Basically Strahd got all pissy that his brother was marrying this woman he liked. So like. He killed his brother if I remember right? And then the woman was like “fuck this and fuck you I’m not marrying you you creep” and killed herself. Or he pushed her over a cliff, one of the two.

During all this he’d made a deal with this thing called Vampyr and that deal pulled Barovia, the country he was rulling, into the mists. Bonus plot twist, one of the NPCs (or PC depending on your DM and party) is the reincarnation of te woman who said fuck you to Strahd. So he obsessively goes after her every time she reincarnates.

This is pretty easily mapped out onto the current clusterfuck that is... all that mess. We can still have a fracturing of the island along political lines (important of course. We’re upping the blood and political intrigue here. I’m gonna have to research political intrigue), an attempt at a wedding, a murder that backfires and curses everyone.

I know in my head Metal is most tied to the island, ie can’t leave. Instead of being the “channel” or whatever because let’s be real, Aster’s magic system is dumb as hell and makes no sense (fixing in 2.0 too actually), Metal will be the island’s voice. That’s how there can still be a heart of te island that is the actual source of the power as well as the Metal Court.

Side note: since they get turned into statues due to their curse, they don’t know what to do with all the excess bodies at first. Eventually it becomes a Thing for them to become part of the architecture. It’s said the hives are haunted especially. idk I can’t stop thinking about Steven Universe gems become architecture but still being Aware

Logically, another court would be marrying into Metal, and it’s going to heavily depend on who our human is with that determines the court. Not Sky. Apparently my brain has latched onto Sky being the “true” love interest (I’m not beyond poly but I’m also condensing the timeline because 100 days is Too Long and thus any true romance would need longer to work properly). I’m honestly leaning towards Wood being the court that was marrying into Metal. The two more earth aligned elements coming together, the one most associated wit the magic of the island, the other most associated with war. It works.

Metal would be the victim here. That’s why the death rebounds. The island was basically forced to murder its own voice and it lashed back out at the source. Overshot it a bit, but Lightlark is an island so what do you expect?

Also I’m glad you absolutely got the reverse diving helmet thing from Spongebob. That is exactly what I was thinking.

#icarus liveblogs lightlark

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yourboredcuck · 10 months

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Pikmin 4 Cuckview

Pikmin 4 - A breath of fresh air amidst a stench of mediocrity and greed

Intro:

This intro is ass. It likes to pause the player every 5 seconds to either explain gameplay features or shove the story that no one cares about in your face. Super lame. A better approach would be to ask players if they have played a Pikmin game before? And then just allow them to skip the intro.

Time/Day Cycles:

This game has the least urgency in the entire series. There is no overarching day limit such as in Pikmin 1 & 2. So you can spend 1000 days exploring and no one cares if Olimar dies of starvation. Not having an urgency is a double edged spoon. On one hand if you suck you aren’t punished and on the other you are not incentivized to be efficient and there is no overarching tension that made Pikmin 1 a horror title.

Difficulty:

Just like my cak this game doesn’t get very hard. You’d have to make the game more challenging for yourself by either speedrunning it or trying not to lose Pikmin. Also they skimped out on the bosses. They are mostly just returning bosses and not even the grandiose ones from Pikmin 3.

Controls & Features:

Overall the controls work well and have enough variety in features such as charging all your Pikmin in at once and Oatchi partner commands.

There’s a feature where when you send out all your Pikmin of one type it changes to the next type. Unfortunately it does this when you are underwater and you can’t use other types so when the blues come back to you they are not selected and they get killed.

There is this Moss chubber that attacks you in one of the stages. It's an interesting idea, but she eventually respawns after knocking her out. Reminds me of Mr X from Resident Evil 2 Remake. POS always seems to snipe me at the end of the day and then I actually have to use the baby-mode rewind feature because she’s a cheap bastard just waiting to cuck me right at the end of the day.

Content:

This definitely feels like a full game. Which is nice to see in the world of microtransactions. Overall the level design is good and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Some of the underground areas seem a bit sameish. Some points feel kind of like a super mario maker/dungeon maker. This is exaggerated later in the game during a multi-sequence dungeon.

Spoilers I guess: They added a homage remake of Pikmin 1’s campaign where you get to play as Olimar and collect 30 ship parts in a 15 day time limit. It’s not the same as the original, but allows for the use of Pikmin 4 features and is really cool to see as they really didn’t need to do this.

After you complete the game you get 10 extra challenge levels which are actually not always doable first try. It makes you really think about optimum routing and using both players, unlike the main story where you can practically do whatever you like.

NPCs and Side missions:

There are heaps of NPCs this time around compared to other Pikmin games, each of which has their associated side missions, unfortunately they are more like milestones which most players would achieve just by playing the game. These are a shallow attempt to add more characters and fullness to the game, but unfortunately just falls flat. The dialogue is a skipfest and just interrupts the flow of the game. The game even has the audacity to have a message log when talking to NPCs - in case you missed something. Don’t kid yourself game coz: If I missed dialogue, I assure you I did it on purpose.

You spend the game saving these NPC castaway characters, but they each and everyone of them does fuck all. Why aren’t they going with you on expeditions? “Yo we need to save Captain Olimar” meanwhile they all just stay at base and take a fat shit.

Quick Summary:

This game was pretty nice. A little too easy, but I guess I don’t have to get mad at the game to enjoy it. Some annoying things like the lock-on, path finding and NPCs won’t stfu. But great Pikmin action to be had. Pikmin is an underlooked series and you should play it you dweeb 🙂

#nintendo #review #pikmin 4 #pikmin #oatchi #olimar

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nycbagcls · 1 year

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timothée chalamet. he/they. cis man. ›spotted at the met steps , aleksander elisha wylie , most likely listening to day ‘n’ nite by kid cudi with their airpods pro . the twenty six gained quite a reputation , known to be -uptight yet +passionate to anyone who knows them . you'll easily spot them when you hear about late nights, face buried in his hands, thunder storming outside, striving to prove his worth to a father who will never see it ;; a gorgeous view from a penthouse overlooking central park, music playing through built-in speakers, has he ever felt so lonely before? ;; a framed masters of business administration, but memories most joyous from art history classes & wandering new haven with friends he hasn’t seen in years ;; the desire to sit in the met for hours, staring at the works of monet, wishing to feel the peace the paintings evoke , followed by tobacco vanille by tom ford . latest nepoupdates article talks about he genuinely had fun for once? he was out in the west village, done up in glitter and eyeshadow, his hands on another man’s waist as they danced. some even say that he was laughing , but i guess any reputation is good reputation . (muse g // subplot 3)

hi everyone :) i'm s, my pronouns are they/them, and here's aleksander, whom i love! feel free to reach out any time, i'm always around!

DEMOGRAPHICS

name: aleksander elisha wylie

nicknames: he hasn't been called by anything but aleksander since he was in school. long time friends may call him alek, aleks, aleksy, or alie, but he'll just introduce himself as aleksander in most situations

age: 26

gender: he/they pronouns, he says cis man because he doesn't want to think about it too hard. probably closer to the genderqueer spectrum than he'd admit

occupation: assistant to the cfo at wylie & associates.

sexuality: bisexual

residence: penthouse in one of those new buildings on central park south

languages: english, french, italian, spanish (fluent) // mandarin, japanese (conversational) // yiddish, portuguese, korean, greek (learning)

social class: upper

education level: mba from yale, bachelor's in econometrics and quantitative economics, also from yale

APPERANCE

height: 5′11

build: twink (with love and admiration in my voice), some muscle but that's because he uses the gym instead of therapy as an outlet

hair: brown, curly, very well taken care of, kept neat

eyes: hazel

piercings: two helix piercings in his right ear from his time as an undergrad, he doesn't actively wear them anymore for the business' appearance's sake.

tattoos: none

PERSONALITY

+ passionate, driven, hardworking, loyal to a fault, creative

- uptight, petulant, overthinker, stubborn

aesthetics: late nights, face buried in his hands, thunder storming outside, striving to prove his worth to a father who will never see it // a gorgeous view from a penthouse overlooking central park, music playing through built-in speakers, has he ever felt so lonely before? // a framed masters of business administration, but memories most joyous from art history classes & wandering new haven with friends he hasn’t seen in years // the desire to sit in the met for hours, staring at the works of monet, wishing to feel the peace the paintings evoke // the moon to his sister's sun, in shadow most of the day, keeping to himself so as not to draw his father's disapproving gaze // two am on a saturday in june. glitter around his eyes. finally, finally, a chance to escape! dancing in the west village, ignoring the eyes on him, for he isn't even thirty, and burnout aches. he's here to have fun.

PEOPLE TO KNOW (NPCs unless otherwise noted)

lucia piersanti (wylie), (retired) model & heiress mother

richard wylie, ceo of wylie & associates father

muse h, younger sister (player character)

martha novak housekeeper & second mother

SKILLS, HOBBIES, MISC INFO

hobbies ;; art (appreciation, he can't paint or draw to save his life), reading (fiction, privately. there's a hidden stack of romance books tucked away in the apartment that's far too big for one person), traveling, dancing, working out (again, in place of therapy), played piano for ten years growing up, thinks he doesn't retain much but would entertain picking it up again if he had more free time

likes ;; fresh fruit, swimming in the ocean, well-tailored clothes, the way he looks with eyeshadow on, kissing, silk sheets, white wine, new york sports (the yankees, the knicks, the giants, the rangers), privacy, live music & theatre, when his sister stays out of the tabloids for one singular week, he's practically begging her at this point.

dislikes ;; mosquitoes, humidity, people he doesn't know making assumptions about his life, business, the tabloids, the fact that he can't just go out and buy a bagel without eyes on him, the distaste his father seems to have for him, the fact that his mother abandons the family more often than she's ever been there for them, not being listened to.

style ;; for work, finely tailored italian suits, frequently sans-tie, with an excessive collection of pocket squares. otherwise, colors. bright colors, ignoring gender norms, low necklines, jackets sans-shirt, sunglasses as a frequent accessory, athletic wear when he's trying to be more lowkey.

ABOUT

trigger warnings for parental neglect, self-loathing

aleksander doesn't really have a noteworthy story. he was born in new york, and that's where he's lived most of his life. he spent summers abroad, and his college years at yale, but, otherwise, it's always been (and always will be) new york.

he knows very well what his father wants of him. he knows he's been groomed since birth to be the ceo of wylie and associates. when richard inevitably retires (or works himself to death, whichever comes first). however, aleksander has never been interested in business. sure, he's good at it, but it doesn't, as marie kondo says, spark joy. nevertheless, he was put on a business track from the day he learned the alphabet, whether or not he recognized the fact that it was happening.

growing up, aleksander was a quiet boy. he had few close friends, despite the fact that no one seemed to think too negatively of him. sure, he was as stubborn then as he is now, but he didn't have the burden of his future weighing down on him until his junior year of high school rolled around, and he realized he really wasn't going to have a say in his future.

as a child, he and his younger sister were incredibly close. all the way through his high school years, whenever he needed support, he'd go to her, and he expected that she would do the same for him. that was the way things were in their household until aleksander's junior year, until he realized that his future was predetermined, that she had the freedom he desperately craved. he would never outwardly say that he was jealous of her, but that thought dug its way into his brain and hasn't left since. she's been able to act up, drop out of school, end up in the tabloids every other day, and he's had to keep his head down, behave as a wylie ought to, or risk even further alienation. he hates it, and wishes that things were different.

he has never heard his father say that he's proud of him. he's never heard even a good job or a well done out of his mouth. it's almost embarrassing, how much aleksander strives for his approval, though he'd never admit it to anyone. he truly believes he'll never be good enough for him.

yale is a family tradition. his father went there, his grandfather went there, hell, there's a wing of the business school named after them. aleksander barely had to apply before the congratulations email hit his inbox. he earned his masters five years later, graduating summa cum laude, and not even then did his father seem impressed.

aleksander has been working within the company since his graduation. his official title is assistant to the cfo, but he (and the world) knows that it's just a nepotism position; that he was born and bred to be the next ceo. aleksander fears that he'll work himself to death before his father does, though.

sometimes, he likes to dream about what his life would be like if he hadn't been born the eldest wylie. he likes to think that he'd have a small apartment in the west village (close enough to his favorite bars, his favorite eateries, his community), a degree in art history, or perhaps english literature, and some job that the pay didn't matter as long as he could afford rent and his habits of going out and buying drinks for the people he's with. he wouldn't have friends who only stuck around because of his name. maybe he'd like what he saw when he looked in the mirror in the morning more than he likes what he sees now. all he truly wants is peace, quiet, and someone to share a life with, but the burden currently on his shoulders can be crushing.

GOSSIP

he genuinely had fun for once? he was out in the west village, done up in glitter and eyeshadow, his hands on another man’s waist as they danced. some even say that he was laughing.

aleksander genuinely loves going out dancing - it's the only time you'll see him loudly & publicly expressing himself. he loves expressing himself through clothing, through music, through makeup, though it feels like in his current day-to-day life, he just can't do that. it's not allowed. but, sometimes, he'll allow himself a night on the town, a night where he doesn't care whose eyes are on him, a night where he'll actually, truly, allow himself to laugh, to sing in public, to dance as if no one's watching. to kiss boys, to kiss girls, to kiss people who identify as neither. hands roaming in bathrooms, buying shots for everyone, and then disappearing back to midtown before the sun rises - after all, he's got work in the financial district in the morning.

CONNECTIONS

best friend — ( someone around their age that also grew up on the upper east side ). this is the only person aleksander has constantly kept in touch with his whole life. they know everything there is to know about him, and they're the first one he calls when he's struggling. he views them as a sibling. - ) //

friends — ( if they reached out to him, aleksander would agree to hang out with them. it's rare that he'd reach out, though. ) //

coworkers / people through work — ( aleksander hates to admit that these people are the ones he spends the most time around. he hates to think that he doesn't really have a life outside of work. they see him every day, but do they know him? ) //

bad influences — ( these are the people who want aleksander to start living more, but not in the sense that he intends, more in the sense that they want to see his name start showing up in the tabloids alongside his sister's. ) //

family friends/frenemies — ( they may or may not like each other, but their families have known each other for a long time. these are the people who would be at his mother's galas, his father's holiday dinners, and everything in between while they were growing up. ) //

hookups — ( "wait, aleksander wylie fucks? no fucking way." these are one night stands. he does not want to drag anyone into his family's shit. or, honestly, his shit. ) // any gender !

the hookup — ( okay, maybe one person got dragged into his family's shit. this is the one he keeps going back to. the one who knows the doormen in his lobby by name. the one who may or may not have an extra pair of clothes in his closet. the one who he will not drag into his family's shit. ) // this is probably someone else who's queer

#nepofm.intro #here he is and he desperately needs therapy :)

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alligaytorswamp · 1 year

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KAEYA AND/OR ZHONGLI FOR THE ASK GAME EHEHEH

ehehehehehehehhehe than you 😈

Kaeya

favorite thing about them

ummmm simply everything?? idk he is just very Slay. His design is very fucking good, he has such a nice voice (one of seiyuus i know and like a lot yippie!!), he is fucking funny as hell and he is so just... you know .. like ✨

least favorite thing about them

he could turn into a villain and blow up the universe, and i'd still support him, this man can do no wrong ever and everything about him is always great <3

favorite line

love when he goes Suman Suman~ when he's ults eheheh (smug little bitch oh how much i adore him)

brOTP

amber, lisa, jean, diluc, you know.. the Gang B)

OTP

guess. i dare you. 👁👁

nOTP

ka*luc ... actually also literally everything else on this earth bc i can't imagine anyone but childe to be a good match to kaeya sorrey 😔

random headcanon

i'm stealing yours ^_^ (kinda) yes to kaeya teaching benny fight. 100% percent canon i asked them myself, and they said it's true <3

but yea in general i think he hangs out with everyone, esp the youngsters and kiddos to teach them stuff... tell them he's a pirate... 😢

unpopular opinion

one of the best characters ever idk how people can sleep on the 4 freebies from the start of the game when they all slay lol

song i associate with them

i never associate anything with songs unless it's my ocs so rip- this one if off the list too unless i somehow suddenly remember a decent song for some character 😢

ZHONGLI .... im gonna be mean about him- look away-

favorite thing about them

i think his design is nice? also he has a slay seiyuu... supposedly a good character to have in the game, esp for ningguang??

least favorite thing about them

loser old man made my queen ningguang fix everything (throw her castle on a wet beast) while he was selling off his soul to fatui or whatever 🙄

(i simply don't vibe with him tbh)

brOTP

does he have friends........ i'm assuming some npcs we've seen him with could be his friends? maybe them... maybe hutao?

OTP

i don't ship him with anyone much tbh, but him x guizhong is v good. also i have considered him x diluc (just so shitty ships are completely gone in my own universe) but that goes against my "mortal x immortal isn't really swag" policy + i don't care about both...

nOTP

him with childe. oh dear god just how much i hate it lol <33

him with xiao or hutao?? that's his kids AT MOST jesus christ

him with venti also just makes me irrationally angry ajskhdkajsdl

#dsjflheiwfuhsdjkfs #ask game #ask adry #carlhppr

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mybrainisthickerthanmyass · 2 years

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Sometimes I remember that other people can’t see your folders for your Spotify playlists so my friends just see

And have no fucking clue what they are. They’re character playlists. Each one has songs that fit the character and images/quotes in a color I most associate with that character made into a collage for the cover image.

None of them have the character names attached because most of them are my NPCs in my campaign, and I don’t want to spoil things for my players. I also have a thing where each country is assigned an album and important characters are assigned songs from that album, so I give these playlists to the players to help them guess which song goes to which character, and if they guess them all right I let their character have a feat. Why? Because I’m insane and I think it’s fun, and because I like making color aesthetics and playlists for characters.

It’s also not stabbing into the dark with these, most of them are pretty obvious which character it goes to. Like the pink one contains the reference image I sent everyone when describing a centaur they met, the white and gold belongs to a character who dresses in white and gold and is an Aasimar, etc

#dnd #oc #jewel rambles a bit too much #dungeons and dragons #d&d #character playlist #music #i have dozens of these playlists #and I’ll be making more soon #i also just have crack playlists #like literally bullshit

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mercurysowntwenty-two · 3 years

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tell me more about lancer!! (I’ve heard of it but never played)

“It is 5016u, and the galaxy is home to trillions. At the core of humanity’s territory there is a golden age, but outside of this newly won utopia the revolutionary project continues... Your character in the world of Lancer is a mechanized cavalry pilot of particular note – a lancer. Whatever the mission, whatever the terrain, whatever the enemy, your character is the one who is called in to break the siege or hold the line. When the drop klaxons sound, it’s up to them to save the day. “ - Introduction, Lancer core rules (pp 10-11)

Lancer is a very good role-playing game about piloting giant robots and using them to make Utopia happen. I’m going to organize this into mechanical things that are Very Good about Lancer and lore things that are Very Good. Here are 12 things I like Very Much about Lancer.

MECHANICAL

1. COMPCON

2. In addition to a primary system of regular old weapons n attacks n hitpoints, there is an entire other system of technological attacks and “heat” hitpoints to represent hacking enemy robots to increasingly bizarre effect. Making regular physical attacks is tied to physical weapon “mounts” on your mech, and these mounts may be destroyed over the course of a fight, so the technology attack system gives players who might otherwise be neutralized something to do the whole time.

3. So much player choice: There are 29 mechs in the core rulebook, another 5 in the first rules supplement, another 3 freely available on the publisher itch.io, then various others in the nooks and crannies of the Lancer discord. Do not be daunted, however! i. In a source like COMPCON above, all the mechs are organized by manufacturer and role. Each in-universe manufacturer matches one of the 4 fundamental mech stats so if you know you’re aiming for a mech that especially interacts with a particular part of the mechanics you’ve already selected out 75% of the choices. a. The matches go like this: Harrison Armory matches to the “Engineering” stat and so their mechs deal with the Heat mechanics in interesting ways, HORUS matches to the “Systems” stat and so they specialize in hacking other mechs and other technological attacks, Interplanetary Shipping-Northstar matches to “Hull” and so builds tanks and tough guys, and Smith-Shimano matches to “Agility” and so builds the sexy ones the ones that have interesting ways of avoiding getting hit. b. Roles are relatively straightforward too! Striker mechs are the close-quarters fighters, artillery are... artillery- long range fighters, controllers do big Areas of Effect or impose conditions or alter character movement, defenders have big shields or are mobile bunkers or are just so darn big they protect those behind them, and support is... support- they share bonuses like repairs with their allies. ii. Take this all together and finding the mech that best suits you is actually real easy despite the long long lists. And if you ever get locked into a build you grow to dislike? At every level up, you can completely replace and overhaul the mech licenses (which represent your ability to use the relevant equipment and frame associated with a given robot) you have so you can try other robots.

4. The NPC system: There are 33 NPC statblocks, organized by the kind of role they have in a potential fight. In addition, there are 12 templates you could potentially apply to an NPC. Both statblocks and templates are defined by “systems”- just little traits and qualities and there are often many optional systems you can slap on for an extra level of customization. Therefore, you can tailor hundreds if not thousands of NPCs out of a seemingly-limited stock. i. The template system means any potential moveset or archetype can be made into a miniboss or boss ii. The template system means you can flavorfully telegraph how an encounter can go- telling the players they are fighting a group of pirates prepares them for coreworm rockets and grapple leashes (hallmarks of the pirate template) regardless of the actual statblock in use. iii. Each statblock is effectively 3 statblocks in one, set to different tiers to match and scale to the level of the players throughout the game (so oops I guess there are 99 NPCs by default) iv. Monstrosity- it’s for Kaiju! it’s also one of the most modular statblocks for all the little tweaks you need for Big Monster v. Squad- for footsoldiers!

5. There is no class system (mechanically speaking, in the lore Union is working on it). Character creation functions through selecting Skill Triggers for situations outside your mech and Talents for situations inside your mech, and mech licenses themselves. Even Backgrounds are mostly just lists of questions in order to prompt character introspection.

6. I put this last down here because it’s kind of at the intersection of the mechanics and the lore, but Lancer has some good random tables for generating things like planets, space stations, people on space stations, Pirate crews, and big Enterprise companies. It’s just good clean fun.

LORE

I also created this google doc for totally unrelated reasons

1. The naming convention of the rings of Union and the Blinkgates- Blinkgates are Lancer’s mechanism of faster-than-light travel. They are Big installations and passing through one can take you to any other instantly. They’re organized into “rings” of the stations that are physically closest to one another, emanating out from Earth. Each ring is named after a mountain range on Earth (now called Cradle because of course) and each gate is named after a peak in that range. This is a real small detail in the grand scheme of things but I adore it because this naming convention is a clear reflection of the priorities and values of the people who did the naming. Every gate by definition is situated in places that humans have already settled, but they’re not named according to local convention. Just so, every gate is situated somewhere in Cradle’s night sky, but they’re not named for things like constellations. Each blinkgate is named after a feature on Cradle because the blinkgates were named by the Second Committee of Union, who had a driving philosophy of Anthrochauvinism (a manifest destiny attitude towards humanity on the galactic stage, with a heavy bias towards humanity as it is on Cradle) and so of course blinkgates are named as a projection of life on Earth onto space without regard for the actual space they occupy.

2. On a related note, according to the starship-battle spinoff Battlegroup, Union names its largest starships- its battleships- after environmentalists. That just warmed my little Environmental Scientist heart, and also is a clear reflection of the Third Committee’s values and priorities (Union rose from the ashes of an environmental disaster on Earth, and the Union Navy under the Third Committee has a general mandate of acting protectively and defensively, so Union has effectively named one set of their people’s protectors after another set of protectors).

3. The fact that every faction is simultaneously in a state of escalating tension. "The Good War" is this inevitable conflict that everyone constantly expects, but it is constantly not here, which just increases the tension further. This makes for good adventure fodder. i. KTB and HA are about to have the Second Interest War in the Dawnline Shore, ii. Union and the Aun are about to have the Second Distal War in Boundary Garden, and SSC is gonna wade into it because geneticists gotta get their samples I guess, iii. IPS-N is about to fall apart from infighting, iv. In the Long Rim HORUS is closing in on Horizon, finding the Fourth Metavault is around the corner

4. Utopia is a verb. Corollary: Union are the enemy you want. Or: Life is good, but it can be better. All this to say, Union is presented as an unambiguous force for good, but the game and the creators make no bones about how Union can be made better (and thus directly put improving the world in the players’ court!).

5. Many Factions are defined by a fundamental expectation-subverting "What If?" i. Union- what if the big bad hegemony that rules over everything was (at least trying to be) the good guys? ii. The Aun- what if the mysterious and mystical theocracy explicitly and literally had the support of a god and thus could back up their claims of manifest destiny? iii. The Corpros- what if all of these awful organizations actually did materially improve people’s lives, instead of that just being a propaganda line they throw out to justify themselves?

6. NHPs- Explaining what’s up with NHPs in full would be a whole Thing, so for now I’ll just share my favorite thing about them: they’re like droids in Star Wars, except the creators actually acknowledge the immorality of the situation and thus generate and encourage discussion about it in the playerbase, rather than just let it be taken for granted (and thus directly put improving the world in the players’ court!).

#Lancer #Lancer rpg

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hisui-cotton · 3 years

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So two things to prelude this post, one is that today on twitter #boycottGenshin trended at the start of the day, and #DoBetterMihoyo taking over by the end of the day and I'm on the side of do better because I think Genshin is early enough in developments that they (Mihoyo) need to learn these lessons earlier (before they get to countries that will be affected by however they are portrayed) and make this great game incredibly better. The second is there is no reason that the development team of Mihoyo should be using indigenous people to baseline their monster species even for simple dances. Make your own "wild" dance, don't perpetuate a savagery being associated with indigenous cultures.

I made first a Twitter thread over here that generally summarized my feelings on the matter at the time they were occurring.

Oh one other thing I guess before I start, T1J does a great video on Tokenism vs Diversity, and why the difference is important to understand the similarites between the two. It's based around understanding where the mindset of these social terms come from and why it's more important to understand how to better be diverse in a genuine sentiment rather than simply by quota inclusive characters. Simply looking up Tokenism in youtube is a great way to hear black voices talking about it as well, not everyone has the same exact feelings on how it's overall done in media or how they feel about it, and how not all Tokenism is based around the black community but minorities in general including LGBTQA+.

SO. The problem isn't the inclusion of the characters, or even that thier personalities reflect thier diversity. It's the development choice in how thier wordings of the characters, just on surface levels, can be a dangerous mindset to get behind.

The first thing that should be said is there is no problem in making it important to include other characters of color, and there's nothing wrong with them being bold. It's that when next to the other playable characters, Kaeya and Xinyan are not just wildly eccentric, but are portrayed as such even more so than others characters on specifically a surface level of appearance. This is all "murky" because I believe there may be great intentions behind Mihoyo including them at all, it just needs to be kept in mind there's a pattern and token feeling to how they're doing it, thus making the details of the characters stories feel disingenuous.

Kaeya is specifically called "exotic" multiple times. Both by Paimon, who is a space child, and the very description of his appearance is "Kaeya is a tall young man of lean build with dark skin, noted to give him an “exotic” and foreign look" its specified that his skin color is what makes him exotic. It may be to "hint" that he literally isn't from Mondstat (although Dainsleaf is questionable then) but it's really off putting that his skin color, rather than something like his diamond iris, is what's emphasized here. There's nothing wrong with him being black, there's nothing wrong with him standing out but to single his skin color as being other, strange, and the thing about him that is unique, isn't kind even when meant to be. They're trying to emphasis that he's handsome partially because his skin is darker. It comes off kind of like a fetish. Its being said it was a translation error but the fact that it was translated as such an error is important. It was seen as being okay to translate as such in localization. Part of the inherent need to not make it about race but still emphasis that race is important is there in that word choice or someone just didn't think it sounded wrong. It has been that way from the game's release afterall.

The inclusion of diversity in Mondstat could be better on its surface level as well. It's a town that has scholars coming to study there, though at the moment aside from Albedo the only other scholar I can think of is Sayid. He's an NPC from Sumeru, a yet to be seen country but seems based around Egypt, Arabia, and India. In fact there are several other NPCs from Sumeru, and unfortunately they're all very white. It's somewhat easy to say "they're just place holders for later" but how long is that? Will it be long before the implementation of Sumeru, or will it not be till its release? Will they even become people of color later, I mean you're just making a guess and hoping when you say "they're place holders". This is where ranging skin tone, and learning how many darker skin tones there are is important. It allows you to really diversify your world and feel inclusive at the very least.

Xinyan's story is difficult to get around. In some ways whether people realize it or not her story has an edge of progressive desires. What Mihoyo doesn't realize is they can't emphasis a fighter of prejudice, and have her appearance be one of those reasons she is ostracized, and then say that it's based purely by her clothing appearance. Saying it's because of her clothes is one thing, saying it's her performances literally burning down the stage is one thing, but for people of that skin color it sounds like excuses being made to judge her other than skin tone, when that's what they may want to judge her by. That doesn't mean every character is secretly judging her by skin color, and it doesn't mean there are purposely racial undertones but everything setup around her, allows for it to be there.

For some people it's a welcomed character story actually, a young asian-black girl from the country pioneering an innovation to music with the knowledge of her home and style of a foreign country. It's just sad that she is the only asian-black character in Liyue and can't connect with the others because of prejudice, the same way it's sad to see Kaeya is the the only black man in Mondstat and is still seen as highly different in the city he's lived in since a young age. I said it earlier too but a few more shades of darker skin tones really would have gone a long way for these characters inclusions. Xinyan is a wonderful character with a heart big enough to want to fight prejudice and be accepted by her own people. I'm sure that she's not the only one though.

I don't think there is actually any difference between the model and art skin tones either. They both at default have Xinyan with a dusty dark skin tone exactly like Kaeya. The model's skin can become lighter during the day, and darker during night since there are actual light sources. The fact that she and Kaeya are the only two dark skinned characters and there are only two countries so far though, says something about a quota of making sure there's black people within the game. That in of itself makes all that character story, for either character, come off as fake care about their stories

I can't even summarize my thoughts to end this, and there's a lot of people who feel differently than I do, I'm just laying out what could be done better and make the natural and interesting characters not feel disingenuous in thier implementation to the game.

That all the thoughts I have right now but if I have more I'll definitely continue this post through an edit-and-reblog post.

#genshin #genshin impact #do better mihoyo

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crystalelemental · 3 years

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The best solution to all this brave nonsense with colors is if Marianne ends up with Blutgang. Her OG form alredy uses anima magic, and although a backup, she also has a healer alt in the game. That'll let things open for both Marth and Eirika to see who gets the Staff and who gets the Tome (or end up being two tome units, one green and the other colorless, since Starlight doesn't have an element attached to it). Gatekeeper's definitely taking blue, so that's out of question.

Okay, I need to say this now or no one will believe me later: I don't think Marianne will have Blutgang in her Brave. We all assume she will because her base form didn't, but consider this.

Her base form was planned before CYL5 ended, and they had no way to know the outcome. So why hold off? Prior, we all expected base form Blutgang because of Annette having her relic, but that's like one character. Ingrid has hers too, but Ingrid can obtain Luin pre-timeskip, while Annette was not. So this was entirely based on Annette. But Annette showed up in March 2020. Which means she was in development prior to CYL4's results, and before they knew how severely Three Houses would dominate the poll. Meaning they likely gave it to Annette anticipating this would be her only form ever, barring seasonals.

But they know better by Marianne. Three Houses dominated the rest of the series in unprecedented ways, and they've pandered to it so hard that all but one student is in the game, as are half the church and NPC characters at this point, less than two years after Three Houses released. And it continues to do so. We're getting unnamed NPCs outright winning CYL, even if it was through bullshit. They know this sells, and by all metrics they're right; FEH had it's first increase in profits by following this. So why wouldn't base Marianne have Blutgang?

Because now they know they can make her timeskip version and she'll still sell like hotcakes. Blutgang will be on timeskip Marianne one day, mark my words. Her Brave alt will likely be a healer since she's known for her healing ability, though she could take green tome due to her association with light magic (which could also be blue, but that's less likely). Marianne is the only one who can tech into any color and make sense.

Gatekeeper, by comparison, is almost definitely armor. BST will increase, such that armors hit 190BST. And he gets a PRF skill, which will definitely be his B-skill, and likely be buffed Obstruct to hard counter the current AR L!Sigurd/Nott meta. He'll also have Far Save, as the first introduction of that skill to the general pool now that they have more options that can Windsweep/NFU through it. So consider: are they really going to make him a lance, and have him compete with Bector over who's the better Far Save user? Keeping in mind that this would essentially come down to what kind of nonsense they give him to compete with Bector's armor effectiveness negation and removal of debuffs. Either Bravekeeper is irrelevant on arrival, or Bector becomes irrelevant, neither of which is good. Similarly, he won't be axe, because same issue but Bedelgard. The most open and obviously available niche he can occupy as an armor is sword. Take after Byleth and have that be a connecting point, and make him a sword armor with Far Save. No conflict with the other two popular Braves that way, and can still be a massive threat.

Which leaves Marth and Eirika. If Blue and one of Colorless or Green are left, then I'm confident Marth would take blue. Either through Starlight as a light magic tome like some people want, or with a reference to Caeda's Wing Spear. I actually feel relatively confident saying he might even be flying if they go with the Caeda connection, since no Marth alt has blue or flying yet. Yes that means lance flier, but there's always one that's a bit too oversaturated in the movement type department (Alm with sword infantry, Edelgard with axe armor). That leaves Eirika with the color Marianne doesn't take. I think it's more likely she gets green, in which case it's most likely Excalibur. I just hope she's on a horse. I think she will be. Much like Saves, I'm anticipating Marianne and/or Eirika to be the main pool introduction of Trace skills. It's been long enough, and more than likely IS will want those skills made more easily available on units that players want to merge instead of fodder.

So, my final guess before the reveal later this month:

Bravekeeper - sword armor, signature B that buffs Obstruct and packs Far Save, as the AR meta counter

Marth - I'm sticking with blue lance flier, fully aware he could be blue tome infantry. The lance flier seems more likely as a reference to Caeda.

Marianne - Most likely colorless for her healing support, definitely on a horse that will likely be Dorte. Strong possibility of green for light magic. I'm actually going to guess her signature skill will be a C-slot, maybe a buffed Recovery skill.

Eirika - Most likely green, guessing Excalibur in that situation. Really hoping for a cav mage, since flying and infantry green mage is very much accounted for. I do see people saying bow and I'll be fine with that but I want Excalibur.

As a last note: it is possibly the theme is deep connections. Bravekeeper referencing Byleth, Marth with Caeda, etc. In such a situation, Fado and Ephraim are pretty impossible references for Eirika, because Fado's accounted for with Bephraim, and lance is accounted for in Marth. So my guess is they'd reference L'Arachel and make Eirika the healer, while Marianne would reference Hilda and possibly get an axe. I'm sticking with my first answers, but I want everyone to have this as by backup answer I didn't pick so you can laugh at me if this one's correct.

#fire emblem heroes #cyl5 #brave eirika #brave marianne #brave gatekeeper #brave marth

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