#I'm considering this lore it's the lore of the creator

[making-arcanum-the-ttrpg]

Arcanum: Foreword

Currently, Aggy is busy, so his trusted compatriot and resident transbian is handling this first post. Specifically, we both wished to present the introduction to Arcanum

"Table Top Role Playing Games hold a special place in my heart, though I only know how to play 2, D&D 5th Edition and Lancer. I’ve been playing since high school, and before I had even played in my first campaign I had been overcome with the need to make Homebrew for D&D (and then later when I learned Lancer, I started making Homebrew for that too), though I’ve never posted any of my Homebrew online. However as I created more, as I played more, as I lurked more in the communities for D&D 5e, I began to realize significant problems with it.

See D&D 5e has this philosophy, one of many, which is make things simple. However, I feel this has been taken to its extreme in a bad way, it has become too simple, to its detriment, making build choices less meaningful as everything becomes flattened and similar. Besides, they don’t even follow this philosophy very well when you consider full casters, considering how complicated they can get.

But anyhow, that is besides the point. I wanted to make a TTRPG than can do what D&D 5e does, but better-a lofty wish, I know. I wanted to make something where everybody can have fun and be powerful without needing to all be spell-casters. I wanted to make a TTRPG that lets the players do batshit insane things in a world with balls to the walls lore."

This is the first thing in the document for Arcanum, simultaneously a love letter and criticism of the iconic role playing game, D&D 5th Edition, written out by Aggy so as to show both his reasons to start Arcanum and to introduce what his goals with the game are.

[psychomusic]

so. I've been reading some posts on the jedi order tag AND i won't talk about my opinion on "are jedi good or bad discourse" BUT i wanna point out some lore to everyone who's complaining about the jedi taking kids into their order: (in the EU) it wasn't always like this.

if you take swtor era (more than 3000 years before the prequels) there were many jedi who joined at an older age. like, for example there was a guy who broke his engagement to become one. most jedi remember their families because they were old enough when they decided to go.

THEN in darth bane's book trilogy (circa 1000 yesrs before the prequels) there is a passage where two sith lords are talking about taking bane, already an adult, to study at korriban. one doubted him because he was too old, ans the other told him he sounded like a jedi, and that ONE DAY jedi will have to accept only kids into their ranks if they really want to find "pure" people that can learn their lessons quicker.

one day!! so it wasn't always like that!! the ongoing wars with the sith, who corrupted and killed many of them, had pressured them into taking always younger people into their ranks.

also, consider a thing that this video explains super well: training to become a jedi is not like exercising, because there is a transformative lesson at the end of the training that changes everything. you can't just do as much as you can, but not finish.

the transformative lesson, as the video explains, is that through the force, everything is the same - from rocks and ships to life and death. at the end of the training you have to understand this fundamental truth.

yoda says "you have to unlearn what you have learned". during times where they were constantly killed off or corrupted by the dark side (and if you haven't learned this lesson you are more susceptible to this corrupting), younger people were taken in to actually finish their training (a training that was ultimately about being a good person AND that you could leave at any point if you weren't sold on that, too)

(remember that for the sith failure = death. like. that was the alternative for force sensitive kids. it's not like sith had any moral problem with taking kids away without consent. sith don't have moral problems: they believe that them being stronger in the force means they can do whatever they want as long as their strong enough to go and do it. there are MANY passages in many different star wars stories, even in different mediums, that say this out loud)

AND (this is more of a critical thought than just stating the lore) the fact that they started doing it out of necessity doesn't mean it's 100% good BUT you know. the whole set up of the prequels is that we're starting off the story in a period of crisis and decadence all around. most of the systems of the times were about to fall. OF COURSE they had problems. if they didn't, we wouldn't have the story to begin with.

that doesn't automatically mean jedi = bad and sith are better, tho. you wouldn't take the last, chaotic and decadent period to jugde something, would you? it's like deciding that the athenian democracy sucked because people at the times of Demosthenes failed at recognizing the new schemes in which the world was evolving into, and still believed that their city would be important as it had been in the previous century. They just didn't fucking expect the Macedons would conquer half the world known and more, and have the subsequent political power. Still, their experiences in the 5th century with democracy were very good, even better than ours on many fronts, if you contextualize a little. the jedi had flaws, and most importantly, they didn't fucking know the future and everything that ever happened, ever, so they made mistakes. that doesn't automatically make the system ill, or bad, or not-working. systems can have setbacks when the world changes. (just like athenian democracy had one when they lost the empire that was funding the democracy. they even had a tyranny for a while and then fixed the problems. that doesn't diminish retrospectively their democracy)

[gamebunny-advance]

Tbh, in my opinion, i wouldn't mind seeing, if stickers were a thing, more designs based on your own characters! They look cool and have a lot of jazz to the design

Also a NSR fan, but can understand the concern with bleeding numbers. Maybe if it's an idea, a mixed sticker sheet wouldn't be so bad, while others stickers focus more on your interests? Overall, just hope things turn out well and you don't burn yourself out^^ art is meant to be enjoyed, and even small businesses I hope is something that can be fun rather than feel like a burden. (On a completely different note, did you see the updated design for Mayday?)

Thanks a bunch~ I'm glad ya like my little fellas~ I really should draw them more~

I'm still on the fence about making mixed characters a thing, but we'll see~ I appreciate your kind words as always~

Despite my worries, I'm an optimistic person overall, so I think things will work out either way~ Like I've said in the past, my general goals are always to balance what I like with what y'all want, it's just a matter of figuring out the best path towards that!

You mean the one with the short hair? Yeah I did! I think she's so cool~

She's basically what we all agreed that Goolings!Tatiana looked like, and that tickled me the first time I saw it XD.

The pink bangs are interesting though. It makes her look more like Barbara than anyone else :o. I wonder if pink streaks are just common for blondes over there, or if they're actually related somehow XP.

[akanemnon]

One question, one comment and one slight concern this week 👍🏽

Question: MAY WE SEE PLZ? 🥺

It's okay if we can't however. At least in my opinion is seems PG-13, but I know the US and EU more then likely have varying opinions on what is considered PG-13. I'm also a bit more immune to dark stuff like this so maybe it was a good call to scrap that part of the script.

Comment: The more Deltarune lore Toby drops on us, the more fitting it seems to have a family themed AU, even if such a scenario may be difficult or even impossible depending on how the canon Deltarune goes :)

Concern: So I was searching up TwinRunes on google (for funsies) and noticed that some of your work was uploaded and falsely credited on some website called Comic Studio (don't know if the link works but try it out). Did you know of this?

Answer: I don't have the sketch anymore. I altered it into what you can see now as soon as I realized it was probably for the best. I can never be too sure when it comes to that whole age rating thing. Last thing I want is to traumatize people (that's for the Other Script, but that one is pretty much 18+ anyway.)

Concern answer: I did NOT know about that! Weird that they list Para as the original creator. Even though she consistently links back to my work and puts my name in her videos. Especially considering there seem to be multiple people behind it? I'm not sure how this comic studio place works. The link you put doesn't seem to bring me to it directly

[unabashednightmarepizza]

𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑀𝑦 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑...

Inspiration: this, this, this, this,

A/N: As per request, and a high demand, this is like a part of the Creator!Reader AU drabble I wrote some time ago! Though there is a mention about a gender in the end, since the Creator/God of Teyvat could change genders/ forms if wanted, I didn't see a problem with that one!

A/N: PLEASE SEND ME SOME NEUVI NEUVI FLUFF REQUESTS ( especially papa ones with melusines) I'M BEGGING! THIS ONE TOOK A HUGE TOLL ON ME LOL AND BECAUSE MY MIND ONLY WORKS FOR ANGST AND LORE THESE DAYS, I NEED A DISTRACTION-

Warnings: THIS SHIT IS LONG, LIKE VERY! Hints, not so much now, of Neuvi Neuvi being the Hydro Dragon and the Sovereign, hints of past abuse and violence but not detailed, reader being a simp in general

Part1

Ever since coming to the nation of justice, and obviusly water, you had never felt such immense comfort and safety at the mostly silent city, with water sounds mixing. After running away from almost all the nations with the exception of Sumeru, Snezhnaya, Natlan and of course Fontaine whose eyes weren't blinded by anything and rather listened to you, sheltered you and gave you friends after being on the wild all on your own...

The calm and safety you felt was weird.

After all, it wasn't you who asked to be the Creator of this game you loved dearly. You were just a simple, non-important human in your world. Going to school and work, study, try to stay alive, make food for yourself, sleep and repeat the cycle...

And suddenly, you were the "Beloved" Creator of all these characters? But they still hunted you down and there were a few who supported you?? And now you were playing with the tiny and adorable melusines by the pond while being married with the one you loved?

You would have said bullshit on Earth but now, as you giggled at the many melusines fighting for your attention while one of the much younger ones laid between your arms with short and warm breaths fanning your neck softly...

Maybe all the trouble you went through was worth it.

"I want to braid Their Grace's hair!"

"You already did it yesterday, and the day before that too!"

You watched as Puca and Serene bickered together, both of them pushing the other away behind you and tugging on your hair rather harshly without realizing from time to time. You already knew that wincing would make things worse, since they were all so fond of you that they hated the idea of inflicting you with any kind of pain and would wail which would later leave you with hundreds of melusines to comfort with an awkward smile.

It had gotten bad especially after the eldest of them told how "bad things" happened to you... but now You had them and their "papa" and were happier than ever!

"Their Grace will have a date with Monsieur Neuvillette~ So, let's stop bickering and make Them even more pretty!" A fierce blush took over your whole face, warming your cheeks cutely as the younger melusines cooed and giggled, holding onto their hands together and jumping up and down excitedly at the fact that their "papa" and "Mama/dad" were going out like the spouses they saw on the streets of Fontaine. You didn't... exactly have a gender, and considering you appeared in different forms for safety to other nations, especially Inazuma and Liyue who had been... rather passionate about killing you, you would often come back to the loving embrace of your husband and daughters tired, completely forgetting about your form which was different than the one they always saw you.

It still made you stiffle laughs whenever you remembered the way the melusines gasped and looked at you and their papa snuggled under a blanket so lovingly like he always did with their mama/dad...

Poor things cried their eyes out because they thought Neuvilette was being unfaithful to you and didn't stop until they truly saw you and ran at you, never leaving your side at all and gave their papa nasty eyes... which made him also cry because he never thought of such thing happening, not when even his eyes wouldn't stray from your glowing body as you slotted your fingers with his, swinging your joined hands proudly while walking around the city with him next to you as he blushed and softly looked at you.

Not when his unbeating heart, after you disappeared, started to beat once again at your fragile form in the courtroom and he put his coat over your shivering form, eyes glossy with gratefulnes as you accepted it with shaky hands and a silent and meek thank you that pierced and squeezed his chest.

Not when he finally found his mate, his true love, though it was the Creator he always held affection for and waited for millenias for you to return back once more to grace him with your light.

No one could deny the obvious feelings between you and the Chief Justice who wouldn't be too far away from you ever since you entered the city and looked at him with fearful eyes, even when you two weren't courting yet alone being married. No one blamed you for your obvious fear, they caught wind of what happened and had a brief idea after all. So, instead, they acted kind to you and offered to tell you about themselves and the city after you begged them (which felt wrong because weren't they supposed to be on their knees for you?) to call you by your name and act normal. Through time, they saw how happier and more expressive you had become at the way they acted with you, often seeing you play with the children or help out Lady Furina with meetings, or just sit with them for a lunch as they talked about the latest gossips or trends...

Such as how the other nations were suffering because of the lack of your presence, and how theirs were flourishing even more as the days passed.

Even the people knew how jealous the other nations and their people were that Fontaine was the city you favoured, that their archon was your friend and the next important person, their Chief Justice, was your spouse. And people of Fontaine was extremely smug and happy about it, happier than they had ever been, at the fact that the Creator wanted to share Their eternity with their Chief Justice, that he was the one who held your affection and love. Neuvilette seemed like he never cared about what people said about him, at least about the Chief Justice part of him. He judged according to the laws, which he soon realized was flawed, and did his reports religiously. To the outside, he was a stern and cold man who could never be tender for another, love them as if he was holding a fragile glass, and wanting to protect his love, their love and smile and everything that made him love that one special person.

Yet, the truth couldn't be further from the truth.

Yes, that unloving and cold part of him was a side he often used to not show how affected he would become after every harsh comment... But only those closest to him, melusines and now you, knew it to be completely fake and that Neuvilette always wanted to do his damn best and even more for his people.

You didn't understand why everyone seemed to make you stay away from him when you first started to wander in the city with him not so behind you. He insisted that he would accompany you (after you begged him to go out for fresh air or else you were about to explode out of boredom and he caved in at your puppy eyes) and introduce the city, knowing very well that the people could be rather instantaneous , rash at the first sight of you and you didn't like sudden moves after the events obviously, so he told you that he would be close enough to intervene if something were to happen and enjoy yourself as much as you can.

But there was one thing he didn't consider that day, one thing you didn't have an idea happening which made you whiplash so suddenly that the melusine you held hands with shrunk and thightened her hand over yours, scared: The obvious distaste of the sweet Melusines, even now, and the man that had been nothing but sweet to you, taking care of you at rough nights and whispered sweet things to you.

Going as far as letting you sleep on the couch in his office after much bickering, him insisting that a divine being such as yourself only deserved silk and the softest of beds Teyvat could offer and you whining out that it was him that you needed as you cuddled up to his long coat with a sweet and sleepy smile.

But you didn't like how people were so against him, so hellbent on making you realize that he wasn't a good choice, that he was made out of cold stone and nothing else.

That he didn't know how to even love.

But...

They didn't know how it was you that he had let himself go, to enjoy the simple side of life.

They didn't know how you would catch him staring at and feeding the otters, which you often affectionately called "mini Neuvi", with the softest and most adorable face he ever had and then flush when you caught him in the middle of his petting session and joined him, crouching down next to him.

They didn't know how his heart pounded at being close to you, witnessing your love and kindness to everything and everyone around you from being close to you and how you often held onto his arm thight as you both strolled around with flushed cheeks, under the teasing eyes of the elders of Fontaine who commented how cute you both looked together and how your eyes shone brighter.

He really wanted to know if it was because of the comments or your happiness for being treated like normal bir he didn't know he would learn it soon...

Or, they didn't know how he wished to wrap his arm around your waist and hold you against himself protectively, as if everyone outside was a life-threatening danger to you.

They didn't know the way he silently loomed close to you but still remained in the shadows, just enough to watch you have fun, and smile wide with his own little one tugging on his lips.

They didn't know that he enjoyed it the most whenever you brought whatever you baked, with one of the melusines behind you walking happily, and brought it to him as a thanks for all he did for you. No one has ever done this much for me, you would say and he had to refrain from taking your chin between his gloved hand and softly wipe that frown away. For you, anything he wanted to say many times but always refrained from doing so but as he gazed at your eyes at the time...

He knew you already knew about what he wanted to say, what he wanted to do as your eyes locked in his amethyst eyes and pink lips, chest to chest and standing so close to each other that your breaths mingled together as you both just... Stared at each other.

And they didn't know how he wanted to kiss you, how much you wanted to wrap your arms around his neck and pull him to yourself while messing with his perfectly-done hair... To bask in the happiness only he was able to give you, surrounded by perhaps otters and your sweet "daughters" and just... knowing each other.

They didn't know him like you did.

And they didn't know the sweet melusines like you did either.

And... Well, perhaps, they also didn't know how protective you were of them and the wrath of you was a power to beckon with when challenged.

"Born from Calamity, you say. He brings only devestation and pain to those close to him, you say..." your voice, calm yet still had a hidden threatening tone, was carried by the Wind on your command and towards right into their ears. The group that was talking shit behind your family all stiffened up, knowing that they had the attention of their Creator in the worst way possible.

Little Puca's hand shook between yours, which made your anger skyrocket even more, her eyes scaredly looking around as she shuffled closer to your long clothes and held on for dear life. She knew about the dislike from humans through her older sisters but... she didn't think it was this bad even now after many years.

What had they done wrong, except working hard and waiting for the people's approval?

"Y-Your Grace, w-we didn't mean to-"

"You are telling me that you didn't mean to say my daughters couldn't be trusted because you don't know where they are from, and since my husband loves them so much, in extension, he also couldn't be trusted?" You pushed whatever words this... woman had to say right back into her throat as she shivered from terror at your cold, glimmering eyes that held the universe in them pierced through her harshly and she had nothing else to do except bow in shame and hope to be forgiven...

Wrong move though.

"Do you think of me... perhaps, stupid?" You sneered angrily, stopping in the middle of your sentence in fake thinking with a curious finger tapping your chin as absolute and undeniable horror filled the people.

"N-Never, Your Grace-!"

"Then how dare you lie to my face and talk shit about my family? Who do you think you are?" Your voice rang menacingly all over Fontaine, all the water and even Wind stopping, as those who had been nothing but rude to the melusines cowered in fear and those who always stood on their side smiled proudly. You already heard enough, knew that you had been silent for so long which ended up with your family being hurt far longer than they should have and now, the time was over.

With slow and silent steps, you stood before the woman who lifted her head hopefully to look at your face but soon horror found her at the blank face you gave her with your contrasting soft hands holding her face.

"I have been patient, for you all to realize your mistake and fix it but if this goes on any longer... If I need to inflict fear so that your filthy words wouldn't taint my family... Then so be it."

With your final words, you picked Puca up and craddled her between your arms lovingly, whispering sweet soothing words as you told her how papa must have been worried and that you two had to go and meet with the rest as soon as possible.

As the little melusine rambled about whatever picked her interest that day, the fright from before long forgotten as you listened attentively but soon frowned when you felt the cooling sensation of... water, over your face.

And lo behold, soon after your brief talk, it started to rain softly.

You really hoped that your husband didn't hear the commotion, knowing how much it would hurt his gentle heart to hear the people he swore to protect still treat him and his daughters badly. You knew how... Carole's sacrifice affected him, how he started to not trust people and turn his emotions off because of how painful it was for him.

He was the one who told you this, after another nightmare where he couldn't do anything to protect his family, and sobbed on your chest with his beautiful hair all messy, eyes swollen and red as he begged you to forgive him, still affected by the gruesome sight of your body and his hands covered in large gushes and golden blood. And even then, he was the most beautiful sight you ever laid your eyes on.

But, to your horror, he did hear it.

But cried for an entire different reason.

And not long after, it started to rain... which made you think back to all the times it poured, You stared at the sky with a lovesick smile over your face as you stared at Neuvillette's slightly-shaking back, who thought he hid himself well behind the stone sculpture of yours, already planning to go to his office later to comfort your big baby.

Still thinking back to all the times when your sensitive, lovely and gentle husband who appeared to be cold but was actually the cutest man/dragon alive, cried and made it rain... Feared that he ruined everything once again but you begged to differ.

To you, it was the most beautiful show of his own feelings.

1.He saw a cute otter

"Hello, mini Neuvi! How are you?"

This time of the day was perhaps, the most funny and relaxing one for you. Because, after so much work and paper and also Furina's drama, you really needed to blow off some steam and just enjoy your life. Fontaine was a beautiful nation, but sometimes... You just wished to see other ones from more of a close eye, especially Sumeru.

It has been such a long time that you were starting to forget the beautiful greenery there, and how much you enjoyed hanging out with the others who became your friends quickly.

You definetly didn't miss Cyno's dad-jokes and how the others stared in shock when you snorted at one of them-

But, you were happy with where your life was right now. You were safe, happy, had the cutest animals around you, and then there were the sweet and ever-helpfull melusines who were always at your back and call with pretty much anything and...

There was Neuvillette.

You giddily laughed and put your hair behind your ear shyly, even the mention of the usually composed and calm yet so easily flustered man made your heart burst and dance. You wanted to believe that there was something sparking between you two after the many times you hung out with him, and the many times everyone told you that no, Chief Justice never just "hung out" with people and that this was a first.

Probably what sealed the deal for you, and pretty much everyone, was the way he... very obviously had softened gradually.

It was the subtle way he made sure you were okay, always buying a nicely done bouqet on his way for you and slowly, starting to smile more. People, before you came along, often was scared to talk to him because of his "brooding personality". They thought he was someone hard to talk with, which at first was true. The usually expressionless face he always wore made people stay away, and loose the best kind of companionship they could have had by not trying harder to understand him.

Because, deep down, you saw the longing eyes he gave to the couples in Fontaine or the best friends hanging out together happily. He really wanted to have that too, he just didn't know how and therefore, he was seen as heartless and uncaring for any attachments when it was the most wrong thing he ever could be.

Not that you had any complaints, even if that treatment sometimes saddened you, you were happy that it was you he chose to show that side of him even if it was as a result of... a traumatic experience.

"I brought you, and your whole family the most yummy snacks ever! Made by none other than me!" You shook your head at the thoughts to focus on the cute otters who were swimming where you were simply floating, making excited sounds at seeing both their creator and "mama/dada".

A/N: I just want a horde of melusines and otters in my home, is that too much to ask? 🥲🥹

Giggling at their enthusiasm, you happily followed them around for almost all the afternoon and you couldn't lie, it was the best swimming you ever had, with a worry-free mind and heart.

That was, of course, until you felt a panicked presence close before warm hands (contrasting to the cool water around you) circled your middle and a relieved breath on your ear made goosebumps appear on your skin.

"I was worried, Your Grace... No one has seen you today." Your body relaxed visibly at his rich and soothing voice and slacked back ahainst his chest, his arms thightening around your waist without noticing and inhaling your shampoo deeply with a content smile.

"Oh... Yes, I needed some alone time to myself. I'm sorry if I worried you so much." You sheepishly looked at him while still in his soft embrace and he looked down slightly at your face, crinkled with happiness and then, smiled.

Which, obviously, made your heart stop for a second as you internally gushed at how handsome he was.

"It's okay... I know you can protect yourself. Though I wonder what had taken your attention this much?"

An excited gasp left you when you remembered your children and looked around to see them behind a rock, peeking from the corner to look at you fearfully, unsure if it was safe for them to come out again.

"I came to meet my children! Come on, darlings! He is a friend, you are safe with him!"

Neuvillette widened his eyes at your form who was immediately swarmed with the otters, all clinging onto you as soon as the words left your mouth and he couldn't will his heart to stop pounding his chest at the blissful and motherly smile over your face.

It had been some time that he finally admit his feelings for you, after having a long lecture from Furina and Navia herselves about love, feelings and how a romantic relationship works. They literally forced him to look deeper into his heart and just feel what he feels when he is around you, what he wants to do and wished to happen etc. They already had enough of their favourite ship not sailing yet, Furina just wanted some action and Navia... well, she knew he was a good man now and didn't deserve to be lonely all the time so she was eager to help.

Safe to say, even they were shocked and teary-eyed at how sensitive, sensual and romantic he was when it came to you.

And those feelings only intensified with each passing day, after he was more aware of his body's, the dragon in him's reactions to you and what you did.

And right now, they were purring contently and proudly at watching you interact with your children.

Even the thought of such thing excited him and he had to cough to mask his embrassment when you two... weren't an "item" as Lynette and Lyney used to say while giggling just like any other teenager in Fontaine.

He didn't know what "being an item" meant, this was teenagers after all and their language was weird.

"Come here, mini Neuvi! I know you want this yummy fish snack- Neuvillette, are you okay?"

Well, he definetly didn't expect to hear you call an otter... with his name. He was a mighty dragon, a Sovereign for Celestia's sake, not a small and weak creature!

But as he looked at you swinging the cute otter side to side, pointing at every feature that was very much like him according to you from the blue streaks they had, how they loved swimming, head pats and rolling in the water and how they adored being fed (something he regretted ever telling you about and letting you do it just because he wanted you to do so, that the dragon side of him submitted to you, going as far as letting you pat him and feed him, showing weakness), there was nothing he could do except sigh defeatedly and watch you play with the now horde of them as they all made happy sounds at you.

But really? Did you really have to call the otter between your arms which was cuddling up to you "Mini Neuvi"?

Did you really have to make him blush as he imagined what your supposedly-not-here-yet children might look like as they also cuddled up to your warm embrace, chanting your name?

"Oh My- Neuvillette, there is smoke coming out of you! What the-" your eyes widened at him as you worriedly swam to where he was slightly bent over, hair and hand trying and failing to hide his deep blush and giddy smile as you fussed over him.

Yeah, he had to have better control of his emotions and... bodily reactions from now on.

2. I kissed him under the rain

"As if it wasn't bad already, It's raining again!"

"Ugh, again? There goes my travel plans..."

"I wonder what's wrong with the Hydro Dragon enough to make him cry all the time..."

"This rain is ruining everything-!"

All his life, he listened to and watched people of Fontaine complain about the rain. How it destroyed their shops, how their plans were ruined and how they would surely get sick after this rain... Most of them knew about the Hydro Dragon legend, and as selfish as it might have sounded, he wished people would be at least a little bit worried over him.

Expecting this much wasn't wrong after all, right? He never thought or demanded the people to enjoy rain, he knew it could be a huge hassle to deal with a heavy storm and the mud that came with it.

But never in his eons of life, did he see someone as pecular as you, dancing and laughing under the rain but still held a somewhat thoughtful frown.

"Why are you not running away?"

He blushed at how the question left his mouth so suddenly, turning his head to not look at you as you halted and turned to him with a confused stare but soon grinned like an excited kid.

"Why would I? It's so refreshing and the rain feels nice on my skin!" You couldn't help yourself and jump on a little puddle on the ground and splash water everywhere, gleefully running around as Neuvillette's eyes were trained on you intensely.

He... didn't understand humans most of the times but you? You were another kind of enigma for him as you ran happily and pushed the wet locks of your hair away from your face which usualy irritated most of the women. You were definetly going to get sick, have a runny nose and probably feel fatigued all day... but as you slapped your wet cheeks to make sure all of this was real, and that you were finally here all happy, the sickness that would come after this seemed worthy.

But, Neuvillette had been more silent than you were used to...

Not hearing or seeing any reaction from him, you slowly came to an end in your little game and tilted your head at his expressionless face. "Do you... hate the rain?"

A sudden realization came over at his bashful and solemn face, the downward turn of hisblips and the slight bite he gave to himself. "Oh..."

"Yes..." he muttered under his breath and looked down, eyes brimming with tears and stinging his eyes but hidden by his own wet hair. His face was already flushed from the cold, and perhaps by the sight of your clothes clinging on your body and showing off some of your skin and curves.

Or maybe, the bright yet understanding smile on your face as you tilted your head at him was what made him stop and lift his eyes and stare at you dumbfounded.

And make his own tears pour even harder.

"How can anyone hate the rain?" You asked softly and he knew... He knew you didn't mean just the rain, but himself. He wondered if you were aware of the implication of your words, whether you knew the truth about him or not but frankly enough...

He didn't care.

If it was you who knew, but still didn't say anything, he was fine with his secret out for one more person.

Unaware of his newfound ambition to just "seal the deal" today and finally take the scary yet exciting step into the future, you continued to talk with your hands out in a cupping position, letting the cold rain water collect in the middle of your hands.

"It's a blessing of this world to the people who lives on soil. It is to refresh both us and the soil, the air and the waters so that humans can live. But..." Slowly lowering them down and watching the water run down over your arms, you fiddled with your hands anxiously, contemplating whether it was okay to say what was in your mind since it was a rather sensitive topic for him, with no one else knowing his true identity or name.

You didn't exactly know when you realized it, or whether you knew from the beginning or not but now that you did... Neuvillette wouldn't spend even one more minute alone anymore, you would make sure that he would be happy and loved and would never feel as if he didn't belong anywhere.

But it seemed Neuvillette was very adamant on hearing the rest of your sentence since he took a step towards you and stared down at you with his chest rising up and down rapidly in anticipation, his breath warming your cheeks by both the hotness of it and also the closeness between you two.

"But what?"

You sighed deeply and looked up at the eyes that decorated most of your dreams and daydreams. Confessing feelings have always been hard, it never got easy even if you were in a different world but if you didn't do this... Neuvillette would never do it in fear of making you uncomfortable with himself.

"It saddens me to know that the Hydro Dragon suffers so much, enough to make it flood."

Well, he definetly wasn't expecting this answer.

Out of anything that might have left your lips, what you chose to say amazed him. There was someone worried about him? Well, you weren't necessarily worried about him. After all, you didn't know (and there was no way for it to happen) that he was the Hydro Dragon and also, the one who was sad almost %99 of the time.

He often felt guilty about not being honest to you, when you spoke about most of the things that happened to you or what you used to do in your world before coming here. But the mind was a complicated system, and often showed its ugly side at times like this one.

It screamed at him often that if you were to know the truth, see his true form ... He would see the horror and disgust on your face that usually looked at him so lovingly and softly...

And it would forever break him.

"I think, compared to all the dragons I had ever faced with... He has the most gentle heart ever! But the kindest hearts often suffer the most, I just hope he has someone to care for him." You smiled kindly and knowingly at him with a raise of your brows as you stared at his own wide ones, hoping the usually clueless man would get the meaning behind your words.

And surprisingly enough, he did... He just wasn't sure if he should say something more or not, whether he got the meaning behind right or not.

Surely, you didn't...

"He does... I think he does have someone." He gave a small smile to the slightly parting sky as he looked up and sighed in content. He was glad he had you in his life, after such a long time in solidarity and absolutely no one to understand him. Even when he was just a little hatchling, with seemingly no one to care for him, his tiny heart at that time craved for it as he travelled through this world, all alone...

But never ever imagined to hear those words that left your lips next, as if they were the confirmation he always needed.

"So... Why are you still crying then?" He widened his eyes as he lifted those reddened ones to your face, droplets of salty water still running down his cheeks as amethyst-colored eyes looked at you in wonder, mouth left open in shock in a little "O" shape.

The childish wonder in his eyes made you soften at him as you shuffled closer to him, and even if he was a lot taller than you, he seemed like a fragile and ready-to-cry-at-any-moment little boy as he grasped your hands thightly that was holding his face delicately, scared that this was all his imagination which would perish as soon as he woke up and he would be left staring at his ceiling with empty eyes.

Your heart burst with love at seeing his face, body shivering from anxiety and cold together as he trembled under your touch but still seeked your comfort and warmth. He nudged your palm with a small smile, content and relaxed for the first time since he no longer needed to hide from you. He sighed onto your hands, your finger tips lightly touching his strand of white hair, swiping them away from his forehead as he leant down to your height and leaned his forehead on yours. Closing his eyes tiredly, he leant his body weight on yours but it didn't bother you and neither was it hard for you to hold him up by hugging his waist...

And he purred, placing a wide and teary smile over your face.

He finally trusts me...

"Hydro Dragon, Hydro Dragon, don't cry... Even if you look pretty while doing so." You teased him softly ( there was true honesty to your words anyways), with adoration evident on your tone as you almost sung those phrases he sometimes heard children say. Your hands rubbed his back softly, drawing circles as the rain started to lower down and tiny specks of light shone on you both.

You sighed out and buried your face to his neck, cheeks smushing on his shoulder as your arms thightened around him as if to shield him from any more harm.

And, the most joyous thing was... He let you. He squeezed your back with equal force and buried his face to your neck, with his lips tingling painfully just to lay a soft and loving kiss there.

Just as many times you affectionately kissed his forehead with praises spilling from your mouth.

"Just as you promised a lot of times... I'll do everything in my power to make you happy, Neuvillette. That is, if you ha-" your hand was idly patting and going through his locks softly, hand scraping along his scalp as your murmurs hit and was absorbed by his greedy skin as he soaked it all up even in the middle of his shock.

How can you even ask such a question when he was ready to give his life for you?

"Yes..." he was already overwhelmed enough with love, and with each word passing your lips... The reality of the situation you two were in had settled.

Finally... Finally, he had you.

His arms thightened around you, voice shaking as if he was the most afraid he ever had been."Please... Don't leave. I don't know if I can live again without you... now that I had a taste of your love and warmth."

You were shocked to hear such a declaration, so passionate yet calm, just like Neuvillette himself. You slightly parted from him to look at his face, knowing his eyes would never betray his words but he was making it difficult by clinging onto you more.

"Is it-" you started anxiously, fearing that it was because of the connection between the Sovereign and the Creator when a scoff left him, nose scrunched up as if you just said the most weird and offensive thing ever known to a man.

"No, It's because you are Y/N... You are the one I love."

And what else of a reason you would need, when he craddled your face so gently and stroked your chin before slowly diving down and kissing you sweetly under the soft rain as the time stopped for you two, and the nature all around Teyvat blossomed and shone with power?

3. I fainted because he was too cute and handsome, especially when he smiled

"You are so handsome when you smile..."

Now, Neuvillette was used to the way you abruptly threw praises and sweet words at hım throughout the day. Sometimes they were agressive as you squeezed his cheeks together and made hım stare in your eyes while you doted on him.

But this one... This one was new, and he wasn't ready to hear it yet.

At least, fast enough to cover his reactions to save himself from more teasing from you.

"Thank you, my love... Though it couldn't compete with your-" he coughed out as his tail swinged happily behind him, internally cursing himself for deciding to use his hybrid form since you begged him that it would only be the two of you in his office and that you wouldn't let anyone enter without asking first.

And he was a fool in love anyways, who always became weak in the knees whenever you asked for something.

Besides, he couldn't lie: Upholding his human form for so long made him itchy and he was really enjoying as you patted and scratched his tail and scales as his very long tail was wrapped around your waist possessively.

"It's so bright and mesmerizing that it brightened my next eternal life for good...." You were brushing his hair and styling it into a high ponytail just because you thought it would suit him, so focused on your task that you didn't realize how his whole body bibrated because of his content and loud purr...

Which soon made you lean over his left shoulder and stare at his face with a loving and teasing smile.

And there it was, the fierce blush that often coated his handsome face whenever you blurted out your intrusive thoughts...

He blinked several times while looking at you with wide eyes, his heart making flips then stopping and doing it once again which made you snort and lean back on the plush chair you pulled behind his own table...

And soon, very soon, his whole face (and you were sure even his chest) was covered in the reddest red ever known as he stumbled over his own words while slightly trembling.

It was cute... But was it normal for him to tremble?

"Neuvillette? Are you... Did I say something out of-" you slightly raised from the chair while holding the handles and put the brush away, ready to assist him when he suddenly shouted out with an embrassed laugh.

"N-No, not at all! I'm fine, better than I've ever been actually!"

He would never dare to make the same mistake he once did when he reacted to your sweet and definetly distracting words. It was bad enough now that it was becoming harder to control himself...

Maybe, you would be down to the idea of a nightly swimming date?

4. I told him what happened to me and he made the city overflow

"Aaand, that's pretty much it... I already forgave them all but... I think I would never forget it."

Talking about what had happened in all the lives you lived, considering all the religious and cult-like trauma, was something hard to do. Especially since it was still a fresh wound that kept opening again and again at the sight of the Archons in your daily life. They still showed themselves to you from time to time, begging for your forgiveness even though Neuvillette himself almost headbutted with the ex-Geo Archon himself, another fellow dragon who was not as strong as him.

Even though you told them that you put all of that in your past, that you forgave them... They just didn't seem satisfied. They wanted to be closer to you, hang out with you and bask in your warmth as well.

Much like a certain someone, who was deadly serious about not leaving you alone with them for more than a few minutes.

But, could anyone really blame him? You were his treasure, his everything, the one he patiently waited for years without straying from his logic.

His soulmate that he never though he had, or could have. You were kind and loving and generous, and him... awkward about most of the things that concerned human nature, clueless, broken and rough around the edges. He, even now, never actually believed he could make you happy like you deserved while having all these flaws, especially whenever those Archons spoke of all the flaws he had and how he wasn't enough... But as you stared up at him any time he got into one of these moods, held his face and kissed his frown and worries away with little whispers of your love, he knew why he was still alive and had to fight for another day.

He spent lonely years by himself with his heart in agony, listening to it crying for the real home for him... And now that he had it, he learnt all the terrible things they did to You, how they all refused to lend a helping hand to someone in need of it without adding the fact that it was the Creator, and everyone expected him to be fine with it?

Hell no.

He just... couldn't wrap his mind around it. How could they, he thought bitterly as you leaned your head to his shoulder innocently, watching the moon shine outside and reflect the light on both of you. Your hand timidly reached out to his, smaller fingers wrapping around his much bigger ones as if you knew very well the emotional turmoil he was in to comfort him though it was him who was supposed to do that for you.

And it made him even more guilty as he leant his head on your own, as selfish as it seemed to him for seeking such thing from you at your vulnerable state.

How could they almost destroy such a cheerful, happy and kind person? Our Creator?... My love?

You were always the sunshine of wherever you entered, an eye-catching presence in the usually gloomy and calm City of Fontaine. Even when you first came, before seeking refugee and begging Furina to listen to you... You were still kind enough to stop and help a child find her mother, help a lost melusine out ( you later learnt it was Puca, who would grow on you later when she re-approached you with a necklace of sea-shells and offered them to you timidly), and even bring joy to the water in their city so much so that there wasn't a stormy or gloomy day ever. And that was enough for everyone, alongside the golden scars across your arms, that you were their true Creator.

Besides, Neuvillette didn't have to listen to what Furina had to say, the primal dragon in him was already roaring, growling and trashing inside at the other stupid Archons who dared to touch you, to hurt you. How could they, it yelled in his mind often as the loyal dragon it is to the Creator, connected with a deep sense of loyalty and... love. That dragon side of him purred loudly and softly whenever you seeked him amongst a crowd, or simply sitting with him.

The fact that it was him who you felt safe with made both him and the dragon proud and happy, so much so that if he could use his half-hybrid form, which he was already doing it a lot thanks to you, his tail would be flicking back and forth much like a puppy.

He might not be the best with emotions, with them being especially more complicated with humans and all. He might have not understood what pain, heartbreak and even anger meant but there was one thing clear:

Something in his chest broke so wildly, so loudly and stung his heart so harshly at the sight of your tears that the air in his lungs were punched, and made him silently choke on his own tears.

"Never will you ever feel scared, unsafe and unloved, Your Grace... I will make sure of it." He gently craddled your face between his much larger and slightly calloused, naked hands after finally, finally finding his voice back even if it left his lips in a raspy and wavering way with arms squuezing your body thightly. But you didn't mind it, all you could ever need was here anyways...

Except...

"Not that..." he hummed in confusion with a tilt of his head, the blue streaks of his hair tickling your face softly as you giggled and buried yourself deeper to his chest.

"I don't like it when you call me that..."

"Then what would you like me to call you, my love?" You grinned with joy as you bonked your head with his, another affectionate yet cute gesture he learnt you did whenever you were full of excitement and love. Trying to be silent, so that your army of daughters didn't wake up from next doors, you pushed him on the bed you two shared, hand on his sturdy chest as you stared down at his flushed cheeks and flustered eyes at your sudden dominance.

What a sight it was to have the ever stoic Chief Justice, the Hydro Sovereign under your mercy like this, all pretty and yours...

"I like that one better actually. Can you say it again?" You tilted your head cutely with a smile, your sadness from before long forgotten as his eyes softened at you from below you,happy that he was at least able to do that for you. His hand slowly trailed up your waist, to your back and softly craddled your face with his naked hands, hands rubbing your cheeks oh so lovingly as he uttered those sweet names to you slowly, with no rush at all with closed eyes and a loving smile.

"My love..."

"Again..." you breath got caught in your throat as the sudden rush of love and safety overwhelmed you, the man you loved from the beginning uttering and declaring his love to your skin was both too much and not enough.

Not when you unforfunately were deprived of such thing in both worlds.

More, more, I need to hear it more...

"my precious, most beautiful and one and only love..." he slowly pushed himself up on his elbow with the help of his hand on the bed, thightly holding your neck with a promise on his tongue. He was an ancient being with even more ancient thoughts on courting and loving someone. If a dragon loved someone, and devoted themselves to that person once... That was it. No more turning back, no more being lonely, no more suffering. The dragon would make sure their mate was well-fed, safe and happy with them and that no harm would ever come to them ever again, even if the dragon died.

And that dragon side of him was insperable from him after all and therefore, he was eternally yours to have, to be your sworn protector.

Those who treats his family badly would suffer the worst consequence ever...

But for now, he would only kiss your tears away, run his hands across every single scar that told another story and was left unhealed for so long.

I'll fight with everything, move the whole Teyvat upside down and rip through everyone with sharp and protective claws who dared to hurt you and take you away from him.

Not when I had been waiting for you for millenias and just now had you.

"My treasure... You are not alone. You will have me for as long as you want."

He wanted to say everything his heart desired to do but right now, at this vulnerable moment for you as you both laid naked... This was enough.

His arms around you thight was enough.

His deep voice declaring his absolute adoration and devotion to you, bringing you close to tears was enough.

The soft raining outside, making a knowing smile appear on your adorable face smushed to his chest was enough.

Your loving kiss right where his heart was enough.

He and his love was enough.

That is until he learnt in the morning that he accidently made the city overflow deep at night while crying silently to himself for you, thinking you were asleep, but bury himself deep in the sheets while you laughed at hım first thing in the morning and he almost cried tears of frustration at you again.

5. I love him

He gave his true name.

Slowly, very timidly, he brought his hand closer to yours on his face and took a hold of the softness of it with his own glowed hands. This was one of the things he loved to do the most, caressing your hands and rubbing the tips of your finger before kissing every inch of it, showing them the love no one did and could never do.

Not when your heart, skin, body and soul only knew him.

To him, your hands were divine in more than one way. They created life and helped people around, they were what patted the head of the young ones, what helped a little babe who fell on their bum and looked at you with glossy eyes, they were what showed your kindness and love to everyone and everything even after all they did, ever the unworthy ones of such love...

They were what you used to comfort him with your warmth, at long and painful nights as the sky roared with thunders and rain and he was guilt-striken at the thought of people judging him and uttering harsh words to the "Hydro Dragon".

Those were the especially hardest nights for him, marred with the images of you and his "daughters" injured and dying... His mind screaming, torturing with those images and the painful screams, mocking him for not being enough, powerful enough to save those closest to hım as everything drowned him.

Not enough...

You couldn't even save the one you love...

Failure...

Their deaths are on you-

It's okay not to be okay, my love...

But your soft voice, laced with utter devotion and love for him, was always what made it all better as he laid across your chest and hugged you thightly while your hands played with his silky locks. Sometimes, he wondered if you were reading his mind since you always knew when he was down. It was absolutely amazing yet, you were amazing too.

With ot without being the Creator.

Much like the first time he knew his every being now belongt to you, that his heart had fallen for you beyond your title, because you trully loved him for who he was, it fell again and again even more with each passing day.

His heart fell even deeper in love whenever you shyly entered his office to have a hug before dealing with the problems of Teyvat and other realms, saying that his hugs were really relaxing to which he silently teared up, brought him food and ate with hım since he forgot to eat regularly which pissed you off and he would make it up to you by kissing you, whenever you excitedly pointed to a place to have a sudden date with him while strolling in the Fontaine...

And therefore, the last thing he would give to you... would be the sign and show of his utter loyalty and trust.

Himself and his true name, as he proposed to be yours for eternity.

"Will you accept someone like me to be your eternity, Your Grace?"

With happy tears in your eyes as you nodded and jumped on him, which made him fall back on his ass and laugh freely he kissed every part of your body and uttered öne last thank you.

"Thank you for loving me no matter what..."

A soft laugh as you looked up towards the sky which had a soft rain under bright sun, a great show of the feelings Neuvillette was feeling, you kissed him deep once more, much like the first time you kissed.

"Thank you for being you, for letting me love you, my husband... I love you." You nuzzled closer to him with a wide grin as you both laughed while he twirled you happily as the melusines cheered and cried in joy, the waters around you two bursting up towards the sky and creating a feast for eyes with bright colors.

The people cheered in the distance, made new offerings to you and your new husband in happiness and gratitude for being able to witness this day...

But all you needed, all your eyes would see and all your heart would feel was right between your arms... In the form of the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, with pretty amethyst eyes that reflected you and gave you hope when you almost lost it and soft hairs of blue and pearly white that was entangled between your fingers as your lips found his passionately.

[metalmewtwo-kxb]

Pokédex Update:

Auroreon - the Iridescent Feather pokemon. A flying type. When it fans its wings and tail, it can manifest beautiful yet powerful beams of light in concentrated attacks and healing moves. If it ever opens its eyes, it will unleash its wrath on the unjust.

Notes:

- Auroreon's feathers always seem to glimmer in the light, causing even its body to give off a faint prismatic glow. They are also sturdy, soft as cinccino velvet, and capable of keeping sheltered pokemon warm. If the weather and conditions are right, Auroreon will spread its feathers over the grass and sunbathe (or moonbathe at night). This makes the moisture in the air above it become a captivating blanket of shifting colors. The shiny variation of this pokemon is said to also manifest colors of light that very few humans are able to see.

- The 'eye spots' on Auroreon's feathers serve as a natural statement of beauty as well as a means of confusing opponents. And the halo above its head is a result of the fur's natural light refraction.

From Recovered Texts and Documents:

- Long ago, a king encouraged the use of these feathers for decorative purposes during his reign. This greatly decimated the population of both eevee and Auroreon in their region. Those with dark feathers were considered "impure" and hunted for sport. A few were kept as pets and servants, which was illegal save for those with the king's written permission.

- Some groups of the past believed Auroreon to be among the pokemon known as "the Heralds of Arceus", messengers and light-bearers who served the Creator of Worlds. There were a variety of pokemon believed to hold this title, each described as "familiar yet unique" to each respective species. They were more powerful than their counterparts, and some rarely spotted if not considered an illusion. They were also quite gentle and well-mannered, and their roles involved giving life and healing to the world. However, these pokemon were considered dangerous in times of conflict.

- It is said "the false king" of their home region was single-handedly responsible for the disappearance of the Heralds, the beginning of conflict between humans and Arceus, and the terrible aftermath of the last great war. Rumors spread that Arceus removed the Heralds from the world of humans to save those pokemon from the cruelty that would follow in coming years.

Notes Continued:

- Further research is being conducted, as a single pair of Auroreon were recently spotted in an isolated area with an unusual eevee. One white, and one dark. The gender of each is unknown, though ancient texts suggest that females have shorter capes than males.

- There is no documentation of what their open eyes look like. Texts only say that no one who saw them directly lived to tell the tale, including the false king.

----------------------------

Decided to take my own stab at creating a flying type eeveelution, and potentially add a second typing later on.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, and glad I had another chance to delve into more of the comic's background lore.

[fantomette22]

Do you approve my geologist friend?

(would love to hear what you think it is too <3)

Crow... you have no idea of what you just unleash.... I went CRAZY over this thank you for activating my neurones! XD

I thought I talk about it before but no, it was about the Doll & Maria's pendant with Katy. It allow me to think about it even more thank you!

Short answer: I guess it's probably a weird opal gem stone yeah.

Long answer: whatever I am going to explain below XD

But first little disclaimer: I can't be certain and completely sure what were the devs intentions about it. Which gems did they really wanted to put in it and if they even had a clear idea in mind to begin with. If they did, it's also possible they didn't represent the right gem correctly. And I could never blame them for that! They aren't geologist or mineralogist. They aren't geographers or historians. They are not architects either, they are video games developers! And besides that, they still try their best to be faithful to their inspirations and create such vivid and beautiful worlds! Beautiful locations and buildings, realistic weapons, armors, clothing (with bits of fantasy), realistic battle and moveset as well etc. They already do a crazy job for all of this so we can't blame devs in general for unrealistic map (I like trying to understand the video game map geography/geology) or minor details that aren't 100 percent realistic. Or in this case the accurate depiction of a minuscule gemstone. This is a fantastic video game who's a mixt of Dracula, brotherhood of the Wolf and Lovecraftian cosmic horror stories (& fishes). Not a documentary on the 19th century. But anyway.

So yeah I'm just gonna give my 2 cents about it and maybe make you learn cool stuff thanks to my studies in geology 👍

And even if it's not completely accurate the beautiful world of HEADCANONS is here!!! XD More seriously this post may be very useful for fanfic references for exemple! That would make a cool discussions between characters or even allowed to describe more little objects like those!

Now let's begin!

The Doll Tear Stone

"Silver-shining tear stone. Use to change into a droplet blood gem that fortifies any weapon. A doll sheds neither blood nor tears and thus its nature remains unknown. Whoever thinks this is precious must be troubled by severe naivete."

"A blood gem that fortifies weapons and adds various properties. Droplet blood gems are special gems that adapt to various weapons and shapes. Created from a shining silver doll tear, this blood gem is a quiet but unfaltering friend that continually restores HP, the life essence of a hunter. Perhaps the doll's creator had wished for just such a friend, albeit in vain."

(Also can we appreciate how OP this gem is when it's your first playthrough?! Really a must have. Really worth it to go find the small hair ornament, and not just for lore.)

So it indeed look like an opal a bit. But there are other alternatives I considered as well! The first being the moonstone (or belmonite). They both are very similars, but they have different chemical formula. Also the moonstone is less rare and less expensive! It especially state in the description that the doll tear isn't precious at all. An opal is very precious and expensive in comparison.

opal SiO2 n H2O

moonstone/belmonite (Na K)AlSi3O8 ---

I can't show many references in this but on the internet you might find various colours of both moonstones and opals! With some less or more transparent.

Another moonstone for exemple.

But the doll tears also have the particularity of refracting light and shining of differents colours too. (Or diffraction into a rainbow for crystal). Opal and moonstone both have this particularity as well (even if it shows more in opal for exemple). Those phenomenons are called adularescence (moonstone), opalescent (in opal), or iridescence (bubble, fuel, cd, some fossils).

I didn't really thought about the rocks meaning too. Everything alike to "stone healing properties" are similars to an horoscope /zodiac/astrology for me. But stones meaning as in flowers meaning is very interesting! And I'm not going to dev to much but i guess they all fit well!

Moonstone: Feminity, divine wisdom, moon, calm balance, protection, spiritual healing"

DID SOMEONE SAY HEALING?! what a coincidence 🤭 But I mean almost all stones have protection meaning XD But hey it fit well with Bloodborne themes, The moon presence, the fact that it's not precious etc

Now I also need to mention other not precious stones (very common) and crystals as well, even if they don't show rainbow colours:

Quartz is well quartz but many expensive minerals can be found among it. they are formed via hydrothermal fluids.

Calcite is still very basic it's the crystal version of limestone.

Halite is salt. And guess what's in the composition of tears... SODIUM CHLORIDE/ NACL! :D ... 💀 so I thought that maybe you know... is the doll tear could be made from that....

Me now: hm do you think the tear stone is salty? 🤔

Me from almost 3 years ago: WTF is wrong with you?!?!?!

(I swear it's a true identification method for calcite to lick it but hear me out! you break the stone first to have access to a part who was never expose to air! We were all shock our teachers did this...anyway)

It's not very clear what the Doll is even made off but if indeed her face is made of porcelain well I could consider kaolinite then. Porcelain is made from it so.

In the end like the description said "it's nature remain unknown" and because it might have an organic origins as well I guess it's just it's own thing, but it resemble something that already exists. Maybe something about the old blood or bc of some eldritch mysteries. Mixed with unknowns material to become a crystal that could exist. (So new minerals just drop?? let's go)

I'm not gonna pass too much time on that (or it's never gonna be over XD) but you see the bloodstone and blood gem stones found in the game? Well there's tons of those in bb universe but in real life it's not possible.( I mean blood clot are a thing but the ones in game seems like a weird mixt being that and a real mineral structure). I hypothesis or headcanons that it's produce because of something in the old blood. Something in the great ones. But can a parasite or microorganisms really do that hm 🤔? Something that made the blood crystalize in some conditions. That amalgamate some minerals or impurity that are in too much concentration...

Quicksilver bullet can be made of blood too and we know they are made from mercury most likely (and not silver but maybe silver too)....

So yeah it's my theory to explain the weird bb biology. Because even if they had BYRGENWERTH NO ONE IS EVER GOING TO EXPLAIN TO US HOW THIS WORLD WORK SCIENTIFICALLY (and magic) SPEAKING!!!!! AND WHAT DID THEY LEARN IN ALL THOSE RESEARCHES!!!!

Why do I have such crazy ideas you ask? Well if I want my headcanons/fic to be coherent I need to think of many things to make everything stick together. Like for exemple I need to theorise things about this ^so that one day Laurence can explain to the gang WHY A GIANT MUTATED DOG IS ON FIRE AND VOMIT LAVA SOMEHOW MAKE SENSE!!!!!

YES I HAVE AN HC FOR THIS AND FIRE BLOOD MAGIC!!!! Of course it's fantasy, it's sci-fie not everything have an answer. But I cannot just say "it's magic shut up" x)

Hm let's have a lil pause before looking in the Doll's and Maria's pendant now.

Mini geology class interlude or how stones, minerals & gems are made:

About crystallization:

"Crystallization is a process that leads to solids with highly organized atoms or molecules, = a crystal. The ordered nature of a crystalline solid can be contrasted with amorphous solids in which atoms or molecules lack regular organization."

There's tons of things that can be crystal for ex water when you freeze it or salt: If you put salt in the water, it dissolve. If you heat the water and evaporate it, salt crystals are going to appear. For minerals, the longer it's exposed to heat and pression (underground) the bigger the crystals are going to be!

For exemple when lava burst out and grew colder and solid, crystals aren't visible or non existent bc the processes is very fast. That's the pitch black stone with tons of holes in it, basalt. But when the magma take thousand or millions of year to cool down the crystals are way bigger! Then erosion allowed us to discover them (like granite, gabbro or peridotite).

Of course these is for magmatic stones but the process is similar yet different for the gem we talked about, Quartz and even metals like gold who are made from Silice & found in sedimentary stones.

They are formed via hydrothermal fluids:

To put it very simply: the water get trap in the earth, get charged in lot of minerals on it's way + heat, get stuck at one place, evaporate and left behind all the minerals who become solid and amalgamate together, it crystallize and boom. You got lil crystals if not giant ore deposit.

For the geodes it's a similar processus; the water get trapped, dissolve minerals then it cristalize in the space it have;

So for Opal it's basically like this:

the best Opals are found Australia bc of the arid climate. Moonstones are made from granite mainly so it's found in lots more places.

------

End of the mini geologic lesson.

So...do you realise how much warmth the Doll might have feel from the hair ornament to create such a beautiful crystal?! Wow it's incredible. (I am so sorry this is a joke ok ?! 😂😭 But am I wrong?!)

Ok now let's get back to business. After thinking about the tear it sparks new ideas about Maria and the Doll's pendant. I couldn't identified them before but I might be into something.

----

Maria's pendant

Alright what about Maria's shiny, greenish pendants?

Well it's complicated. It's very shiny compared to the little others. It seems green too. Maria's and the Doll's one seems to alternate between silver and green depending the light or concept art or clothing descriptions. It's a mess... But at least it's based on real gem right? (If they are depicted correctly of course it can still be a mistake as well) but let's say Maria's a green one and the doll's is silver.

Well a green opal doesn't look like this 🤔 Even worst for a green moonstone.

An emerald don't look like this either they had clear marking and I don't see Maria just walking around j-hunting with a HUGE emerald that would belong to a queen or king and that cost more than the entire grand cathedral XD

I got a crazy idea at some point... maybe not about the big pendant after reconsidering it but at least the little one on her attire. What if... ok hear me out,

WHAT IF IT'S A BLOODSTONE?!

No not the one in the game! Those!

Also called heliotrope. It's a variety of chalcedony (same formula as quartz SIO2)+ red jasper spots or hematite (iron)

But they are some who are almost entirely green LOOK.

And that would fit with al the themes and stuff!?

But it's still very dark and not really shiny and while doing research I found Chrysoprase or green jasper.

The same stone can very different how it's polished too. So did the devs had a precise idea for smt or just made a pretty gemstone and didn't thought about making it too accurate to smt real? We'll never know... I know it doesn' look quite the same but I am proposing a few ideas here and I hope it could help and spark inspiration for someone! So instead of just giant it's a big green gemstone we can be more precise within fiction and let our creativity grow!

The doll's pendant

The doll pendant now. Well while doing the research for the tear stone I thought that the moonstone would fit so well for the doll pendant! Until I remembered that it basically act like a mirror 💀(and we can see the alpha ver of the hunter dream). So it can only be made from something metallic right?

So if you want to be poetic sure Moonstone will be nice. BUT I remembered thinking about another idea a huge while ago and I think it could be it! Perhaps this pendant is artificially made and is indeed a kind of mirror!

Ok hear me out x2. Gehrman made the Doll and her outfits right? Well he probably made the pendant by himself too.

So if you didn't knew mirrors are made from glass with a layer of silver pr aluminium. Then a layer of cooper or lead. In the 1800s they were made from tin and MERCURY! (mercury again our beloved).

Gehrman made weapons. Out of iron and other metallic minerals right? BRO MADE A SCYTE OUT OF SIDERITE hello!!! He made the doll clothes too isn't he? Pretty sure it would have been easy for him to make a little shiny metallic pendant who's almost like a mirror...(maybe I am not crazy in my hc that he might have made the hair ornament too let's goooo). Problem solve!

And that's it, hope you guys like those ides and this little lesson ^^

----

Also have my post about basalt in Nightmare frontier and the fishing hamlet x)

[doubleddenden]

So the stories leaked from gen 4 development are certainly interesting, eh? I'm sure everyone has their own feelings about it- some of you are apparently ECSTATIC about fucking your Machokes. Good for you, my guy. Some are horrified, thinking something's been defiled (it is fiction and most importantly non canon, you're fine, get a grip).

Me? I think the lady (yes, it was a lady) that wrote all of these is REALLY PASSIONATE about her craft, and was also referencing real world mythos and how they portray similar instances- I think we all know that Zeus has probably done worse on all giving and receiving ends of these stories, as well as Poseidon, Loki, and probably some other myths from Europe, China, and definitely JAPAN- key word there. In fact, the Typhlosion story is probably a reference to a similar story about a badger yokai that can alter its face to appear human, and the Octillery story is definitely a reference to- well, tentacle porn is a thing for a reason that goes pretty far back as a way to get around censorship in hand painted porn. The contents of the story aren't really much different or more terrifying than mythos we'd see in the real world (or if you're in the bible belt like me, probably EXPOSED to with morning bible studies before class growing up), and it's mainly just shocking to see it in the context of Pokemon.

And I think that's kind of the point. Sinnoh is already a pretty dark region in terms of lore and myth, and has surprisingly religious undertones considering the family friendly nature of Pokemon and its general target audience. Obviously none of the horse, badger, sloth monkey, octopus, god, or... Lapras fucking made it to the final cut, although in Japan they still reference People and Pokemon being so equal at some point that they could marry- that's even kind of referenced in Legends Arceus with I think a diary written by a man kidnapped by a Froslass? its been a minute, but you probably know what I'm referencing.

I think an interesting question would be "How did we get to these terrifying stories?" Especially Typhlosion and Slakoth.

Its important to remember this: None of this was meant to see the light of day outside that office circa 2003 to 2004ish. Yeah, surprisingly you weren't supposed to see the story of a man fucking an Octillery BEFORE throwing it back out to sea in a rated E for everyone game, and you didn't! You saw it via twitter, reddit, 4chan, tumblr, discord, or your local weed guy who all spread it from someone who got it from confidential office logs we wouldn't see unless someone took that info from Game Freak's darkest depths of other secrets they'd prefer to keep hidden. Every game and media company has this, good and bad, to various degrees of sfw and not. Did you know Disney has an entire vault of actual PORN that animators would make of their own anthropomorphized characters? Locked nice and safely, too... with uh, some exceptions breaking containment, I think?

So with that being said, we understand this is meant to be privileged info only a handful of people were supposed to see. That means they can use words and stuff you normally wouldn't see- Adventure time for instance had Finn and Jake saying "fuck" in story boarding, kinda funny- because its meant to be workshopped and tinkered with, refined until you get something desirable.

In fact, creators will often propose darker ideas than what they actually want so that they can more easily talk censors into an outcome they ACTUALLY desire. Alex Hirsch did this a few times in Gravity Falls' production, and you know Disney was a bitch to deal with (although he probably didn't propose stuff like this, but you get the idea). So this being said- Obviously nobody wants a story about a Typhlosion engaging in a non-con relationship with a minor it kidnaps. Nobody wants to read a story about humans MUTILATING Slakoths for fun and then getting revenge impregnated by a Slaking, only to give birth to a Slakoth and have it killed and thus kill yourself out of grief for your lost child (people reading this without context- ho boy you guys have missed out on some crazy shit that's popped up). So what is okay from here?

Maybe a little Pokemon death after going a while without it and accruing a reputation of being safe for kids? Mention of Pokemon bones being picked clean of meat and put back into a river so it can come back reborn? Some darker undertones of Pokemon being tormented by Team Galactic? How about a story of a boy slaying Pokemon with a sword, but less detail of mutilation of Ursaring and Slakoth? All of this made it into Diamond and Pearl, didn't it? Add in a little Human and Pokemon "Marriage" that is easily scrubbed out and replaced with "eating at the same table" for the more sensitive Western audience, and you have some pretty believable, dark, somewhat uncomfortable but child friendly lore for Pokemon.

Not to mention, a lot of this was probably pitched just to get a feel of the vibe they were going for in the game. If you read back through the stories, bits and pieces end up being used in other, non Poke-fucking stories, or recontextualized. See the above.

While its certainly a relief that they're non canon, it is a rather interesting look at the development of gen 4 lore and actually makes it feel more... realistic, in a way- again, comparing it to real world mythos and religious tales. That, and honestly? The religious backstory is actually, unironically amazing- HEAVILY based on real world religion, but plenty of real world religions steal from other religions and mythos anyway (coughchristianitycough).

Its actually a bit sad, because in any other JRPG, Arceus becoming a wounded woman that an ordinary man cares for, Arceus falling in love with this man because he treated her so tenderly, bearing human twins, the twins becoming Dialga and Palkia to fight some Titan that would become Mt Coronet, and Arceus loving this man so much that she took his soul to create Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit to spread love and joy throughout the world? That would literally be INSANELY GOOD world building. Plus! Arceus was a human woman when she did this! It was also consensual! Can you imagine what the world would have been like if we had gotten not only FEMALE Arceus- god of all Pokemon universes- but also a HUMAN INCARNATION of her? And this was BEFORE Giratina came into the picture, apparently. If anything, we got robbed a bit of some deep lore and potential story telling from this being cut, imo.

But one more thing to consider is this: All the stories, even if they did make it to the final cut, would still be stories within a story. Fictional folktales within a fictional setting. If we judge the above by how relevant the ACTUAL content that made it into the games were to the actual overarching plot... It'd be overall kinda useless beyond some flavor text. That's kind of the sad fact of it. Pokemon Players especially, grown adults too, are not exactly known to be well read and some play the game by rapidly A pressing every ounce of dialog they come across, even in brand new playthroughs. I'm sure some remember that one idiot on twitter that thought he made the discovery of the century when he found Snowpoint Temple in Legends Arceus, right? So understandably, especially when you're working on a clock, on limited space, on new and unfamiliar hardware, and trying to be as broad and reachable to audiences as you can- things get cut. Even... Some of the coolest lore building of all time SERIOUSLY A FUCKING PANTHEON WHAT THE HELL.

And I lied, there is one more thing to consider, especially for anyone actually morally offended by some of the content mentioned- Keep in mind that this is in 2003 to 2005ish Japan, with Game Freak (who we know are pretty out of touch in some regards, even by today's standards), before twitter, before tumblr, during a more edgy time for... well, everyone alive at the time, and especially adults. That's 20 years ago. Some of you may not have been alive at that point (did you finish your snacks and juice, lil guy?), some of you probably had a lot of your formative education influenced by the more puritanical side of tumblr or twitter, but it was simply a different time and place. That's it. The people involved in this have moved on and have probably grown into better people, and probably haven't made more fics like this. Maybe. Who knows. It's fiction anyway, and nobody real got hurt from it, and that's what's most important at the end of the day.

So that's my thoughts on it. I think I'm more annoyed by the fact that one of my favorites got a worse Vaporeon treatment than anything, and there's possibly the risk of Nintendo/TPC/Game Freak overreacting and gatekeeping Typhlosion out of the games for a bit. Sigh. My first pokemon, man. Well, anyway, try not to take it too seriously if you see the jokes and memes about it. It'll pass.

But hey, sexy Latina Skyla is canon! Shadow the Hedgehog wins!

[hawkinasock]

I ADORE YOU. MORE ABUNDANCE YANQING AND YAOSHI. PLEASE.

So, can you please learn more tell about this theory?

(You draw beautifully.)

GAAAGHHHH this was the first thing I saw in the morning omg tsym <333 dw I've got my mitts on and I'll get to cooking o7 I assume you're asking me to explain the theory? Which I'll gladly do. Very long post incoming.

Essentially, the general idea is that Yanqing is related to abundance in some way, be it simply second-hand association, or he himself being an abomination/denizen of abundance himself - I personally believe in the latter. While I've made art of Yaoshi and Yanqing in a parental dynamic, it's not something I see as a viable theory, so much as it's just a fun little crack theory. Yaoshi is more likely a passive creator than an actual loving parent. There's a bunch of different interpretations for what Yanqing is and how he came to be based on the little pieces of evidence found in canon. One piece of evidence is his blonde hair.

As far as I can tell, the only other blonde Xianzhou characters are Dan Shu and Luocha (Luocha isn't a Xianzhou native himself, but he was a part of the quest so I'm including him anyway), both directly associated with the abundance, as well as Yaoshi themselves.

Interestingly enough, Dan Shu has the same hair part as Yanqing, but that could just be chalked up to design cohesion and framing the face/mask, rather than anything meaningful.

Edit: someone pointed out to me that Dan Shu's hair was initially brown, but after joining the disciples, it turned blonde.

Edit: I somehow forgot to include Phantylia, who has blonde hair in her third phase, and even a hair part. There's also a disciple of Sanctus Medicus in a cell in the shackling prison who also has blonde hair. Every character I've found who has blonde hair is either a disciple, or canonically connected to Yaoshi

(I considered adding Hongling, the fanatic fan in the stands of the Skysplitter, but I think his hair might just be dyed, which isn't too crazy an idea for a stan. Still mentioning him though, since he's a really weird character)

If you look closely at Yanqing's clothes, there's a reoccurring vine-esc pattern on all layers of his hanfu. They can also be seen on his sword. It doesn't necessarily mean much by itself, but it's an interesting detail I and others have noticed.

However, I want to point attention to Yanqing's phone case, because it's actually super interesting, and probably the most convincing piece of evidence imo. Not only does it relay the vine motif, but that to me looks like a leaf detaching from a branch and transforming into a swallow. If the characters' phone cases are meant to reflect their personality/reference lore elements, then this is probably the most blatant in terms of potential lore.

Edit: the little decals on the camera lense are in the image of Yanqing's hair ornament, which happens to look like a pair of leaves, midribs and all.

Speaking of swallows, has anyone noticed that there's flocks of golden swallows inside the roots of the arbor? I only noticed on my second playthrough, but I haven't stopped thinking about them since. How odd is it that out of any other bird, the arbor has swallows specifically. Of course, Swallows aren't Yanqing's motif alone, as the wardance teaser silhouette's have what look like swallows in the background art, but I still think it's important to bring up, considering Yanqing is literally COVERED in them, from his ornaments, to his swallow tail-shaped coat tail, to his entire playstyle.

Low-quality ss of the swallows for reference.

Luocha also has a line about Yanqing that, setting aside any theory-crafting, seems pointless. He has nothing to say, which, if he was truly genuine, what purpose does this line even serve? I can't infer much from the delivery of the other languages, since I have no knowledge on them or their social cues, but in en, the tone is very... discreet? It's just the way he says it is very off, like he's being dishonest. Too quick; too matter-of-fact; It's artificial honesty. I hope you get what I mean lol. I can only assume the va was directed to say it that way for a reason.

A passage from Yanqing's 2nd char story reads: "It's recorded in the military annals of the Cloud Knights how Jing Yuan came to discover the young boy, stood his ground against public opinion, and incorporated him into the armed forces. However, in the family lineage column, Yanqing's lineage was relegated to the category of unknown."

From Yanqing's 4th char story: "Some speculated that he [Jing Yuan] was cultivating an heir, others claimed he only kept him around just to use this kid as a secret weapon. Jing Yuan never offered a response."

Jing Yuan is really suspicious. Like, incredibly suspicious. Even more than Luocha. Yanqing is already known to be an orphan, but the lack of clarity over the details of Jy discovering him, as well as the fact that he has no known relatives in their database is very odd. Speaking to Jing Yuan's npc in-game allows the player to inquire about Yanqing's origin, but Jing Yuan's response is far from helpful. You'd think the man who decks out his Lieutenant in protective charms and locks, and who raised the kid from, at oldest, toddler years, would be a little more eager to spurge on about stories from Yanqing's childhood, but he instead chooses to dance around the topic and make light-hearted remarks about Qingzu's furphies. Obviously, you can't and shouldn't expect to get all of a characters lore in one serving, but revealing so little definitely implies a lot more, as we've seen with Luocha.

These details are the reason why, if Yanqing does turn out to be related to the abundance, be it a spawn of the arbor, or a creation of Yaoshi themselves, I believe that at least Jing Yuan knows and is keeping it all under wraps. Maybe the whole reason Jing Yuan assigned him as his aide in the first place was to keep a close eye on him. Rather ironic a general of the hunt would risk everything to protect the thing he's sworn to destroy.

But that's just my two cents. Thank you anon for giving me a reason to spurge about this theory finally, as it's become so dear to my heart.

More art will be posted as I go along, so don't touch that dial.

[cosmokrill]

Pressure fandom rant incoming.

Oh my GOD guys, SHUT. UP. Respect the wishes of the creators. Do you think they knew how much the game was going to blow up? Did you stop to realize that Zeal's comment about decreased Kroner for deaf mode was a stupid idea just thrown out off the top of his head before he went to sleep? Do you think the dev team was going to genuinely consider that? And if you made and felt almost intimately attached to an OC that you helped create, are you not allowed to personally feel annoyed when others ship themselves with them or give them a completely different personality than the one they have?

Get over it. Sebastian is canonically a married man. I think he looks cute with the wedding ring that he fiddles with. Zerum being his wife does not change the lore. The characters in Pressure are just OCs that have gotten stupidly popular.

Speaking from the perspective of someone who has had to deal with a person trying to force one of my characters into a romantic relationship with one of theirs, I can understand wanting to crack down. If I said that my OC Luther was my husband in his lore, his story gets popular, and people start drawing themselves dating him, I'm allowed to be mad. I'm allowed to be uncomfortable.

The devs did nothing wrong by adding the rule against posting ship art of Pressure characters in the discord server. They're not banning Pressure ships from ever existing online. Admit that your drawing of your self-insert kissing Sebastian is just not going to be liked by some people. Just enjoy the damn game.

You need to remember that these are not your characters. You do not know why a decision about a character was made until the creators tell you. You can do whatever the hell you want with Sebastian, just don't get pissy if his creators don't like it.

Apologies, I'm just very tired and angry and I need to speak my mind. I don't do that enough because I fear getting canceled over the smallest opinions in this day and age.

Have a Sebastian sketch for your troubles. Truthfully, I might delete the rant later and just keep the art.

[flos-obsessivus]

Hello!!! I love love love your characters so much! Lilian is my absolute favorite, and I love everything to do with his character ☺️ I was wondering if you could provide some fun lore details surrounding Lilian and his parents? I'm really curious about his dynamic with them, especially considering his spoiled prince personality~

As the only child of the royal family, he is incredibly spoiled, but it did not turn him into a spoiled brat, he's actually pretty grateful for being loved by everyone in the castle. It's Ivory who is actually a spoiled brat, when and how it happened, we do not know yet.

Nonetheless, he is adored by all, his parents love him so much that it is not surprising that they are protective of him, overprotective you could say. Additionally, he is the only one born in a long time to have pale blonde hair, most of his ancestors are born with red hair, they are often compared to red roses.

Lilian is polite towards his father but does not feel that close to him, even if his father insist that they are 'attached to the hip' or 'they know everything about him'. He is closer to his mother, who loves him with her true heart, she is the first person he comes to when he gets scared when he was young, but now that the Advisor is here, she doesn't seem to worry about him anymore, knowing that the person that he loves is true.

Perhaps when I get a thousand readers I can sneak out a big spoiler? Clue? From the library, it's getting hard to bring out more info when the great creator is so cagey about certain stories.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey Raven! I'm not sure if you got this question already but I'm curious, are there any twst OC's that you like? Or interested to find more about? Could you recommend some even? Thank you for your time if you're reading this !

(Just so you know, I’m not counting Yuusonas or Yuu stand-ins for the sake of staying short and sweet ^^;; Only characters that are non-Yuus and specifically twisted from some Disney counterpart are considered in the context of this post.)

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHhHHHhhhhh Finally, an excuse to talk about Twst OCs, my beloved... Some Twst OC creators I enjoy (and send all my love to!! ^^):

@loojii — They have a lot of cute girls!! My favorites are Yina (twisted from the hyenas, shipped with Ruggie), Elisa (twisted from the white singing flower, shipped with Trey), Shari (twisted from the magic lamp, shipped with Kalim), and Amari (twisted from Zira, shipped with Leona). They all have interesting or funny interactions with their respective love interests and other characters (I believe they attend an all-girls arcane academy). Yina in particular is a riot; she's so lovey-dovey even though Ruggie doesn't seem to give her the time of day OTL Looji's character designs in general are very easy to understand and appealing. They make the occasional comic page featuring them, which I always eagerly eat up.

@cozymochi — Technically an exemption to the "not going to talk about Yuus in this post" thing I opened with (since they do have a Yuu based on Tiana that's hard-working and warm). But Tia (their Yuu) aside, they have 3 (I think going on 4 now) OCs that are twisted from very underrated villains from Disney kids' TV shows. Nyoka (twisted from Ushari) is their most popular and most thirsted after one, but I find myself partial to Emilio (twisted from Esteban), who's sort of pathetic, and Cecil (twisted from Cedric), who is also sort of pathetic, myself. One plus is that cozy is in the habit of rambling a LOT about their lore, personalities, and how they bounce off of their peers + dorm members, so there's a ton you can read up on them if you're interested.

@yaoyaobae — I think a lot of people may already know this name, as they're a pretty well-known Twst fan artist. While I do enjoy their art of canon characters, I think I like their RSA OCs even more. Jaseem (twisted from Jasmine) and Alison (twisted from Alice) are my favorites! Their OCs are usually introduced in a very detailed manner (with a profile, alternate outfits, and even a few panels showcasing how they speak or interact with their peers), and I love reading up on them.

LaizyBoy (their Tumblr’s deactivated but you can find them on Twitter) — They have many Twst OCs but my favorites are their Octavinelle ones, which I believe depicts the Octavinelle to follow Azul + the twins. There's Vert (Azul's little brother), the stingray twins Cloak and Dagger, and Gale, the tiger shark. The four of them are based on Morgana (Ursula’s sister) and her minions from The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea. They have such fun dynamics with one another and with Azul nii-san 😂 Good to browse if you’re a fan of little doodles with blips of dialogue.

[elspethdekarios]

Gale as an archmage

I've been thinking about this for a while. If you select Gale as an origin character in the character creator and play his intro, he introduces himself as Gale of Waterdeep™ he immediately follows with "please - no need to be intimidated."

Now I think we initially brush this statement off as Gale being full of himself, but the first time you talk to him and ask him to tell you about himself, there's an option to say something like "Come on, you must have stories from your time as archmage."

And I've always wondered - how would tav know this? Gale hasn't mentioned it. Which leads me to my research question:

Is Gale famous?

Not Elminster-famous, of course, but is he THE archmage of Waterdeep, known throughout the Realms? Is Gale of Waterdeep a legitimate title, not just one he decided to use because it sounds important?

Maybe all of this is common knowledge in DnD lore, but it's a fairly new world to me. Here's what I found about archmages:

From the Forgotten Realms fandom wiki (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Archmage):

Archmages were among the most powerful arcane spellcasters found throughout all of Faerûn. These practitioners of the Art were experts at manipulating and altering their spells, often in strange ways. Many cities across Faerûn had a single archmage who dedicated themselves to serve that settlement and its people. Some notable cities included Lyrabar in Impiltur, and the great western metropolis of Waterdeep. The term "archmage" was often used to refer to spellcasters who took on leadership roles among similarly-inclined practitioners of The Art. In the drow city of Menzoberranzan, the head of the arcane academy known as Sorcere was granted the title, Archmage of Menzoberranzan.

So, to summarize, archmages are super powerful, big cities often have a singular, dedicated archmage, and they take on leadership roles in the city, sometimes (or at least once) being deemed THE archmage of the city.

I've already seen posts about the insane amount of power held by archmages, so I'm not really going to go into that. I'm just interested in how well-known Gale would be in the Realms. One issue I'm running into while researching is that many people seem to approach the archmage in terms of DnD stats (spell levels, player levels, etc) rather than from a storytelling perspective.

I can't find much else specifically on how widely known archmages would be. There is a list of archmages on the Forgotten Realms wiki, but Gale isn't included on it. I'm assuming maybe BG3 lore is considered an off-shoot of FR lore and therefore not necessarily canon? Let me know if I'm wrong about this.

So that leaves me with message board responses. Here are some notable ones:

An old candlekeep.com forum on the differences between the titles used by magic users. Several users seem to agree with this person.

From the same thread as above.

Interestingly, DnD beyond has archmage categorized as a monster. I'm not sure if this applies only to evil-aligned mages or not, so anyone with more familiarity, feel free to chime in. Anyway, here's what DnD beyond says:

"Archmages are powerful (and usually quite old) spellcasters dedicated to the study of the arcane arts. Benevolent ones counsel kings and queens, while evil ones rule as tyrants and pursue lichdom. Those who are neither good nor evil sequester themselves in remote towers to practice their magic without interruption. An archmage typically has one or more apprentice mages, and an archmage's abode has numerous magical wards and guardians to discourage interlopers."

Gale does mention having students/apprentices at some point (he says something about being impatient with them if I remember correctly, but I can't remember when he actually says it), and, if he's Professor Gale in the epilogue, you're told that an apprentice delivered the invite to the party.

I also find it interesting that archmages typically have wards around their home to keep out intruders, implying that they're well-known enough to have people regularly trying to break into their home?? Or at least has happened enough times to warrant protection.

I also appreciate this reddit comment on a thread asking about the rarity of archmages:

This lead me to a super interesting reddit post which I really suggest you check out if you're interested. The OP breaks down the percentages of each class and level and translates that to city populations. I'm bad at math so that may be a horrible explanation. Anyway, here's a chart that they made:

I have been trying my hardest to put the alt text on the images for accessibility but I have no idea how that would work with this chart. I did include the text at the bottom for screen readers just in case. I'm sorry!

Sooooo someone in the comments asked specifically about Waterdeep and here's what someone who is good at math figured out! (They are correcting a previous comment with incorrect math, hence the first part of the comment):

Since a wizard is considered an archmage at level 18, it's safe to say that Gale would definitely be one of only a few wizards in Waterdeep with such a title. And if the above commenter's assumption about the Blackstaff being one of the only archmages in the city, Gale being of a similar level is HUGE, right? The Blackstaff is a big deal. From the Forgotten Realms wiki:

Blackstaff was the title and name given to the master of the eponymous staff and Blackstaff Tower, including Blackstaff Academy, as well as the Archmage of Waterdeep.

So if the Blackstaff is THE Archmage of Waterdeep, Gale, obviously, is not. But!!! If we can trust the math of the reddit users above, and we assume Gale was at least a level 19 wizard pre-orb/tadpole/whatever ... he would be one of two archmages in Waterdeep, second only to the Blackstaff themself.

I personally think that's enough renown to be a somewhat familiar name throughout Faerûn. So yes, Gale is a bit arrogant and, in his own words, pompous about being Gale of Waterdeep™ but perhaps it's warranted.

This has been a deep dive fueled by procrastination about writing the research papers I should actually be writing right now. Thank you for your time

[mitsuko-saito]

Tutorial: How do I design my MK Characters?

(big tutorial btw, but it's worth it)

Have you ever tried to make an OC to fit in Mortal Kombat universe, but you couldn't find any ideas for what your OC needs to wear and they end up with the most generic outfit? I've had lol.

So, I decided to "study" the Mortal Kombat games, by its lore, characters designs and some real life references they get to create their own characters.

And oh boy, the creators had LOADS of inspirations!

As the slide below shows, Raiden's hat design was inspired by a movie "Big trouble in little China".

Even tho Raiden's hat is similar to the movie's hat, the creators made their own version and adapted to create Raiden's character design.

Same thing for Liu Kang. In the first games, it was quite clear that his design and moves were inspired by Bruce Lee. But as the game's evolution with other Mortal Kombats, Liu Kang's design started to become more original. In MK11, his design got a good upgrade!

As the slide above shows, when creating your character, consider blending various elements that resonate with you-such as color palettes, clothing styles, or personality traits-from multiple sources.

But what does it mean?

It means when you’re designing a character — whether for a story, a game, or a piece of art — you can get ideas from things you already like, like your favorite books, movies, games, or comic books.

Instead of copying directly, you take elements you find cool (like a color scheme, a style of clothing, a bit of their backstory, or a particular trait) and mix them together in your own way.

Then you add your own twist — something unique or different — to make sure your character feels original and not just a replica of someone else’s.

In the end, it’s about using what inspires you as a starting point and turning it into something that’s entirely yours.

So remember:

Inspirations ≠ Copying

Now let's talk about the most notable elements in every Mortal Kombat character!

Distinct Color Palettes:

Every character typically has their own color scheme that makes them immediately recognizable — like Scorpion’s yellow, Sub-Zero’s blue, Kitana’s blue, Mileena’s pink, or Raiden’s white and blue. This color-coding started in the earliest games to help players tell ninja-like characters apart, and it’s remained a tradition in their designs.

Cultural Influences:

The designers draw a lot from martial arts, East Asian culture, and cinema. Ninja masks, samurai armor, Shaolin monk outfits, and mythical creatures all appear in character designs, reflecting a rich blend of traditions.

Unique Silhouettes:

Every character has a silhouette that makes them instantly recognizable, thanks to their headgear, shoulder armor, masks, or physical traits. For example: Goro’s four arms or Baraka’s bladed arms set them apart immediately.

Over-the-Top Styles:

The Mortal Kombat universe is fantastical and dramatic — character outfits often combine practicality with fantasy elements.

Designs frequently feature exaggerated shoulder pads, elaborate masks, dramatic belts, and other details that underscore their power or role in the story.

Thematic Consistency:

The designs reflect their backstory, powers, and personalities. For example, icy motifs for Sub-Zero, a thunder deity's attire for Raiden, a warlord's armor for Shao Kahn, or the grotesque, monster-like traits of Baraka.

Evolution Over Time:

As technology improved and games transitioned from 2D sprites to 3D models, character designs became more sophisticated and realistic — adding texture, finer details, and more cinematic movement — while staying true to their roots.

OKAY! Now let's put this on practice. I'm going to show you how I did Mitsuko's design (on the first photo). You can do your own character in a different way and that's okay :)

My first step is gathering references. I usually do this on Pinterest, but I do a deep search too! When I create a character from another country, I always do a research about the culture, lifestyle, etc.

To organize the references, I create a foulder called: MK OC inspirations. And I LOVE to organize my character's info by writing on topics. Here are the list of apps that I used:

1st step: Gather references - you can use Pinterest and PureRef for it!

2nd step: Make a 3d pose - Daz 3D is your best friend in this step

3rd step: Photobashing - Photopea is very useful and very easy to use

(save the file after you finish this step. Save the file on PSD format.)

WARNING: You need to be very careful when you're about to use this method cause every image you might take has their copyright. So search the images carefully.

Here is a Youtube tutorial, with a lot of details of how to use the Photobashing technique:

Credits to: Imad Awan for the amazing tutorial

4th step: Create details based on your references + Draw your character - Paint Tool Sai

(You can paint/draw. You are free to do whatever you want)

And there you have it! This is how I created this design for Mitsuko (it's an alternative design of her canonic outfit)

I hope you liked my tutorial, and share this to some friends who also wants to create a Mortal Kombat OC. It'd would be very nice!

Please, don't let this post flop! It took me so much to finish! Anyways, I hope you'll have a wonderful day. Bye bye :3

[postcardsfromheapside]

This is a great post which shows how fans can complain about a "new" thing in Veilguard which actually had precedent in prior games. Which is correct, and good, and there have been many excellent and informed posts in this vein, because so many of you have been making complaints like this because it's either been too long since you played the prior games, or you didn't pay attention, and instead of just *asking*, you got up in your feels about how VG is terrible and now other posters are having to do the heavy lore lifting for you.

I'm begging you.

Stop being "originalists." Things don't have to have appeared in prior games or books in order to be valid in sequels.

Sometimes "universes" introduce new things you never saw in prior iterations of the 'verse. Star Wars is an excellent example of this.

I know Dragon Age has a "big guiding binder" that it works off of, but it is literally okay if another game comes out, and you are suddenly introduced to new details that you never heard before.

Do they seem to work logically/consistently within the DA universe? (don't make bad faith arguments about it) Are there precedents for oddities? Are the new details from a society you haven't encountered before (or only briefly), so you just need to absorb it into your lore encyclopedia? If someone made declarative statements AGAINST the oddities, does that someone have a limited, or unreliable perspective?

Most importantly, remember that worlds can change. Societies and cultures shouldn't be static. Even Tolkien worked linguistic and cultural drift into his writing.

It's really disheartening to me that someone can look at Bellara using a bow, and complain about it instead of saying "wow, that's really neat!!" and imagine how and why that fits into Dalish cultures, especially northern Dalish culture (remember, we're 10 years on and in the north of Thedas, not the south, and clan culture can differ even if they inhabit a similar area of Thedas)

For all this site will say "HEADCANON ACCEPTED" about some of the most inane and ridiculous ideas I've ever seen proposed, a lot of y'all are ruthlessly stubborn about considering what's put forth by professional media creators.

[superscrub323]

Top 10 5 Ares in Fiction

Alright as everyone who's blinked in the general direction of my profile for the past 2-3 months can gather that I'm a huge fan of Ares the God of War (even though I've been a fan for roughly that long). And then I'd figured that since Ares is such an amazing character surely they're mountains of portrayals that don't need to rely on Mars to make him the complex War God we know...right?

...

Yeah it turns out it was a lot harder than I thought and I only got 5 Ares that I consider compelling and faithful (if not in text then in spirit) renditions of Ares and number 5 was a stretch and number 1 will kind of be obvious if you've read this blog post (which will also be my guide for how I judge them)...alright let's see what we got.

5) Destripando La Historia: Yeah when I said I had to search for a number 5 I mean that this was a tie between Class of the Titans, the Ares from the God of War franchise, Hercules the Animated Series Ares, and Xenia Warrior Princess Ares. But while I haven't seen the latter two, the first one was a bit before my time, and the second one does do the whole 'Ares is the Lord of Evil shtick' we're all tired of but happens to do it the best.

Destripando La Historia (or Unraveling History to those who don't speak Spanish) has the number 5 Ares on this list by virtue of a channel thankfully translating his video into English Subs (but I do recommend watching the original anyway to support the original creators).

This Ares, in this awesome music video, gives us a brief history (a mildly jaundiced history but still very entertaining) about him and his various tales and he looks really cool when he's allowed to and...THEY actually make him the most handsome Greek God which is NICE! What isn't nice is how his failures mentioned in the Iliad of losing to Diomedes and the Aloadae get mentioned (the former without context) but those two things happened but fortunately it does bring up the Alcippe myth which is actually nice.

And he makes a few appearances in various other music videos (usually as comedic relief but while usually at his expense I can't say it didn't make me laugh). Like I said had to start somewhere and this somewhere has...the least 'Good' Ares (and I pray everyday that changes soon.)

4) Eros and Psyche by Allison Shaw (+18): Another surprise hit that I semi found accidentally but while this Ares doesn't play a major part (which is understandable as it's a retelling of the Eros and Psyche story), @allidrawscomics's Ares is a pretty good Ares all things considered (and as an added bonus tickles the part of my brain that itches for a version of the story where Ares is involved).

Her Ares, a musclebound semi bloodthirsty charming sexual freak, is in a happy committed relationship with Aphrodite who, in this version, is scheming to hook their son up with Psyche and proves to be supportive of her wife's desire to help their son find love and willing to help in ways that...are morbidly hilarious (in fact morbidly hilarious is a running theme in his few appearances.).

The comic itself is also great (if you're over 18) and worth checking out and is a nice reimagining of the Eros and Psyche myth that doesn't go 'Lore Olympus' (oh yeah...I went there!)

3) Evoe by @mcsiggy: Another Ares in another webcomic that's a charming sexual freak that loves to fight? I think I might be noticing a pattern...anyway Evoe's Ares by mcsiggy is, in their words not mine, a wartistic hothead eager for a fight who constantly battles with Athena over silly shit for no reason (and in a nice change of pace doesn't always lose) while in a cute, but very open, relationship with Aphrodite.

His sense of style is borderline immaculate, his general style brings a smile to my face, his character interactions with the other characters are charming, and he just works as his part in the webcomic. And, while we don't get much of him in the webcomic proper, he's also proves to be a loving father when he put his boot down on Aphrodite to save Eros and Psyche's relationship from Aphrodite (who is also a cutie who I also love and love seeing) being a giant thunder bitch.

Hope we get a storyline where he's a proper character but I'm subscribed to Evoe on Tapas (which is an awesome webcomic with equally charming characters and is making Dionysus a favorite God of mine) so I can wait until then.

2) Epic the Musical (with this animatic by @sixofclovers): Alright I've already went into why I like Ares in Epic the musical here and why this specific animatic does the Lovers section the best here here so I won't go too into it.

But I will say that while Ares didn't have a minute of sound time it did make me excited and hope Jorge does the Iliad...which in turn makes me remember that Epic's penultimate fight ended with Odysseus using a wind jetpack to torture Poseidon which in turn makes me imagine Diomedes reenacting the Redneck Scene from Deliverance with Ares and I shudder at the thought of having to deal with more people thinking Diomedes is ancient Greece Kratos and Ares is a bitch...

No! No gotta have hope in Jorge and Earle to do Ares right once again! (and even if they don't rage and spite on people is a precious commodity I can't afford to waste)

1)Iliad by Ho...I'm sorry I couldn't finish that with a straight face (plus the previous entry gave it away)

1)Hades by SuperGiant Games: You saw it coming from a mile away yet here we are! Ares from Supergiant Games is the best depiction of Ares so far! First off he looks gorgeous in a game where everything has to be gorgeous, handsome, cute, or cool and exceeds at looking better than Apollo (my inbox is ready for any and all Apollo fans) and roughly as good as Hermes. The white and gold vulture armor makes his darkened skin and white warpaint pop in the best of ways. His devilish smile never fails to disarm when he starts talking about bloodshed in ways that disturb but never cease to amuse. Best of all...once you get past his bloodshed...he's actually charming and perceptive in ways even Athena misses.

It turns out he was able to figure out Zag's and Mel's domains super easily and he does it so casually. Also while he is charming, you can see how he can be unnerving and disliked by other Gods even though he's not very spiteful or vindictive as they are (and trust me beyond the smiles the Gods are vindictive and spiteful).

But while he might seem to enjoy war for wars sake, he truly does have the interest of the children of Hades and their welfare in mind even if he enjoys war a wee bit too much...actually he's the God of War so it's appropriate!

Anyway that's the list! Hopefully we get better and better depictions of Ares but in the meantime check all of them out. Plus I hope you all recommend better candidates for Ares in the comments and reblogs.