#<- tagging it this for the contents of some of what I'm talking about

[zillychu]

Can we please politely push for DPxDC content to not use the main DP tags?

An AU overtaking a main tag is a fairly common fandom thing to happen, and when it does happen, this is generally how it's dealt with. There's no solid guideline of when to do it, but at some point, an AU becomes so widespread that blacklisting doesn't really help.

It's also simply not fair, nor logical to shove a fandom out of its tags and into a different tag or community. What about new fans who peek into the main tag and see nothing but an AU they weren't looking for?

(This is a great place to also remind people that only the first five tags on a post get sorted site-wide. Anything after those are purely for your own organization in your own blog. So you can still tag your stuff with canon tags after the first five!)

I really think DPxDC stuff needs to be posted in a dedicated tag/community. I really don't want to have to start blocking individual users, but after waiting for... what, three years, I think? In hopes that fans would self-govern and use a bit of common courtesy I've seen in other fandoms? I'm unfortunately almost there. Not to say that this is deliberately rude! I'm not sure the fandom at large has really talked about it enough for DPxDC fans to catch on, so I don't blame any party here.

I just think this is something we could very politely ask for more. Be kind, be patient, and see if we all can't make this fandom space a bit more comfy for everyone, yeah?

[jackdaw-sprite]

This would be used in addition to the danny phantom tag, turning it into a true umbrella tag for everything related to Danny Phantom, while having a few major sub-tags for people to find exactly what they want.

---

After some more discussion with members of the fandom in the notes of my poll asking about a community and elsewhere, it seems like the better option for everyone might actually be a new tag, so I'm making a new poll here!

Some answers to questions I think people might have are below the readmore:

Q: Why are all of these only one word?

A: For the same reason the dpxdc tag is only one word! Tumblr's tagging implementation is Not Good. Tags with spaces don't play well with it, and especially don't play well with blocked tags. If someone wants to block non-crossover Danny Phantom content, we want to make it as painless as possible for them.

Q: What issues were raised around communities?

A: A few! To name some of them:

Limited interactions with posts: Communities only let you react with emoji and leave comments on posts reblogged into them. Not great, if we want to have long reblog chains riffing on one another

Original Posters aren't notified if someone else reblogs their post into a community, even if it's public. So if someone reblogged your post into the community for you, you wouldn't know about it -- or know to look for people interacting with it.

Communities have mods, and therefore would need trustworthy, engaged mods to make it work. Over a short time frame, we could probably manage it! But over a longer one, a community for an entire fandom would probably have moderator drama. That could lead to fracturing, or people leaving specifically because they don't like the mods, etc. A tag is a lot less active maintenance.

A few people also expressed a general dislike for the feature, even if they were willing to move to one. This seems like a much smaller change that will let those people stay away from a feature they don't like, while interacting with the content they do.

Q: What about less-common crossovers? Won't those get excluded from this tag?

A: They will. I'm asking about this poll first because I figured getting the community to make a decision about the other crossovers would be easier if we'd already decided on the non-crossovers.

The current idea is to move those to their own tag as well, so they can get dedicated attention from the crossover enthusiasts who love them. One of the people I talked to about this runs the niche-dp-crossovers blog, so it's on the radar. If you have concerns or suggestions about that, the notes on this post is as good a place as any to suggest them!

[sylvieserene]

cannot be the only one who hates when people ship the fairy costume x shadow milk cookie. Like ship whoever you want, but the costume is made specifically for Purelily shippers. I don’t wanna be that person, but it’s like they’re asking for hate ☹️

I personally dislike it but because of a few things that ultimately traces back to the hypocritical nature of this fandom.

I think most folks know that this costume is probably the MOST hated set in the game and if you visit twitter, you...just won't like it in there to say the least. From hating to attacking, everything goes for that set.

It is hated by both ShadowVanilla + Elderlily shippers (ofc) cuz:

"It should've been EF!! THEY WERE ROBBED"

"If not EF then SM plz."

"PV is ugly. Get him out."

"Ew he's molesting WL."

"WL is the one carrying this set. It should've been just her."

"This costume set was a mistake."

"I hate this."

The list goes on.

Most folks do keep mentioning the fact that WL slayed etc which she did, the costume is really pretty and on surface level? Everything seems alright but if you dig a lil deeper on the said users, you'll find NO history of them even caring, let alone talking about her outside Elderlily or in a lot cases, at all.

The same people who hate PV just being there, the "ugliness" (yes, the word ugly is being heavily used when it comes down to him) that comes down with him and how he should not have been there in the first place are the same folks who rejoice when PV is drawn in that same "ugly-ass" costume with SM.

Same folks like, reblog and comment like it's the second coming of Jesus and treat it as some holy event lol

This hypocritical behaviour is vast and funny at the same time lol

What I find the most funny is, this costume came from an explicitly Purelily content, but suddenly none of it is good cuz it's about PV and WL and it should've been just her but at the same time, they'll drag PV's costume with them to ship with SM.

Now some ppl will say that "HEY THATS CUZ WL SHOULD SHINE ON HER OWN NOT WITH JUST A GUY."

But is it REALLY about just that?

Because if it is so, why does this costume set gain the hate? Why should it have been Elder Faerie?

Why do all these folks feel the need to keep mentioning how WL looks amazing but PV has to go but then at the same time, treat that very costume as the most beautiful thing ever when it's SM?

So is it REALLY about just the costume or WL or is it about a misogynistic view on WL and the urge to fit shipping agendas?

Because I'm willing to bet if it was EF, the costume set wouldn't faced any heat. Suddenly it being an AU scenario wouldn't have mattered and it would've been the ultimate "proof" that Elderlily is canon but since it's Purelily, it sucks.

Like someone who borrows your work but never credits you.

It’s just like someone copying your art project, using the parts they like, and then trashing your name when people ask where it came from.

Cuz that's exactly whats happening here.

The said-fans consistently hate this set cuz it's "ugly" but at the same time, when taken seperate, they suddenly love everything about it.

The same folks who felt it's "terrible" just a few moments back when tagged with WL and felt the overwhelming urge to keep writing how she slayed every other comment.

It's like that one meme where when a fan tears down a character all the time but, the moment they're called out, they say "But I like her too! I reblogged fanart once!" as if that magically excuses all the other behavior.

So the question is,

Do they even mean it?

Or they're saying so to not come off as misogynistic?

I personally feel it's the latter because they never talk about WL meaningfully beyond that. If you check, almost all their history is filled with ShadowVanilla and Elderlily content which isn't wrong but the way they show their concern as if it's affecting WL's very autonomy (when it's literally not) and how they're concerned about it is incredibly hypocritical.

Because these same ppl also have expressed posts and comments with thousands of likes and reblogs on how WL should've married EF and stayed in the Faerie kingdom forever.

Heck they even say that EF and WL got married in this AU set WHEN THERE'S NO EVIDENCE FOR THAT :D

Ultimately, I just really hate that folks who hate Purelily and this costume set so blatantly, get their attitudes changed in a sec when the narrative is changed to their agendas and would attack you aggressively if you say anything against that cultivated narrative but wouldn't hesitate in doing so to the Purelily community. Heck, they won't even THANK the ship for the beautiful set they love interacting and using for themselves let alone even talk about it outside of criticising it.

It's almost as if the word "Purelily" burns them if they say it.

They certainly would hate on it, not acknowledge its positives but def rip off from its positives.

So yeah, I personally hate this particular behaviour regarding the set.

Not to mention the mischaracterisation that accompanies it all.

Viridescent PV is labelled as just a simp and all his other personality traits are completely erased. Like even under the potion, he simply just proposed to WL, nothing beyond that. He didn't "simp", he simply proposed to the woman both of his dreams and love (literally and metaphorically) to be his wife, a person who through tears had to say that they can't be together forever cuz duty and reminds him of his as well which he accepts and starts wondering how he'll get over her in the morning.

Even under the potion, Viridescent PV def had his nuances and even a personality of that of a benevolent responsible king who just was in love with another who can't be his forever as well.

That's exactly the reason it's a tragic comedy because the situation is not only ironic but also happened due to what's a potion (which may or may not have been the reason PV is acting this way cuz it's the faeries who assume so, we have no idea if it's true cuz unreliable narrator)

But nope in CRK fandom, it's nothing but just a simp costume and reserved for simping. If it's with WL then bad but with SM? Very good!

So yeah, this is basically my thoughts on it.

TLDR, I don't mind if someone uses his costume for shipping it with SM, Idt its waiting to be hated on either but I really, REALLY hate it when they act like it's the worst thing ever when it's with WL when they don't even care about her outside shipping and are hating SOLELY because she's there with PV while also being self-aware that this may come off as misogynistic so actively doing damage control as well.

If you’re gonna use the aesthetics or symbols from a ship you don’t like, at least stop pretending that ship is trash. Don't profit off it and then spit on it.

It's really garbage behaviour.

[margaretkart]

I'm honestly really disappointed to hear about the upcoming musical even though I think most of us knew that it would happen... I agree with you in that I wish people would keep retelling-specific stuff in those respective tags and NOT the ones for Homer and his works, because some of us just want to talk about the classics and not engage with retellings. Not to mention that if people are curious about the classics and want to look into those tags to learn more, seeing retelling content there just spreads misinformation, since these retellings are far from accurate representations.

I honestly don't understand why they refuse to acknowledge the ancient tales that inspired those retellings to begin with. Since they want to engage with the myths the bare minimum is to do research over them. For example look at some paragraphs from Homer:

"Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men. Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the earth, now the living timber bursts with the new buds and spring comes round again. And so with men: as one generation comes to life, another dies away."

"Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle, but let me first do some great thing that shall be told among men hereafter".

"And fate? No one alive has ever escaped it, neither brave man nor coward, I tell you— it’s born with us the day that we are born."

"Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another"

Beautifully written, steeped with lyrics of death, decay, war showing us what ancient Greeks felt and thought when in times of war. No adaptation can top it, not even catchy songs to a musical. So instead of people trying to "make it for the modern audience" , they should read the original myths and get a bigger picture over the importance of them

[spikedfearn]

You're so immature, I'm not the person who reblogged but they just reblogged with two tags, like chill. Why did you take that so seriously? Go to therapy or something like that. You were so rude to them, and for what? What are you trying to prove? I love characters who are all kinds of messed up but I'm not crashing out on Tumblr over someone's reblog of my content. For your own well being you should take this advice, I assume no one wants to be around someone so unstable, also have you heard that saying: "If you meet someone and you smell shit it's probably them, but if you meet 100 people and they all smell like shit you've got to look at your shoes"?. Maybe your ex roommate was right about you, especially with what you did, 10 years from now you will realize being angry all the time isn't the way and by then it might be too late.

Also, I'm sending this on anon because I do like your fics, and I do follow you so I don't want you to block me. That person deserves a proper apology. Stop taking things so seriously, stop feeling so attacked, stop feeling like the world is against you. All of your posts that aren't fics are about you being bothered or angry, be proud of what you write, and stop being so pressed about everything. Hope this helps you walk towards being a better person. 😘

Aw, thanks for this incredibly long and condescending essay no one asked for, sweetie. Let’s unpack it, shall we?

First of all, if you’re too much of a pussy to come off anon and attach a name to this word salad, maybe don’t try to psychoanalyze me like you’re charging $200 a session. “Go to therapy”? Thanks, doc—I’ve been in therapy for years. Might be worth looking into for yourself.

Secondly, I’ve been dealing with hate for the last two months, quietly. I’ve kept my mouth shut until someone thought it was cute to try and publicly drag me with “two tags” that weren’t harmless. So don’t gaslight me about “just two tags” when you weren’t the one being talked down to or made an example of. You weren’t in the room. You weren’t in the mentions. You weren’t getting the messages. You don’t get to tell me how I should respond.

And as for this roommate thing? “Especially for what you did” —are you fucking serious? What I did was tie the shoelaces of all her and her boyfriend's shoes together I didn't kill their dog goofy ass 😭 Grow the fuck up. The fact that you’re trying to make this some kind of character judgment about me is laughable.

The “you smell like shit” line? Try harder. Sometimes when you walk into a room and smell shit, it’s because one person has been tracking it in, not because you’ve stepped in it. Might be worth checking your own shoes while you’re at it.

And finally, if you’re so offended by me standing up for myself after weeks of shutting up and swallowing other people’s crap, here’s some good news for you: the unfollow button is right there. Use it. Block me. Do whatever you want—just don’t let the door hit you on the way out, because I sure as fuck don’t want someone following me who feels this way about me.

I don’t owe you an apology. I don’t owe some rando tagger an apology. And I certainly don’t owe you a “kinder” version of myself because you don’t like seeing a woman draw boundaries and clap back when she’s pushed too far.

My page, my rules, my voice. If that’s too much for you, then be gone ho, you won't be missed!! 😘

[quietplace26]

Alright, hear me out, this brainrot has been growing on me for 4 days and I can get out of my head.

It's a small mix of Diary of Secrets!au and Exile!au. Everything occurred just as it happened in exile, but! Furina!MC brought her diary with her(it may or may not say about Teyvat being fiction and her past life) and had Seraphina in one of the nations(it can be linked with the au where she met the other archons like aunt Ei).

While Furina!MC is finally human, a mortal body sadly suffers a lot for losing divinity. One of the few ways the medics could save Seraphina's mother, either a skilled Hydro healer came for her treatment or Fountaine's Ruler himself came to give her a vision or his blessing.

That's where you can make Seraphina go to Fountaine to try and save her mother! Either with just the exile idea or her finding Furina!MC diary before departing.

Leviathan learning he had a daughter would surely be surprising, and oh~ if he learns the truth of how Furina!MC truly is.

Sorry if it's confusing or if there's any errors. It's quite easy to talk and read in English for me, but I always have some difficulty expressing my ideas-holy moly, it's too many words already.

Anyways, have my brainrot and love your content.

💬 Anon

Reading this legit sounds like a movie to me. 🤩

Furina!MC being exiled, her moving to another nation and befriending the Archon there, years later she gets sick, and Seraphina discovers her diary, setting her off to find her father-

Honestly, I'm not sure what to add to it besides Neuvillette coming to save Furina!MC, and most likely groveling to hell and back.

Also maybe having to deal with Furina!MC's angry usurper guardian, because they want to have words with him, damn it-

Besides that, I love your brainrot, anon! It's so GOOD!

Tagging: @platinumrosetail, @arn9tails, @bloodytea, @esthelily

[justawrites]

((Warning, long response incoming!! Sorry in advance!))

I totally agree with your vent post! While I really enjoy the fandom's diverse takes on Nari and Lamb's dynamic, motivations, and designs, I find that in AUs where they’re really horrible to each other romantically, they seem to lack any real chemistry. In these AUs, I often wonder what they could possibly even see in each other and wish they’d just move on, find someone else, or leave entirely. Oh well, at least I can enjoy the neat art styles. :/

I’ve also noticed that in AUs where Lamb abuses Nari, his agency is often completely stripped away, including the ability to care for himself, which feels annoyingly infantilizing. He also simply endures the abuse, like a battered spouse, with little to no pushback. It's frustrating, mainly because it feels like punishment for the sake of punishment, with no real motivations behind it. To me, these portrayals of Nari tend to exclude any grey area and lack nuance in terms of character development. They seem to focus on portraying Lamb as "good™" and Nari as "bad™," all while having the first abuse the second, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth, tbh.

((Btw, I feel that if someone tried to trap Nari again, whether through marriage or whatever else, he would try to leave as quickly as possible. He spent a millennium trapped; even if he could get the crown back, why would he risk staying, only to be trapped again?!))

Honestly, your work is one of my favorite depictions of Nari and Lamb because you give them both agency and clear motivations, while highlighting their strengths alongside their flaws. I particularly love how Nari's departure allows him to heal and find himself. You also take into account the complexity of not just their dynamic, but also their interactions with the Bishops and the rest of the flock. It feels like you genuinely care about how these characters will end up. The AUs you create are so fun, I’m always impressed with how developed your worlds and scenarios are. Ultimately, I find your fics really interesting to read. As someone who loves world-building and visual development, your work has inspired me in how to approach my own AU.

((I have a lot of feelings about this and could go on forever, but I won’t—otherwise, I’d have to include a tl;dr! XD))

But anyways, thanks for your time and have a good one!

(No worry I love long asks <3) Long answer so below the cut

You! You get it! Though I won't sit here and say I don't enjoy toxic fictional relationships, but it all depends on the framing for me. In a lot of cases it feels like shipping for the sake of shipping. I mean in Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Unfulfilled, I definitely went with the toxic Lamb angle, and the more I think about that particular AU the less I want there to be any sort of positive feelings between the two. The more I think about that AU the less appeal romance has in it for me, and that's how I feel about a lot of AUs I see on here.

That being said, freak4freak power couple who are horrible people to everyone but each other is really fun lmao-

That's a big reason why I started God in a Godless Land in the first place if I'm honest. I wanted to explore a Narinder whose healing journey did not revolved around the Lamb or them being his caretaker, where when they meet again they're on as equal footing as a god and a semi-mortal can be. Spoiler alert, but Narinder and Lamb will have a conversation about this later.

And yeah I find it really boring when people throw nuance out the window. I don't like lumping all the blame on one character. I mean, Narinder was bad, yes, but at the end of the day the red crown was his and the Lamb did betray him, but most people shift it all onto Narinder. Also mostly unrelated but I think a lot of people forget/ignore that he did not want to be spared. He protests when the Lamb spares him and laughs when the Lamb kills him, so when I see an AU where they have him cowering in fear and begging for his life it's just like. I'm sorry what. That cat is not afraid to die. If anything he's probably afraid to live. (Side note, I also take issue with Unholy Alliance pushing almost all of the blame onto Shamura)

But yeah, in a lot of AUs I just. I want Narinder to either leave or find someone in the cult, at least, who will help him detangle his identity from the red crown and death itself. I would love to see more people exploring his healing arc separate from the Lamb. Obviously I tend to focus on his relationship with the Bishops, but it's also nice when people let him strike out on his own.

Narinder spent a thousand years trying to get out of chains, there's no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't let the Lamb even metaphorically chain him down. That's another thing about Godless Land that hasn't really been touched on yet; when Narinder chooses to settle down in Riverwood, it's his own choice. No one is making him stay and he's not subservient to anyone. There is no master, no one to be bowed down to and no one bowing, and he chooses to stay. When Wren confesses his feelings, Narinder can say no. There's no power or status difference between them in the godless lands. He can say no. He chooses Wren purely because he wants to; he isn't bound to obedience or subservience. It's his choice, and it is also so so easy to make these things his choice with the Lamb and cult as well, but all too often it's not. And, in that conversation between them I mentioned earlier, Narinder even acknowledges this; had he stayed in the cult and the Lamb shared with him their feelings, he probably would have accepted because that's how cults work. You don't reject the leader and you don't reject the god. He would have felt like he had no choice.

(Also this is just a personal me thing but I am very bored of the "Narinder tries to get the crown back" angle lmao I mean, go off y'all, write what y'all want and have fun with it. I'm more partial to "Narinder either chills out immediately because sunlight and berries and sleep for the first time in a milennia" or "Narinder goes into retirement mode and just shrugs his shoulders any time anything happens- your cult not mine")

hhhhh thank you so muchhh I really do love the stories/worlds I create. And I understand on some level CotL is like... a story about cults and killing and things are inherently unhealthy, all things considered, but I really really wanted to focus on the idea of Lamb (and the Bishops, once they've chilled the fuck out and basically became cleansed lol) wanting to change the world (even if they end up repeating patterns before figuring it out) and Narinder learning to live again without the weight of the life he once lived on his shoulders. But the shift for the gods from being worshiped deities who command and don't give their followers a second glance to worshiped deities who protect and love their followers...... they really do want to change things hhhgjg

I would have more to say myself but I have 5 minutes before class starts so imma leave the response here kjgfjk but thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying my stories!! I'm having a blast writing them so I'm happy to hear someone out there is enjoying them <3

[aliusfrater]

yep. still really Tiring to come on here and see people referring to kripke's dean character building as something especially revolutionary

[mvost]

sometimes I think that I somehow bait ppl into following me whenever I draw fanart for my not-main fandoms one or two times and never again (or once every three months), but then I remember that I'm happy and my little interests make me happy and suddenly people's poor investments in their free time don't matter that much🫶

[northwest-cryptid]

You know what, no I'll go on record and just say that;

Mabinogi hands down IS the best MMORPG.

Now sure, you can immediately call me bias; and I can literally tell you that is an overused argument. Truth is, yes I have a bias, I have a bias as someone who has played literally hundreds of MMOs, and has never found one that can hold a candle to Mabinogi. Yes this includes games like WoW or FFXIV, and even lesser known but still popular titles like Path of Exiles or Warframe or even Tree of Savior.

But why exactly do I say that Mabinogi is the best MMORPG on the market? Well I think a good MMORPG does a few things, firstly I think any game that wants to be an RPG that lets you make a character needs to give you a sense of identity. Second, I believe an MMO needs to create an interesting environment for playing alongside others; whether they're directly in your party or not. Lastly, no good RPG is complete without going on a grand adventure with proper noticeable growth.

Now, before we begin to really dive into this essay of a post, I want to cover something real quick because I think it's important. When I say Mabinogi is the best MMORPG, and I'm saying that I've played games like WoW or FFXIV. I'm not trying to say those games are bad. I will concede that direct translation and definition would suggest I believe they are "worse" than Mabinogi, and yes I do believe that. However I'm not trying to tell you that your favorite MMORPG is bad or garbage or whatever. Please do not take my personal opinion to be slander of your favorite game. For a lot of players, an MMORPG can be special to them, the characters and the world can mean something to them; and I don't want to be some hater when it comes to your favorite place on the internet.

I'm not coming into this as someone who's naive about the world of MMOs, I know the good and the bad of them, not ALL of them; but a good lot of them. However I want to make something clear; if I went into why other games were "worse" than Mabinogi I would immediately be ignored. Let's say you really like FFXIV, that's fine; it's a good game, I play it myself and am excited about the latest expansion coming out in a few days. Now if I tell you that I think it's kind of ridiculous how much they've simplified the game to the point no class feels truly unique mechanically, or how I used to like AST more before they took away our card's uniqueness and such. It's entirely possible you would stick with me and understand that, even if our opinions differ; what I'm saying is true to me even if it's not to you. Sure maybe you hated having RNG in the RNG healer class, maybe you disliked having to decide if you wanted to spread that buff to the whole party, or enhance that buff for one person, or extend the buff. Maybe you like it more now that everything sort of does the same thing. I'm not talking down to you or being sarcastic when I say, that's fine. We just feel differently about it. Thing is, I've very likely lost you; It's unlikely you hear all of that and not think I'm just some FFXIV hater. I'm not, but it's unlikely you think that way after hearing all my gripes with it. I wouldn't blame you for thinking someone who just tore into a game likely dislikes the game, that's a fair assumption.

If at any point I do sort of dig into a game for it's changes, mechanics, or just how it works. I want you to understand I only feel that way because I do enjoy those games and wish they didn't do things that made playing them feel less fun to me. Those last two words are possibly the most important there; this whole post is strictly opinion, it's my opinion. We don't need to share that opinion, but I hope you find what I say to be at least interesting. I don't see much reason to sit through the whole thing otherwise.

Oh... and one more thing, if you follow this link and download the game now it should be done roughly by the time you finish reading this, probably; maybe? <- That's not even an affiliate link; I'm not sponsored to say anything I'm saying here, I wish I was though.

Game Website Link -> Right here, if you need to make an account.

Now without further delay, let's get into my first key point of why Mabinogi is the best MMORPG on the market right now.

The first order of business in any MMORPG will also be the first thing we talk about here, creating a character. You can't step foot into a world of fantasy without having an avatar to represent yourself. If this individual is to be your fantasy self then the game better have enough customization options to really let you be you. Mabinogi has plenty, from skin color, player weight, and even age; to the colors of the garments you wear.

Let's start with that first bit I mentioned in the introductory paragraph, creating an identity. Mabinogi is a game that truly allows for a diverse cast of characters, when you first make a character the system will unfortunately be fairly limited. Yet when you're released into the game proper and complete the tutorial you will soon find that it's extremely open ended. Your character will start at an age between 10 and 17 (but can go to 25 and even further if you wish), which you'll be able to select once per day, or once per week depending on your level. Age has a very slight almost non-existent effect on your stats, but will mostly determine how tall you are. As a quick example, here is my human main at 18 (left) alongside 2 other players. While I cannot see their age, I can tell their race is human; which allows me to at least guess one is roughly 10 - 13 (middle) and the other is likely anywhere between 15 - 16 (right).

When it comes to skin color, Mabinogi is one of the few games that has a great selection. From the realistic to the fantastical; there's almost certainly something for everyone here.

I've seen light skinned characters, dark skinned characters, tanned and red skinned characters. I've partied up with fantasy demons and zombies. I buy my dyes from a player who's literally pure black with blinding white eyes; a small imp-like character who's style I absolutely adore and who's dyes are top quality. While it doesn't even begin to cover the extensive list, I thought I'd take a few screenshots to help show what I mean.

Now I understand a lot of you may feel like your character doesn't truly reflect you as a person unless you can be the right weight for you. Mabinogi has you covered here as well, albeit with a slightly convoluted system. I will openly admit that this game is flawed, it is by no means a perfect game; but I take this as a sort of "better than nothing" approach. Food in Mabinogi will grant slight stat bonuses, but underneath those stat points and flavor text there's a hidden mechanic.

Food provides players with Upper and Lower muscle gain or loss, as well as a Weight gain or loss. While food is not the only method of gaining or losing both weight and muscle, it is the most common, and arguably easiest method. Players have many guides on the internet that explain which foods to eat in which order to gain the body type you want, this even includes the wiki.

It's also important to note that weight does not effect your stats, the food you eat absolutely does give a small temporary bonus. However your character can be as fat or skinny as you'd like without ever effecting your ability to perform any task.

I would be remiss not to mention another feature of creating an identity, and it does feel like this is an appropriate place to do it. Every day, or every week (depending on your level) you can preform something called a Rebirth, your level will return to 1 and you will be allowed to change some things about your character or leave them as they are.

This will unfortunately readjust your weight settings, which is why we see so many guides on how to get the ideal weight you're looking for. Thankfully it is by no means difficult to achieve this weight gain once more and will take no more than a few minutes after rebirthing.

As a quick note I won't spend too much time on, for my fellow genderfluid and NB friends out there; you can actively change your gender whenever you rebirth (though obviously you don't have to be NB or Genderfluid to enjoy this feature) and there is a good amount of items specific for crossdressing if that is something you'd prefer. That list of items is far more than your generic maid outfit for men; including everything from dresses to common skirts, with women getting suits, hoodies, and everything in between. If you switch genders you will even get an achievement specifically titled "Genderfluid" which I genuinely appreciate quite a lot.

Speaking of clothing, Mabinogi allows you to use a Style Tab when putting on gear. Your style tab won't give you any stats, but allows you to use the look of whatever is equip to the selected slot over the actual gear worn under it. The Style Tab is free for all players, so you can look your best no matter what you might be doing. Though I suppose those clothes wouldn't really be your own unless you had some kind of say over how they looked right?

Thankfully Mabinogi features a robust dying system in which you can actually use hex coded colors on just about any part of an outfit. You can also preview these changes directly on your character prior to using a dye.

There's a specific, and short; list of items that can't be dyed. Otherwise it's common for every item in the game to have at least one or two dye slots where you can customize their colors however you'd like.

You can do the same for your weapons, even giving them skins to change how they look; and then dying those skins to look just how you want them. A good weapon should match your best outfit after all, right?

Clothing items additionally come in the form of helmets, gloves, boots, main body, robes/back slot, face accessories, and then two more accessories that typically float to either side or behind you. This means you can mix and match everything you wear. You're not stuck trying to make some minor hat fit the entire rest of your armor that came as one solid piece, and you're certainly not struggling to match colors when only a small part of your armor actually dyes to the color you want.

Your identity in Mabinogi is what you see fit to make it, and while it would make this segment incredibly long, more so than it already is; the customization doesn't even end here. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, you can actually customize how often and how many times your character will blink. There is no other game on the market that lets you create a character the way Mabinogi does, not while still being an entire world outside of your character for you to explore. Speaking of that world, before we get to exploring just what this game has in store for you on your adventure; I'd like to talk about the characters who aren't you. No I don't mean the NPCs, I mean the other players, and how they impact the game you play even when they're not in your party.

Speaking of other players, to really hit home just how different everyone can look I ran around and took a few pictures of players I found in just this one small town.

You may be wondering how much these other players actually matter, in a lot of MMORPGs other players are merely there to fill out the party for dungeons or assist with world encounters. In Mabinogi they do that as well, however there is a constantly evolving economy both on the player ran Auction House, and for things like the Commerce system. Players can also run their own shops, join you for a jam session to play some music together; and even burn some items for a campfire spirit summoned at a group bonfire.

While the NPCs in this game are fantastic, the players are the lifeblood of the game, as is the case with any good MMORPG. From guilds and parties running content together, to the occasional camp you'll come across while exploring the world. Players populate Mabinogi and their effects are felt whether or not you're actively a part of their game.

One of the features most effected by this is Commerce; a trade system which lets players transport trade goods between major cities and towns. If an item is being traded to a town more than others, it's price will drop and you may find better deals by taking it to far away cities. Though you'll encounter bandits on the road, and due to carrying heavy trade goods you'll be a good bit weaker than you usually find yourself. This makes traveling in groups much easier, with those who use air travel particularly; in need of parties thanks to the dragons who will come after your hoard of trade goods. If a bandit is to steal your loot, you need not worry; as other players can take up the role of bounty hunters and track down these bandits at their hideouts to get your stuff back. Bounty Hunting is an easy way to make some cash and also help out your fellow players who may have been wronged by a poorly placed bandit or two.

What about production? Surely I don't need anyone to assist me with making my goods. Though, a second opinion never hurts; you will actually get a boost to production success rate while in a party with other players who also have production skills. In fact, this is a great way to make some strong gear; as products you make will get bonus stats over those found in stores. This does mean that the player economy is largely populated by products made by other players. If you do a good enough job on the item you're making, you'll even leave a signature behind which can be seen by the individuals who buy and use that gear. This is a minor touch, but it's one I greatly appreciate. Anyone can have a really cool demon sword, but only I have a blade forged specifically by my good friend; in hopes it would aid me in my quest. The connection between myself and my party is ever so slightly more apparent, even when they're not around; I always have a small piece of them with me.

Players attending the banquet, an event held weekly that awards free EXP and a lottery raffle at the Tara Castle; can actually donate their food to the catering tables. This is a great time to hang out with fellow players, get some free levels; and of course eat significantly too much food.

Surely that's all, right? Well no, believe it or not players actually have a hand in many things. If you want to enchant some gear but you don't have the enchanting rank to do it yourself; you can request another player to assist you. Perhaps you're an alchemist needing to create alchemy crystals of special magic skills; another player can cast that magic nearby and let you synthesize it into a crystal. If you're using the Jam Session action other players can join you with their own instruments when you play music; automatically matching whatever song you're playing. There's a fashion contest where the winner is put on display in full costume right in the middle of the major cities for all to see. There's even mechanical changes to things like magic, if you're casting Ice Bolt while I cast Fire Bolt next to you; we instead both gain a charge of Fusion Bolt. This form of magic combines the properties of your Ice Bolt and my Fire Bolt into a more powerful version of our respective magics, all because we happened to cast at the same time nearby each other.

If you enjoy music then you might find yourself reading through the Bard Bulletin Board, where players can post the compositions for their custom music. You can transcribe this music yourself and play it whenever you wish, though you can also use the MabiNovel Bulletin to read books written and published by your fellow players as well. This does in fact mean that you too could become a composer, or even an author and post your works to the respective boards.

Players can also obtain their own small piece of the world via Homesteads. These function as a sort of player owned housing system, and they allow you to do everything from growing farms to hosting your own production stations with boosted success rates. Of course the owner of the Homestead can allow either friends, or anyone; to come and gather from their herb patches, farm animals, and various logging, mining, and production sites. Meaning that other players not only offer you an expanded world to explore, but potentially gathering and production spots that may not otherwise be available at your current location.

While Homesteads start quite small, they're nothing to scoff at when fully upgraded; allowing for even a proper house, pets, and partners; to be placed on the fully customizable property. Some items will even passively grant you bonuses to your stats or provide your gathering and production stations bonuses to gathering and success rates.

Alright great, so you have a character who's uniquely you; you even have a place in the world among other players. However what good is that if you don't have a world worth existing in. You're here to play an MMORPG, if you wanted to simply dress up an avatar and exist in a space with others; you'd play something like VRChat or Second Life, or maybe you'd go download that Sims multiplayer mod. You want an RPG! An adventure! A living world to explore and be a part of!

Well Mabinogi's got you covered there as well believe it or not. Now where you fall in terms of enjoying the story is fairly up in the air; I know some people who love it and others who could take it or leave it. That's entirely fair and I don't blame them for feeling that way. To avoid potential spoilers I will be saying up front that if this has been enough for you and you're willing to trust me that this game is worth your time. Skip ahead to the Q and A if you think you need it, or go download and play the game now if you didn't already do that. Hell you can even add me in game if you want some people to play with who are going to be chill with newbies. If you need a bit more though, then keep reading because you might just like what I have to say about this game's journey.

When you start Mabinogi you'll be told you're this being from the stars, something that cannot die; and therefore has importance here. You may literally be an immortal entity, but you won't feel like it. You'll start with only a handful of skills, and with this game having no real class system it's not so straight forward how to get more of them. You'll stumble upon a few while just exploring the world, but others might require you to actually engage with the world around you. If that sounds exciting, don't worry; we've only just begun to explain the whole system of interacting with NPCs.

See the game of Mabinogi is before all else, the story of you; your character the journey you go on. So it's fitting that you keep notes in a Memo, this Memo is written in the perspective of your character; and will keep tabs on what you've been through. Each entry in the Memo is given a Key Word; and these key words will be given to you as you experience new places and things. Whenever you engage with an NPC you can start a conversation, this allows you to flip through your Memo and select a Key Word to speak about with them. Asking them about their private story will reveal this character's lore and backstory, at least; if they like you enough to share that information with you. NPCs do actually contain a system of trust with the player, and if you befriend an NPC they'll even let you access a secret shop where they sell exclusive items. Other Key Words include things like Nearby Rumors where you can obtain gossip and quests; or perhaps you want to ask about Part Time Jobs. Whether you're working for the town blacksmith to deliver some refined ore, or you're gathering wool to make bandages for the town healer; Part Time Jobs offer you fitting rewards for the work you perform, and allow you to even unlock various skills down the line if you perform well enough. Which brings us to another Key Word, the Skills Key Word. Skills is a Key Word that will ask an NPC if they believe they could teach you anything, if you see a knight you can ask them about Skills and maybe learn a new technique for your swordsmanship. Asking a chef about skills may result in them giving you a quest that has you running out to make flour and bake some bread. These methods are meant to immerse you in the world and teach you how the mechanics behind these skills works, rather than just saying you're level 16 so now you can bake bread.

Some NPCs will even react to your title, thanking you for the deeds you've done or perhaps judging you for why you'd do such a thing. This is because every NPC in the game, no matter how minor; has a story to tell. They all have unique theme music that contains a name referencing something about the character and their story. The more you talk to these NPCs and they open up to you, the more you'll learn about the world you're a part of.

However, small NPC stories don't amount to much in the grand scheme of an epic adventure do they? Well don't worry, now we're getting into the main scenario quests, and the lasting impact they have on you as a character. Have you ever felt like you should have maybe gotten a new power, or been recognized for the deeds you've accomplished after you literally save the world; only to return to business as usual? Well Mabinogi actually considered all of that, not only do you get a title that NPCs might react to, as I mentioned previously; but the Main Scenario Questline actually gives you everything from transformations to special unique items. This is again the last chance to not have spoilers as I will be covering at the very least Generation 2: Paladin and Generation 10: Goddess of Light through Generation 12: Return of the Hero.

Okay now that everyone who doesn't want spoilers is gone, allow me to tell you about just a few of these MSQ rewards; of course jumping right to the good stuff without context makes it meaningless. So let's start with a quick summary of Generation 1 that's roughly spoiler free.

Generation 1: Advent of the Goddess starts with The Goddess asking you for help, then you save her. See I kept it spoiler free! You're given the title "[Player name] Who Saved The Goddess" for doing this which grants you some nice stats, but the real reward is that you get to move on to Generation 2: Paladin. Well wow, that's kind of an underwhelming title isn't it? You just finished Advent of the Goddess and now you're on... Paladin? Huh okay, well this quest line is all about a Paladin of legend. You spend the generation becoming someone worthy of the Paladin's armor, searching for his old armor, and even reliving some old memories of his. All to figure out who he is and solve the grand mystery that sparked this whole generation in the first place. The political drama of a potentially puppeteered prince who may actually be dead from the start... Okay yea listen it's more interesting when you actually play it. The real plot twist of this whole generation however is when you figure out who that old Paladin actually is, and more importantly that they're still alive. In the final dungeon of this generation when you face off against the final encounter he is not the one who saves the day. Rather it is you who gets to don the armor of the legendary Paladin and in a moment I love, you get to save him. This transformation is actually a fairly minor stat boost at first. You're not some overpowered god, you're still you; just powered up. When you complete the generation you will find yourself with a wholly new power available to you, the power to become that very same Paladin; now with it's own skills to rank to make it even stronger than it already was.

Yes, just for clearing Generation 2 you now have an entirely new power unlocked for you. The power to, once a day in game time; transform into your Paladin form. If you're an Elf you transform instead into a Falcon, and Giants transform into a Beast. These new forms come with their own unique skills and properties. However you don't lose access to the skills and abilities you already have. This will be a running theme throughout Mabinogi, you only get more; you don't get locked out from being you. If the Paladin aesthetic isn't your deal, and you want things a little different, don't worry; Generation 3: Dark Knight might be more your style. However, this begs the question; are Dark Knights and Paladins the same thing flavored differently? Nope. Sure they are both the same Transformation at the end of the day, but their inner workings are very different. To give you a quick example of what I mean, Paladins always get the same stats every time, but they have no specialized skill they can use while transform. They're essentially your generic stronger form, with buffed stats and nothing more, dull but reliable. Dark Knights instead roll for their stats every time they transform, meaning sometimes you're going to have much stronger physical defense, and other times a much higher magic damage stat. If you're interested in the specifics, here you go:

Dark Knights also don't get forcibly removed from their transformation when their timer is up, rather they go into a state called "Disarmed" where they will take heavy damage over time, but this can be healed if they wish to power through it and keep fighting in their transformed state. They additionally obtain Control of Darkness which lets them tame an enemy to fight for them for a short time.

The Generation 2 transforms (Paladin, Dark Knight, Falcon, and Beast) all have 4 tiers of their transformation, dependent on the skills rank. Each boasting it's own unique title and appearance that builds on their central aesthetic and motif. This means a player who's max ranked Paladin will transform into a Champion, or for Dark Knights, they'll become an Infra Black. I do enjoy the morals of the game being muddier than to just say Paladin is bright and shiny and good, and Dark Knight is well, dark and edgy and bad. As you go through the game you'll learn a lot about the politics of the gods, and understand their moral values a lot better. Which leads us to our next major upgrade.

In Generation 10: Goddess of Light, we take the fight to the gods, and between Generation 10 and Generation 12, we'll even obtain the Sword of the Gods, a then usable sword weapon which ironically may not even be as powerful as some of our own gear by the time we get it; but more specifically we'll decline godhood and become a Demigod. However it's a bit deeper than that, as you'll find that at the end of Generation 10 you're confronted by your doppelganger. Upon defeating it, you gain the power to assume the form of a Demigod; which yes, you can in fact transform into while also transformed into your Generation 2 state. Not only does this form regen your HP, MP, and Stamina; but it additionally allows the use of special skills that depend on which of the gods you're allied with. Those who are being supported by the Goddess Neamhain will obtain skills such as Spear of Light, and Fury of Light; however if you decide to be supported by the Goddess Morrighan you instead obtain Wings of Eclipse, and Wings of Rage. Of course you won't have a choice right away, when you first obtain the ability to become a Demigod, you'll be defaulted to working with Naemhain's skills. They're not bad, but Morrighan isn't going to just give you her skills so easily so if we want options we'll need to get her to work with us. Once we clear Generation 11: Sword of the Gods; we in fact obtain the Sword of the Gods itself. This is important since we'll need it if we're going to fight the gods. Now in Generation 12 we are asked to fight alongside Morrighan to bring down the King of the Gods, Nuadha. For clearing this generation, you'll obtain the right to be supported by Morrighan; which is kind of funny since if you're a Dark Knight it shows you've actually betrayed her by giving up the path of the Paladin in favor of following Dark Knight. I guess she can overlook that given you just helped her defeat the King of the Gods.

Surely the upgrades stop there right? Well no, actually; but you probably knew that already. See there's actually currently, up to G25, with G26 on an active countdown to release as I make this post. With even more transformations, special skills, and some really incredible upgrades that change even the way we engage with crafting; the generation quests are more than worth your time and leave you feeling more powerful with each completion.

Mabinogi isn't just having you go through these quests to complete the story, it's also actively making you more and more the proper image of this immortal hero of legend. It's giving you a power boost on par with some silly shonen anime. As much as you may cringe to hear me make a stupid joke from the early internet; yes the Milletian could beat Goku. Sorry I had to make the dumb joke after making the shonen anime reference you know? These powers aren't ever restricted from you either; it's not as if you suddenly can't use your Paladin transformation in a dungeon, nor are you locked out from using Demigod to regen some stamina just to pick some flowers. Mabinogi is the story of your character, and it gives you so many upgrades and power scale boosts because it genuinely wants you to feel like a powerful hero going up against powerful enemies.

Now I will admit there's something to be said about the balance in some of the later Generation quests, especially because you can skip over a lot of them. They absolutely do plan for you to have the full arsenal of Generation specific skills by the time you reach Generation 20+ but dare I say, I think that's fair. We actually see this in other games too, it's just more allowed from other games because they do a better job of hiding their barrier to entry.

What I mean is that FFXIV is like Dark Souls 3, it's not going to let me go somewhere I'm not actually ready for, because it knows I won't have any fun getting my ass kicked but it's really linear. While Mabinogi is like Elden Ring, it looks at me saying "I'm ready I'm ready put me in coach!" While facing down against an actual god well before I'm... you know, actually ready. Yet it just says "go get 'em champ!" Only to watch me become a pancake two seconds later and think "yea this balance is garbage." Truth is, if I go back and do the content I'm suppose to do first; I will be more than ready for this content when I reach it. However I might actually be able to clear this content when I'm not supposed to yet, and Mabinogi; much like Elden Ring, lets me try. We see this same type of barrier to entry in how FFXIV says "hey man you can't run this until you're Item Level 280 sorry." That feels boring when you just want to run the thing, you don't want to go back and "grind" for item levels, but in reality it's just stopping you from trying and failing repeatedly. Which makes sense for the type of game FFXIV is, where other players are a requirement, and you don't want to hold them back because you thought you could do it with less.

The other truth is, with Mabinogi; not every path to success is going to look the same. I might spend my time training my combat skills, slowly saving up the small stat gains to get to where my base strength is at 500 and I can deal some nice damage. My friend who doesn't want to touch combat skills can absolutely focus on his cooking, slowly but surely becoming a master chef as I've become a master warrior. Now he can make a catering dish that boosts his strength to 500 all the same. We're not going to be dealing the same damage since things like weapon type, and skill ranks will come into play; but this does mean he could achieve the same goals as me in a totally different way. Personally I'm a huge fan of this, it lets every single character feel unique; you can truly become your own kind of player here.

Whether it's weaving your magic skills into your archery gameplay, or becoming an apothecary bard who uses musical buffs and potions to level the playing field. Perhaps you want to train your Ninja and Chain Blade skills to keep you at a distance, debuff enemies, and set explosive traps. You could even just play the game with life skills, relaxing by the pond as a master fisher; before tailoring a new outfit. All of these methods are entirely valid ways to play the game, they all give the necessary stats to enjoy whatever content you wish to, and yes they all give you levels.

It is for these reasons, and honestly; many others. That I have played this game since it's beta, for literally half my lifetime; and why I believe this is genuinely hands down the best MMORPG on the market right now. I urge you to give this game even 15 or 30 minutes of your time, don't get caught up on the old dated graphics, don't fret if you don't understand everything right away. The game is complex, it has a ton of mechanics that mix and intertwine to create a unique experience. The things you might find troublesome at first are exactly what makes the game so fun and unique when you understand them. Given the average internet speed and size of Mabinogi, should you have downloaded this game at the start of this reading it should be about done by now. If not, you've got the Q and A down there for any potential follow up questions you may have. So go ahead and jump into the world of Erinn, if you stop by Dunbarton on Channel 9 you might catch someone from the Landsbetween guild, feel free to stop and say hi; we're a friendly bunch.

A quick Q&A for things I've been asked frequently and might answer some questions or possible concerns you have about the game.

Q: I see a weird banner with P on it, does that mean I require a premium account to use that skin/hair color? A: No. That symbol signifies that it would cost Pon. A cash shop currency that is given to the player fairly regularly. You in fact get a gift box with about 20 Pon when you reach an early level milestone such as 50 or 100. It costs anywhere between 3 - 5 to change eye, hair, and skin color. Of course it only costs you to change to a color that uses the P banner, if a color you would like doesn't have any symbol (either a P for Pon or a B for a Beauty Coupon) then it's completely free. Q: I see a lot of cool characters, how much of a grind is it; or do I need to pay real money to customize my character? A: You can play Mabinogi entirely free to play, gacha boxes do contain high end loot and good in-game items. However the Auction House easily allows you to buy these items from players using entirely free to play gold when a new gacha comes out. While it might seem intimidating to make 1m at first. You'll quickly learn you can make 1m passively per week + any actual activity you do in this game earns you quite a lot. A single run of a dungeon will net me between 50k - 350k depending on drops and my actual in game luck stat. This is on top of the 160k I can make for free just logging in and doing Fynni Blossoming for the day. Of course, the higher your skills and total level; the easier it will be to make money. Q: I don't want to do a specific part of this game, can I still enjoy the other features? A: Yes. Entirely, in fact; I'm doing a challenge run on a character who's not allowed to rank up any combat or damage skills. I've already completed the first major questline of the game without any problem. I will say that your ability to play the game will directly reflect how much knowledge of the mechanics you have. This isn't to say you should scour the wiki for days on end, unless you're into that. However I would argue that having a few friends to play with, or perhaps actually taking the time to read through skills and practice with what you do enjoy doing; will help you to get by not doing the stuff you don't want to. You really can play this game however you want, it just may require you to have a better understanding of it's inner workings. You're always welcome to ask me about stuff whether that's here on tumblr or in game.

Q: My UI and HUD are this weird plastic blue color and I kinda hate it. Can I fix that or am I stuck with this? A: In the settings menu the game allows you to change the color of the UI and HUD to fit your liking. You can also enable various hotbars and disable others. Additionally you can change the game's resolution, and even pick out which version of the OST you'd like to use of which there are three distinct versions.

Q: Does this game have a meta I should worry about?

A: Yes and no, yes it has a meta; no you shouldn't worry about it. If you're really concerned I recommend picking Giant as your race and Close Combat as your starting Talent. I didn't go over Talents in this essay but they're sort of specializations, not classes. They don't limit anything you can do, but rather give you 2x EXP towards the skills they govern. Giants have a fair bit more strength and HP, they're your standard tanky race. While they may not be as fast on their feet as nimble Elves; they can take a good few more blows, and even have racial skills specific to gathering up enemies. Close Combat doubles down on what Giants are already good at, giving you more HP and Strength. Start out by ranking your essential basics, those being Defense, Smash, Counter, Windmill, and honestly throw Assault Slash in for good measure; since you'll want to often combo these skills together. DO NOT SLEEP ON DEFENSE, it is a heavily overlooked but extremely powerful skill. If you feel like you're struggling in combat, grab a shield and rank your shield mastery; even light armor mastery will be more than enough so long as you have a decent shield and the necessary ranks in the skills. You'll soon feel like a steel wall of defense that not even major storyline bosses can put a dent into.

Q: What are the differences between Elves, Humans, and Giants? Can I change my race after I make my character, since I can change my gender?

A: First off, no; sadly you cannot change your race after making a character. This is become of the racial differences. The major ones are as follows...

Elves can use invisibility to hide themselves, they'll fire 2 arrows as opposed to 1 when using archery; and they obtain a unique poison arrow that spreads to nearby targets when fired. They move faster than other races and have stats better geared towards Magic and Archery; though that won't matter too much. They become a Falcon after Generation 2 letting them use Elven Magic Missile, and cannot use 2 handed weapons nor can they dual wield.

Giants can use stomp which is a fairly week AoE ability, they also get Taunt, Stampede, and Wind Guard as unique skills. They can use two handed weapons in one hand letting them use a shield with them, and can dual wield blunt objects. They have stats geared towards a close combat play style, though again that won't matter too much later on. They become a Beast after Generation 2 letting them use Giant Full Swing, they cannot use bows but have thrown spears instead.

Humans cannot learn the specific racial skills of the other two races. They can dual wield swords; and don't have equipment restrictions outside of not being able to dual wield blunt objects and not being able to use the throwing spears. They have stats geared to an all around play style, which as you know; doesn't really matter much. They become a Paladin after Generation 2, or they can become a Dark Knight which gives them the active skill Control of Darkness which lets them tame an enemy to fight for them.

Q: Is this game Pay to Win?

A: Is any MMORPG not Pay to Win? Alright, real answer; let's break it down. Does Mabinogi have Pay to Win properties? Absolutely it does. Most if not all MMORPGs do. FFXIV has the paid level boosts just like Mabinogi has paid gacha boxes with end game loot. I'm not trying to pick on FFXIV here, it's just what I'm familiar with because I also play it. Truth is, Mabinogi gives you a lot of gold for just doing content, whether you're a crafter who can sell your wares for millions, just doing daily Fynni gems for 1m a week per character, or combat focused and running your Lord missions with boosts for a few million in a couple hours. So while I'd argue that it absolutely is pay to win, not only do you not need those minor boosts from the gear until long into the later generations; you also will have the money to buy it off players long before you actually need it. That's if you need it at all, since you can easily get ahead in this game by just engaging with the many skills and mechanics. If I had to give this a simple yes or no, the answer is yes; but I really don't think it's nearly as bad in Mabinogi as it is in other games. Especially considering how small the PvP scene in this game is. You don't need to pay to win when someone else in your party absolutely did, or maybe you just pay in gold to win. However I'd argue that it's pay to win FASTER than others. Just take it slow and enjoy the journey. Every game is pay to win, Mabinogi handles it better than most.

Q: Is there any reason for me to not like this game?

A: Yea the devs haven't hired me to write articles like this for their marketing. Boycott worthy honestly; they should pay me for this, or at least make me a soul streamer, you know? (┬┬﹏┬┬) ^ This last one is a joke, you know; in case reading comprehension.

[pechadream]

Photo dump from my NYC trip! (AOT edition,,,) ((reijean edition as well))

FIRST MUSICAL I EVER SAW LIVE AND IT WAS SO GOOD <3<3<3333 (also extra fun BECAUSE I GOT TO WATCH IT WITH @ashleycakegamin ILYSM I MISS YOUUU <3<3)

I might go into a whole other post talking more in depth about it later on BUT WOW OH MY GOD I LOVED IT SO MUCHH EVERYONE WAS SO AMAZING THE CAST WAS AWESOME THE SONGS WERE SO GOOD AHHH I LOVED ITT <3<3 10/10 rare splurge-

also background characters got roles in the musical, which I don't know how other people felt about it (considering how they got parts in the musical instead of like RBA for example-) BUT I FOR ONE LOVED THAT LOVED THAT- BECAUSE I LOVEEE EXPANDING MORE ON BACKGROUND CHARACTERS, THEY'RE EVERYTHING TO MEE

(nack, mina, thomas, milieus, hanna, and franz my beloved)

also there were a suprising amount of kids,,, like,,, under the age of ten,,,,?? they weren't loud (from what I could tell, wasn't seated near them-) so I didn't really care since they had manners and all that, but WOW I was not expecting to see kids at the AOT musical LMAO

they didn't wanna cuddle, maybe they had an argument or something (they kept sliding around and I couldn't get a good picture)

DAY TWO ↓

I pretty much spent most of the day with Ashley, and was on a call with Mr. Foot ( @480pfootage ) so the three of us could talk n whatnot, so I didn't take many pictures-

Plus there was also wanting to actually enjoy my time and not focus on taking pictures (because I totally would forget to actually enjoy my time,,,)

Ate some food in Chinatown <3<3 (had to use a fork at first because my hands were shaking a lot because I was kinda in a bit of pain,,, Did manage to use chopsticks later on though, I'm making my chinese side proud)

Took them to see lady liberty <3

I don't know why Reiner looks slightly green here, I guess he gets seasick or something

DAY THREE ↓

(not really a whole day, just me going home)

Reiner is so pale he looks sick for both flying and out on the water

Individual photos <3

BAM CONNIE JUMPSCARE

if it looks like I'm gripping onto reiner and jean tightly, that's because I am,,, I get really worried over accidentally losing something, I'm already really forgetful as is,,, plus those chains have broken on me before and I don't wanna risk that either-

that's also another reason why there's not that many photos-

Ahhh this post is pretty long now, I also wanted to show off the merch I got but I'll make that a separate post,,, I guess reijean (and connie) can have this win to themselves this time, they actually got a whole post for themselves

i can't wait to draw jean later

(maybe if I travel around more I'll take more pictures of reijean, maybe make it their own lil series-)

[the-lark-ascending69]

If Robin were a boy she'd be everyone's favorite character but since she's a girl she only gets to be Steve's gay best friend.

[phantom-pinetree]

WHAT IF YOU WANTED TO COSPLAY BUT THE GODS SAID “LMAO NO YOU'RE TIRED NOW”

[lucidowl]

Hey gang. I'm thinking about the idea of making some of my own resources/'quick fix' posts- something to turn to for a handful of approaches to a specific problem. (Nothing in life is truly ever fixed with a quick fix, but this is intended to stave off the horrors for a bit and give you a stick to work with. A handhold.) With that in mind, I figure looking at what y'all may already find helpful could be a good guide.

What do you find most helpful in the 'mind your becoming' tag?

[comfortlesshurt]

post canon klance save me.... save me post canon klance......

[the-silly-urge]

Okay yeah the IGN interview saying Minthara would be complete with "just a few more lines" (relating to Orin no less) is so. Grits my teeth. HUH.

(Rant below, feel free to ignore etc etc)

I love Minthara's backstory, I think it has depth, it's well connected to the rest of the story in terms of ramifications and implications. But let's be honest. Her backstory (specifically relating to Orin/the Absolute) has got to be the thing she has the most lines about. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing necessarily, but I'd say there's enough depth there, and if Larian suddenly wanted to add something to her character, I feel like new interjections would be better? More of her reacting to her environment, connecting her experiences on the surface to what the Underdark was like, etc?

She would not want to be reduced to what was done to her, but when so many of her lines revolve around the Absolute/Orin it's harder to see her as a full-fledged character/person.

Honestly I don't know if Larian just has like... Misconceptions about how much content Minthara has, how functional she is (same with Halsin honestly) that they think she'd be complete with so little. Do they rely on us being perpetually okay with and grateful for breadcrumbs? I want to replay her romance, but there's all that wait to Act 2 to even see her again, and I know it's most likely gonna be bugged, with little content, and no way to even know if the game recognizes your relationship, because her kisses still aren't implemented and her greeting literally never changes.

It's just mildly infuriating to see the lack of content for some companions, obviously I think Minthara is the worst case, with Halsin then Wyll in the running.

I understand they don't have infinite resources and maybe adding more to Minthara/Halsin would be catering to niches, but who's fault is that?

It's frustrating because to a certain point, they hardly feel like fully fleshed-out characters. And I know there's enough to them somewhere in there, left on the cutting room floor or something, or in scenes that don't trigger. But as it stands they feel just so woefully incomplete, especially in comparison to the other amazingly written, content-rich companions, that you get earlier and easier.

(Also I'm pretty sure it is just one person on the team who's saying this, + that they're happy with how BG3 is right now- and I'm not saying they shouldn't be happy with it, but it feels funny when so much was cut and not everything is truly fleshed out. Idk.)