#the world building is neat and the characters are fun

[otterbiscuits]

Vampyr is very underrated. What a gem. I'll never get tired of it. This is a super old drawing but I still like it.

[nok-joke]

I like the headcanon of forehead touches being important in zaun culture, more so than they usually would be.

Forehead to forehead may as well be saying I love you, it's usually kept for family or life partners (platonic or romantic)

Forehead to cheek is kinda like a cat nuzzling you, it's still used when people are rather close, but it's lighter. A quick bonk

Forehead to shoulder/back/neck can be a thing of comfort or sometimes just a quick "I'm glad you're here" and is more common among close friends than others

Forehead to hand (usually palm, but hand in general) is an "I trust you to take care of me" or "I want comfort" type thing.

[strawberrymochin]

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠!

𝐲𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢 𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐨 𝐱 𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫!𝐟𝐞𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | ch 1 | ch 2 |

synopsis- Yoichi nagumo has always regarded the decision of sakamoto retiring from being an assassin— very blithe, he considered it was very indiscreet of him to leave all of a sudden for someone he claims he loved. After rion akao’s death and sakamoto’s retirement it was only him left in the JAA. Love? it’s humorous how he'd never understand sakamoto…..or this feeling of care and vulnerability. That's what he thought, until he met you.

series warnings- MDNI, extremely FLUFFY, nagumo gets HEADS over HEELS for reader, NAGUMO is so down in LOVE (wanna cry), baker!reader, ANGSTYYY, comfort, omg sakamoto and shin enjoy teasing nagumo, heisuke as our wingman, explicit SMUT, sloppy kisses, counter sex, unprotected p in v sex, nagumo's DICE, fingering, cunnilingus, wreaking orgasms, semi public(kinda), nagumo CRIES overwhelmed, reader ISN'T AWARE of nagumo’s profession, lots of lies, mentions of assassination exhibition arc, blood, nagumo is ready to tear the world apart for you, order members, omg so much more…. HAPPY ENDING.

w.c- ch 1- 2.7k | ch 2- ytc

trisha's mail- i am insufferable for characters who wear a baby face and kill mercilessly, thus I had to present my new man, my yoichi a fic, since tumblr doesn't has many, am I the only one who's hooked into sakadays?

🍡Ch 1🍡

Yoichi nagumo stood infront of the sakamoto stores, his back heavy with the compact case of his red tainted weapons. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his brown overcoat, surprisingly warm in contrast to his cold hands he scrubbed clean, washing away the splattered blood from his previous assassination.

His face held a smile. A smile so neat and so polite that it could only be defined as a boastful grin of a liar.

Shall he disguise himself? Maybe play a prank or two…he will be seeing one of his friends started out with, after so long— taro sakamoto.

Nagumo darted his eyes, taking full account of the store, which was small and surprisingly neat. It was a two storeyed building, nagumo criticized the open signboard hung in front of the glass entrance. He, then, scanned inside of the store, smile widening a bit when he found no human presence lingering around. How about he disguises as sakamoto himself, plus it'd be fun to see how his old friend reacts after his retirement.

Entering the store, disguised as sakamoto, he went behind the counter and took a seat he supposed sakamoto might take. Spread out on the counter was newspaper folded messily, a cranky cash register, and some small spreads of candy, snacks and other daily convenience necessities. He picked up on the newspaper pretending to read it as he picked up on the dull sound of approaching footsteps.

A guy with blonde hair, middle partition and some shaggy clothes entered, with a green apron and his name batch pinned over it. Shin was printed on it.

Nagumo noticed. ‘Shin asakura’ and he recognised. The esper guy Sakamoto worked with after leaving the order. He had also heard that Shin had too left being an assassin and joined being an assistant in this store. He searched for a red haired chinese girl, who is also said to have started here a few days ago.

Nagumo waited patiently, subsiding his giggles inside he darted his eyes again on the door seeing a girl enter lazily. Ahh lu shaotang— the other assistant, whose main job is to make pork buns.

He sat quietly pretending to read the newspaper.

It wasn't long until both of them started arguing, making Nagumo's dopamine rush through his veins. With a bang on the counter table, shin whined “sakamoto san, we have to fire this girl!” pointing an accusatory finger on his back over the girl with pink jacket, who didn't cared even a bit.

Nagumo contemplated a little what shall he say? Maybe behave a little out of it, it'd be fun to see both of their stupefied reactions.

“Now, now shin!” He said, “We don't say mean things like that here.” taking both of them by surprise, who aren't able to comprehend how come their boss all of a sudden became so chatty, and started questioning his sudden behaviour.

Its fun, nagumo thought. Why not enjoy it with more spice. “How rude.” He replied to their thread of questions. “I will kill you.”

And this was enough to gawk both of the assistants, enough to let their jaw wide open touching the floor, but before nagumo to have anymore of fun the door opened again and his friend entered, unphased by seeing his doppelganger infront of him.

Nagumo knew sakamoto realised it was him, but I'd be more fun to attack with a knife to shake up both of the assistants even more. But most of all he wanted to see, if sakamoto’s senses dulled over the span of 5 years.

Instantly he pulled out a knife and stuck it in the newspaper sakamoto picked up, which was disregarded by him a few minutes ago. Tearing the newspaper from the middle he saw sakamoto dodge the attack, before getting hold of a cutter, threatening his neck.

He was no less of a deal too, in a blink his gun stayed plastered to sakamoto's head, before sakamoto pulls back the cutter and draws the blade back in. “Long time no see, nagumo.” His glasses gleamed, as his face fat made his voice sound a little thicker than nagumo had heard years ago.

“I see you can still move, Sakamoto!” He said chirpy, before dismissing the disguise, shocking shin and lu. And it wasn't long for them to throw hands at him. Nagumo was right, sakamoto's senses haven't dulled but it has rusted a bit. He wondered how fast he would have thrown his body to the ground, back slammed on the floor and instead of a paper cutter, sakamoto's hand would have adorned his signature gun he never swapped out after graduating from JCC, if he had not retired already.

Who knew the legendary Hitman would chicken out of the game one day in the name of…..love?

And get this bulky. For once nagumo thought to slap his huge round belly to see if the fat ripples through.

After another thread of lies, he was bound on a chair by sakamoto's two assistants, it's not like he can't break apart the rope but he just didn't. “there’s a bounty on sakamoto's head. The reward is one billion yen.”

He explained, as his assistants refused to believe him, but their doubts were soon dispelled as soon as they took down the pizza assassin.

Nagumo only wanted to inform his friend about the bounty on his head. That's why he visited. Or that's what he was trying to tell himself. He didn't quite understand why he visited after so many years….after rion akao died, it was both of them. Nagumo thought since sakamoto is still there it'd be okay. But it wasn't long until he retired saying he fell in love. Sakamoto quitted the order, and eventually wiped his hands of assassination. Without even saying a goodbye. He married and had a child. And nagumo was left all alone. Though he never stopped smiling.

And after 5 years when he learned about the bounty on his friend’s head, he couldn't help but feel a bit odd. What an odd world of liars he lives in?

Akao said she would graduate with both of them. Yet, she didn't.

Sakamoto said he would be there till the end, yet he didn't.

“Why did both of you left me alone?” He wanted an answer, but he never asked. Knowing one isn't alive to answer and the other would just dismiss his question.

He disposed the body of the pizza assassin near the garbage disposal area. He smiled another gleeful smile, before taking out his fist from his coat pockets and rolled the small white dice on the road.

The dive stopped rolling. One dot. Nagumo chuckled. “I wouldn't consider it unlucky…” he said, before dismantling his compact of weapons as a curved blade of an arms length slipped right through his fingers, which ended up landing into the pizza assassin’s fourth and fifth rib.

A shriek of unpleasant screaming rose through the air, and intensified even more as nagumo twisted the blade with his index and thumb. Filthy red splattered over his silhouette, as if the strokes of a frizzy brush from someone who attempted to paint the crimson flowers of death. How sad he will have to pay for his laundry again.

After changing his clothes, which he always keeps a set of two at hand, he set out his foot towards home. He'd a call from the JAA headquarters, Tokyo to attend the next day. Ofcourse he wouldn't want to get any less of sleep.

He knew sakamoto won't kill anyone, and even though he wouldn't show it on his face, the reason sakamoto stopped killing cringes him. If anything love only brings in vulnerability, and loss of power.

And if anything he'd learned all these years being in assassination field, he knew that power is easy to gain than to hold on. He'd seen his friends gaining the very top before falling down from the peak. Except for sakamoto who chose to step down.

Nagumo’s smile lines faded a bit, expression grave, will he too oneday lose all of it? Nothing is certain in life, it flows and changes its direction like a river, ticks away with time and evolves into new colours with each season. However, ever since he joined the order his season of life has always been the same: the fall.

All the dried crinkly leaves fell off years ago, yet no tree has ever sprouted a lively green. The winter keeps snowing, covering the mud with its dusty white, but the spring never comes.

Nagumo kept walking without noticing where his feets were leading him, his head faced down and hands in his coat, eyes simply gazed over the red old tiles, the footpath, and the small black lines dividing each section. At moments of his trance, he felt someone bumping into him.

He would have normally walked away, without bothering to peer at the person, but for some reason he felt a tug on his right sleeve. The person was refusing to let go. A muscle ticked in his arm, ready on first instinct to throw a punch over the face, “excuse me?”

A girl's voice?

Nagumo's body soothed as he turned to take proper account of you. Your one hand was clasping over his coat’s fabric, whereas the other was fumbling the inside of her tote bag.

You take out a hello kitty bandaid and shove it towards him. Confused, Nagumo tilts his head, face has regained its merry rictus.

“Yes?”

“Your hand is bleeding…”

Nagumo's eyes widen a bit as he speculates his hand and then looks at the bright red stain on his coat. Another laundry. He looked at the cut between his fingers, which must have sliced through when he was pulling out the blades. “Is it?” He faked his astonishment.

“That seems to be deep…you should disinfect it right away. How did you get hurt?” You bat your innocent eyes at him, before taking a look at the compact case hanging on his back with the help of a strap looped over his body. Nagumo felt his mouth dry. Well umm how does he even phrase it properly…

“A technician? You carry tools in that?” Nagumo stared at you blankly, as his brain stopped processing his thoughts, “yes” a lie slipped off pretty easily from his mouth. It's easy and convenient to lie.

You bring Nagumo's hand gently, while applying the bandaid, looped perfectly over his cuts, when he doesn't make the move to accept the help. “You should take care of yourself.” You say frowning your brows a bit at him.

“Yeah I will. Thanks.”

You smile at him before turning and taking your leave. Whereas nagumo stayed glued to the spot, watching you disappear among crowds. He peered down his hand, the hello kitty doodles stared back at him. What just happened?

Ever since that incident nagumo has lost half a quarter of his sleep, astir for no reason. Could it be the pressure of the work and the mysterious massacre caused by slur— or could it be him drifting into a relentless void staring at the hello kitty band aid given by you which he, for some ridiculous reason, framed it.

Or it could be for the number of times he visited the same alley hoping to catch sight of your fuzzy white scarf and maybe a hello kitty bandaid to offer…

Why was he even doing that?

Has he gone crazy?

Well, probably he has.

Whatever he was, Nagumo had less time to criticize himself for his sleep schedule or find the reason of trigger to his insomnia. He was on a mission to execute— find the B-grade assassin, who is suspected to have hands knotted with slur— Edo Nakamura.

And surprisingly enough his last sightings were spotted in the same alley nagumo was granted to lay his eyes on your soft frame.

After collecting several pieces of information about Edo’s past from the mission handler, nagumo noted 3 facts about him.

Edo had a history with an illegal orphanage which was later burned down for certain unknown reasons.

His speciality was poisons. He was among the very few male students from the poison department of jcc. After graduation he joined the Tokyo quarters before vanishing into thin air right when the massacre started.

And lastly, he was said to have a sister.

And that specific sister runs her own bakery, which is also somewhere situated amidst the nooks and hooks of this alley.

Edo is suspected of treachery and might have caused the opening to the breaking of the Tokyo headquarters. And from what the papers suggests, it took less than a millisecond for nagumo to come to the conclusion that Edo might have visited his sister before his traces faded.

And that sister might lead to the advantage of revealing the pathway to slur’s so-called puppet ‘Edo’.

‘Little a lot’— was the name of the bakery….and it wasn't a hassle when just a few turns led to the vibrant blue of old summer sky drew him in.

Nagumo thought to himself, what'd this serene peace of blue would look like if he rather tainted it with splatters of chaotic blood.

What if the slow tendrils of this freshly baked bread had a hint of metallic, iron like pungency? His lips creaked as corners turn upwards in a gleaming smile. Shall he force edo’s sister to lure him in here and satisfy the itch of his palm?

‘Clang-dong'

A step echoed as he entered the bakery. It was quiet inside and the owner wasn't seen to be near.

Nagumo swallowed his chuckle. It'd be so fun to break this silent melody with wretched screams. Shall he hide? Oh it'd be very fine to kill them both wouldn't it? the brother and the sister, both? After all, they might feel lonely if one crossed the line of death but the other didn't. Wouldn't they?

‘Clang-dong’

“Oh, a customer! I'm sorry I wasn't around, what would you need si— hey aren't you the guy from the other day?”

“...huh?”

“Is your wound healed now?... don't you remember me? I'm the one who offered you a bandaid that day when—”

Nagumo interrupts, “are you the owner of this bakery?”

“Um yeah?...” You tilt your head in confusion at the black haired guy you met a few days ago. “Do you need something from here?”

“Uh…yeah anything baked you feel’d be the best.” Nagumo answers after a while. What was it supposed to mean? You were Edo’s…sister? The broad plan of executing double murders was long forgotten from his mind, replaced by a dull throb in his chest and ragged breaths.

You nodded your head slipping behind the counter and packing some of the freshly baked blueberry muffins from the oven into the takeout box. Your delicate fingers brushed back your strands of hair, before drawing out a paper bag to proceed with his order.

“That'd be 3,500 yen. I…uh.. packed you blueberry muffins.” You stated, a bit nervously as the huge man kept staring at you with blank eyes.

“...yeah. thanks.” Nagumo handed down the cash to the coin tray on the counter with one hand while the other took his unplanned pakage after shoving his wallet back to his pocket.

Your fingers brushed with his ever so slightly and the dull throb on his chest intensified. He felt delirious, dizzy and unorganised. What was wrong, wasn't he supposed to stop with his bullshit and rather execute his mission?

He didn't stop walking until he was out of the bakery. Or till the some sort of intensified throb on his chest calmed. Only then did he walk back in.

He'd straight go to work. Get the details about edo and—

“You forgot something, Sir?”

Silence.

“Uh…your name?” what the heck? Wasn't he about to ask about edo?

“Y/n. And yours?” You said, shades of faint red painting your cheeks. Your name was so beautiful, he thought.

“yoichi. Nagumo yoichi.”

Back on his way home, he repeated your name several times in several different tones and felt an unusual rush of fervor delight rushing through his veins, similar yet even more intense than when he kills on his missions.

Mission?

Wait? He didn't inquire anything about edo!!!

“What the heck is wrong with me?”

🍡If you want to be tagged, comment!

[thydungeongal]

Hi, this might be a weird question, but if someone wants to get a proper groundwork of ttrpgs, really understand the medium and what it does, what games do you think they should play? Like which systems would be much checkouts to really GET what kinds of things happen in the space and what kind of games are out there?

I don't think there can be such a thing as a definitive list simply because the medium is so varied, but what I can give is a list of games that have had a massive effect on how I personally look at games. Mind you, I don't think you strictly need to play all of these games, although why not they're hella fun, because even reading them can mindblast you open:

Dungeons & Dragons, multiple editions. Ironically, even though D&D was one of my first games and it for a long time served as a template for what I expected games to be more or less like, coming back to it and exploring the history of the game after delving into a bunch of indie games that were doing completely different things was eye-opening. D&D is not only good to be aware of and keep track of because, for better and for worse, it ends up defining entire design movements (D&D 3e still has an effect on modern trad RPG design), but also because the game itself is a microcosm of how the changing design of a game can end up shaping play culture and the discourse around the game.

RuneQuest and other BRP games: RuneQuest was the first d100-based system but also very much a game clearly in conversation with early D&D, and it's neat to be able to look at two games from that same general period and see how games were already changing at that early a stage. Other BRP games like Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, and Pendragon are very useful to look at in the historical context of being some of the very earliest examples of very traditional RPGs incorporating mechanics that tied into character psychology and personality in a way that almost bordered on genre emulation (Sanity, the alignment tracks, personality traits and passions).

Vampire: the Masquerade and other World of Darkness games: these games were revolutionary at the time they came out because while they were still very traditional in structure at least on a discursive level they presented a clear unambiguous break from the hobby's wargaming roots and towards roleplaying games as a form of collaborative storytelling. They also represent a shift in terms of who the game was marketed towards, with these games' success being in no small part due to the fact that they actively catered to women and queer folks at a time when that was still out of the ordinary.

The Shadow of Yesterday and a bunch of other stuff that came out of the Forge: the Forge was a website dedicated to talking about tabletop RPG design and it was basically a gathering ground for people who were really into the promise of RPGs as collaborative storytelling but had grown to see, through play, that Vampire: the Masquerade the System had a completely different idea of what kind of story it wanted to tell than the text implied. TSoY is just one of my favorite games that came out of that design movement and it is a game that really tells you what it's all about, and it is fun to trace its effects on modern game design (it has had a measurable effect on Apocalypse World and Blades in the Dark and thus a significant effect downstream from those two).

Apocalypse World and Monsterhearts. This is my duo of the best PbtA games out there: Apocalypse World for being the first and still almost unparalleled in how it just completely ignored expected ideas of what the act of play should look like and also accidentally became one of the most copied games in the world. Monsterhearts is a fantastic example of a game that builds on the strengths of Apocalypse World's framework while doing a completely different genre and also a great example of a textually queer game.

Dream Askew and Wanderhome. Dream Askew was the first Belonging without Belonging game, a framework of games that very much developed out of a diceless variant of the Powered by the Apocalypse, and the framework is very much defined by its tagline "no dice, no masters." The best I can describe them is as games where the traditional role of the GM is divided across the entire group and while there are game mechanics at play (usually taking the form of using tokens) those are also entirely in the hands of players and not arbitrated by dice rolls. These games thus act both as great examples of what GMless play can look like as well as what diceless play can look like.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy: with this one I have to admit to being personal friends with the people behind the game, but my friendship with these people actually blossomed out of a shared love for games and talking about them, and Eureka is not only in my opinion the best investigative RPG ever made, it is a fantastic piece of design that clearly tells you what it's about (I like games that are loud about what they expect you to do: the aforementioned TSoY and Apocalypse World are two others). What it also does very well is re-evaluate a lot of what has come before and synthesize them: yes, RPGs are shared stories, but they are also games. We want stories about heroes succeeding, but in games it is possible to fail; and while the game does build into itself a lot of systems to mitigate the chance of failure simply via playing the game (what a lot of games have tried to do inelegantly in the past with "Idea rolls" and other contrivances to force the characters on the path to success if they fail simply due to bad rolls) it also very openly says "hey, a story about the heroes failing is still a story. Not every story will have a happy ending." And I think that is great, because RPGs are games in addition to being little story factories, and some of the best story moments can come from those times when the game itself says "not today" to your perfectly planned narrative moment and instead tells a completely new exciting kind of story. Anyway, check out @anim-ttrpgs for where you can find and download Eureka, and follow along for more exciting stuff they've got cooking :)

This is not by any means an exhaustive list, but just an "off the top of my head" of some games that I think are neat and that have blasted my brain and altered the way I look at the medium. Anyway once you're done with those be sure to check out Rolemaster as well for the best comedy RPG ever made,

[beaulesbian]

One Piece Live action season 1 + hints or similarities to future One Piece moments (specifically after East Blue saga)

- part 2: episodes 3 - 5 [part 1 here]

Again putting this small explanation here: This post isn't meant to be a comparison between the live action and the animanga during Blue East arc, but more so seeing these added/modified scenes that differ from the manga at that current arc, and instead seeing how they fit into future arcs and scenes, have similar parallels or even just choices for characters, and overall bringing these small details of their personalities from later arcs into the show now. (I just think it's neat.)

Luffy + food = classic. Food being very important instant strength and healing factor for Luffy, so that he even puts it in his pockets for later. || opla ep 3 // anime ep. 258.

Luffy & Going Merry - in opla, when Luffy first sees Merry, he thinks she's talking to him - already maybe a small hint what's going to happen (many arcs) later on. Then in this scene with Kaya, Luffy mentions how a ship is another crewmember - another friend to him // in anime the connection between them is especially shown with Usopp and more focus on it begins around Skypiea arc, but I felt Merry coming to rescue the Strawhats at the end of Enies Lobby was even better parallel to show here. She is their crewmember and friend, and they can hear her, thanking her as she saves them. || opla ep 3 // anime ep. 310

Zoro being stuck in places (or going to wrong places) happens so much, and somehow it never gets old. || In opla it's basically the whole episode 4 // in anime during episodes 246-254

Luffy & poison... there's a lot of it for future Luffy :') It's interesting that OPLA decided to add that so soon, & it could be seen as the beginning of Luffy starting to build up all the poison resistance he will need later... || Opla ep 4 // anime ep. 436

Luffy & Usopp's 'arguing' over the captain title. In opla it was a small scene meant purely in the joking way, just like a small scene in the animanga in East Blue arc, but I still wanted to add this as some sort of possible foreshadowing about their dispute/argument during Water 7 saga.|| opla ep. 4 // manga ch. 331

Zoro being directionally challenged. (much like Luffy in part 1 of this post, they think a little differently about the world directions). Not much else to say about this, just that it's still pretty much always funny.|| Opla ep 5 // anime ep 652

Luffy signing his name on the check/ bill for food - in the manga they showed something similar with a IOU on the bill, a future pirate king treasure tab, as Luffy was running from his first shenanigans with Ace and Sabo, so it was fun to see OPLA adapt this as a sort of continuation of Luffy always doing this. Love it. || Opla ep 5 // manga ch. 585

Garp talking about not wanting to be a fleet admiral or rising ranks any higher than necessary because it would take away his choices/freedom. - (Always an interesting opinion to see/hear from someone who 'raised' Luffy). It's mostly in the animanga before Wano arc, but it discusses the Akainu vs Aokiji duel that took place after the Summit war arc. Sengoku describes the same ideals Garp had about (not) being promoted, which is another interesting thing that opla moved already into s1. || Opla ep 5 // manga ch. 957, anime 958

[penguwastaken]

The Danganronpa books are all really good and here's why you should read them.

Danganronpa Zero is a really good origin story that explores junko's character and the a lot of the shady stuff with Hope's Peak along with introducing a lot of things that would become staples of the series like Izuru Kamukura and the reserve course. It's also consistently referenced all throughout the series.

Danganronpa Zero revamped fan translation

Danganronpa Kirigiri is not only a great origin story for Kyoko, it also has plenty of great new characters, interesting mysteries, and amazing themes. The author would even go on to work on Danganronpa v3 and create all the crazy murder methods in that game. In my personal opinion this is probably the best written entry in the entire series.

Danganronpa Kirigiri fan translation

Danganronpa IF is not only a fun what if story but also a great character study of Mukuro who now finally understands her sister and recontextualizes a lot of things, it's also just really fun in general.

You can read Danganronpa IF after beating Danganronpa 2

Makoto Naegi Secret File is a short but entertaining story about the events that led Makoto to becoming a student at Hope's Peak. It adds some neat context and some interesting foreshadowing, plus it's just really weird lol.

Makoto Naegi Secret File fan translation

Not my favorite (least favorite actually) but Danganronpa Togami is an absolutely insane read with one of the most baffling plot twists in the series. Only the most curious of souls should read this.

Danganronpa Togami volume 1 fan translation Danganronpa Togami volume 2 extended summary Danganronpa Togami volume 3 extended summary Danganronpa Togami ongoing fan translation of all volumes

Ultra Despair Hagakure is just a generally really funny story about Yasuhiro in Towa City where he bumps into a lot of crazy people while trying to get money to pay his debts, it's silly and fun. Don't expect Shakespeare, it's just a fun time.

You can read Ultra Despair Hagakure after beating Danganronpa Another Episode

Danganronpa 1-2 Beautiful Days is a collection of non-canon stories similar to the anthology comics, overall it's just really neat but the story "Nanami the Adventurer" absolutely is a must read for perfectly explaining what makes Danganronpa 2's cast great.

Danganronpa 1-2 Beautiful Days fan translation

Not technically a novel but Danganronpa Gaiden is a fun thriller with cool characters and interesting world building, it has some issues but it's definitely worth checking out.

Danganronpa Gaiden Killer Killer scanslation

Also not technically a novel but Kirigiriso is a really weird but interesting crossover story with Danganronpa and Otogiriso about kyoko discovering a plant infested mansion. If you enjoyed Danganronpa Kirigiri or Kyoko as a character in general, you might get some enjoyment out of this

Kirigirisou fan translation

That's the end of the post, I hope I managed to convince you to check out at least one of these stories. All of them have been linked in this post so hopefully they should be very accessible.

[shadowgast-recs-weekly]

Hidden Gems 11: A Shadowgast Rec List

This week, we have one of our recurring themes: fics that have under 150 kudos! Check under the cut for nine fics that we think deserve a little more attention, and of course comment and kudos if you like them!

All Witches Burn by Vailee (6102, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: Choose Not to Warn, Major Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Panic Attack, Dissociation

Sometimes desperate people make the worst (or best) decisions. Like sneaking out in the middle of the night to wander the woods and finding Bad News.'

Reccer says: This is just such a fun AU! The set-up is very fun, I love the soft world-building (some questions left open but in the BEST sort of way - Also like how, as a Fantasy AU, it's similar-ish Canon but a step to the left~. . . VERY fun XD) - So glad I refound it recently, it's very fun /u\ (P.S, The author has alot of other really good/fun Shadowgast AUs, this one in particular is just my favorite ;3c XD)

And Not A Wild Shade by Pippin (7312, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: Choose Not to Warn

Essek goes looking for spell components on the border of Fae lands, didn't expect to encounter a mysterious Fae-touched man guarding them. . . - Shadowgast Tam Lin AU!

Reccer says: A really well done AU, just fun from start to finish and so so soft! /u\

Half-Sick of Shadows by Copperhawk (14512, General) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek departs from the Nein soon after the conclusion of the peace talks, saying he needs to tie up some loose ends - However he is a loose end all his own, and not the only one looking to weave this tapestry. . . (Lady of Shalott AU!)

Reccer says: A very fun fic!! Whether you know the poem or not, the fic is very well done and so fun to read - If you DO know it (or read it before reading the fic), it's fun to see the use of the framework of the poem within/meshed with the fic narrative XD The author plays with the ideas *very* well - Cannot overstress how fun and downright delightful I find this fic As a small note, while there's alot of platonic M9 & Essek and the ship-status is Pre-Relationship, there's also a nice amount of pining that's real neat XD Overall, just an amazing Fic

Act of Service by CitizenMocha (5488, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Caleb and Essek do some roleplaying and learn more about each other.

Reccer says: I like the portrayal of nonsexual intimacy and the way Essek is written as having a disability.

The Icarus to Your Certainty by ithilielthechosenone (14091, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

sometimes you consider breaking time and then you go and kiss about it: big wizard energy

Reccer says: Some excellent post T-Dock angst and feels!

I’ll Bow to the Altar of Your Curiousity by Serlenti (10266, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: Rape/Non-con, Dubcon/Consensual Non Consent

Bren Ermendrud awakes, naked, gagged and strapped to an operating table, after he barely survived an implosion leveling the whole of Rexxentrum. Ready to die because of the Residuum in his arms, Bren quickly realizes that the mysterious Shadowhand is searching for something different entirely.

Reccer says: I like the medical themes!

Held in Place: Practical Applications of Immovable Object by C. Widogast et al by Artificial Haunting (6320, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek teaches Caleb some new uses of the Immovable Object spell.

Reccer says: I liked it!

Heart of Joy by Vvenus (68 276 , Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

A WIP modern AU with magic featuring Caleb and Essek as dorm roomates.

Reccer says: A lot of open communication, Essek an overthinker who discovers infatuation with Caleb, it is very sweet, and also explores disabilities. It is a WIP but the author is updating 2 chapters a week !

Then we have two recs for this next fic!

Zweisamkeit by Ajaxis (29,086 (but still being updated), Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

I follows Caleb and Essek as they traverse the ruins of Aeor right after the events of C2.

Reccer 1 says: I’ve been wanting a ‘Caleb and Essek Aeor adventure’ fic for a while now and this absolutely ticks all my boxes. It’s dual pov (which I love) and you can feel the unspoken longing between them in the air. It’s also incredibly well written! Reccer 2 says: I love Caleb and Essek’s dynamic in this!! This fic is full of tense moments, humorous moments, and the typical Shadowgast pining that everyone loves. It expands on and fills in blanks for what Caleb and Essek did in Aeor and is basically canon in my eyes. I wait patiently for every update, and so far, no chapter has disappointed

This is one of our weekly communally-generated shadowgast rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. 

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, we'll be featuring time travel/time loops! Fun with dunamancy

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

[novella-november]

Here's some worldbuilding advice, mainly aimed at fantasy writers, but scifi also applies:

Do your characters (or a beloved companion animal/transportation creature) have wings and fly a lot?

Cool!

Are your winged characters who fly a lot ambush predators who rely on stealth to take down prey? Like owls?

No?

Then here's a fun world-building thing to think about:

How loud are their flapping wings, and how do your characters communicate with each other when they're flying if it is too loud to speak normally, (assuming your characters are not telepathic?)

Do your characters have a unique form of sign language they use while flying in line of sight of each other? How do they draw each others attention to sign to them?

Do they use a series of whistles and chirps made with the mouth to communicate?

Do they have bells, or drums, or some other percussion-based system of communication?

if you answered 'yes' to any of the above three options, you can break it down even more:

Is this flight-language something everyone is taught/knows, or do only specialized groups use it?

Are there different flight-languages or dialects between different communities/settlements? How about age groups?

Is it something that is used commonly during non-flight situations as a way to casually abbreviate speech? Or is that seen as taboo, rude, unlucky, 'low-brow', or sacrilegious?

In what situations could your characters use this form of communication to their advantage?

anyways here's a little BBC documentary clip demonstrating the sound + size difference in owl wings in flight vs other birds :D

It's a fun watch even if you're not writing about winged characters, just some fun, neat science!

[goneatlas]

while i'm here (feeling some type of way over TAD lyrics again) i might as well finally write down things i've thought of whenever i listen to Not Yet/Love Run (Reprise)

none of these are by all means very coherent but well here goes:

part 1 - looking at the lyrics itself (not for the whole song just the first couple of verses)

in the chorus of the Not Yet part of the song, when joey sings "sing me awake with a song about pirates", he's referring to verse 1 and verse 2 where madeleine was singing about pirates, whereas he was singing "it seems to me that you can't sleep"

verse 1 of the song: in its entirety it seems as though madeleine is singing about being pirates, pillaging lands and sailing the seas, but i think it could also be read as a bid for a lover's attention, the reason why she's waking him up in the dead of night probably. "by hook or by crooked look give me land" the crooked look play on words here makes me think that she's saying that even though he might disapprove of being woken up, she'll still make that bid for his time (give me land).

the line "one fist holds a lighter, the other your hand" is fascinating to me. mainly because it reminds me of this line from a fic that said "i stand at the precipice of peace, in one hand i hold a knife, the other, a gift." so it makes me wonder whether it was meant as something like that (connection in one hand vs antagonism in the other) OR if it might be just be threat (i have your hand. and also a lighter) but the image of threat is mostly because of the witcher (rience burning jaskier's hand) and because of the next line "the ohs of your screams still echo in your dreams". BUT it's also most likely that what that lines means is that madeleine's character woke joey's in the middle of the night, so the lighter provides them the light as she leads him by the hand to "go on adventures" (play as pirates)

when the song goes, once again, "it seems to me that you can't sleep" the song softens once more, and to me it really brings forth the image that joey's persona is still sleepy from being woken up, as opposed to madeleine's almost manic energy of someone who hasn't gone to sleep at all

verse 2 continues with the song about pirates. "grab the stroud and we'll roar come and get us" the stroud, if we're going by the pirate imagery, would be the sailcloth, but in reality, that stroud must be their blanket. she woke him up to make pillow forts, "but instead we'll build a den out of pillows"

"the wind picks up up up and i'll never let you down // it's time to fight don't be yellow-bellied // hold the bar at hurley's hurly-burly's, give em hell, give em hell" sounds to me as though these were "the things we'll do today" i.e. facing their fears and their pronlems but they don't end up doing that, they've just. made forts

part 2 - stuff i noticed in the song that's real neat to me

when madeleine sang "if my old mum could see me now oh how she'd howl she'd howl" she's howling in the background

during the Love Run part of the song, when the lyrics go "let the world come at you, love, like distant toms a-drumming" the drum beat starts and it's rhythmic right, but then when the lyrics go "let the world a-tumble love" the toms also go a-tumbling, because the toms represent the world. idk it's fun to me

yeah i did say none of these were going to be coherent it's 3am. anyways think about Not Yet being about them not facing their fears, holding each other's hands in the pillow fort (having fucknasty unemployed sex? 😭 what did joey mean by that 😭) and Love Run's about how the world is catching up to them

[alteregozowie]

Shoutouts!

So many had sent some for the meme, that I'm just going to do the whole list instead! Cut for length ⏬️

🌈 - aesthetically pleasing:

There are so many of you guys that put the time and effort into creating your blogs aesthetically that it would be a crime not to shout out every one of you! Between art graphics and carrds. You all are wonderfully talented.

@arachnaemboss and @mourningstarred are wonderful examples!

⭐️ - convincing portrayal of canon character:

I think a lot of us have taken canon and molded into our own a lot, but I think the Angel Dusts really nail those characters - @poisonedspider , @arachn0philia , @angie-long-legs . So good! I've seen some Velvettes and Valentinos too that have been a joy to watch and interact with.

💻 - Excellent writing:

My god. Where do I even begin? You guys have made me feel so many emotions when writing it's incredible. @dick-meister I've stated numerous times that he was someone I looked up to when I was getting started, he's just wonderful. @voicesunified has graced me with her presence, her writing is steller, and I'm so fortunate I get to write with her. @radioiaci puts up with my nonsense but he is such a good writer he's incredible. @the-devil-less-known I love their Lucifer so much. @indulgentnine and Velvette you are phenomenal! Oh my goodness, I can't stress enough how wonderful you all are.

🌼 - creative headcanons:

It really is hard to pick specifically from a lot of you, as they are all so very unique and different. And the amount of effort it takes to do something like world building is incredible. I really dig @avispatr 's lore with the Goeita and Paimon, @queen-of-prophecy and her lore with Vine, and of course @more-things-in-heaven-hell with Lucifer and the ruling of Hell. @primordialruin has such extensive Lilith lore it's so interesting to read.

🎙- great to talk to:

@danger-tits-lute and dick-meister are two of my favorite people in the world, I love you guys. @voodoodaaddy who matches my energy a lot, @angelichooves whom puts up with my goofy nonsense at Adaile and Husk, and @rradiio who also matches my unhinged energy and such the supporter. arachn0philia is always a gem, once again, voicesunified who is my biggest art supporter I love you lots hun. more-things-in-heaven-hell is everywhere I am, they're my friend-soulmate~ There are so many I talk to regularly in group chats or DMs, so just know that I appreciate and love anyone who lets me into their circle or friendship. 💕

📚 - nice threads to read:

danger-tits-lute and dick-meister hands down. Always so emotional in whatever AU they are rolling it. It's so neat and I love it. Any of radioiaci's threads. angelichooves, the-smallest-star always has me invested in any story she rolls with Gritt and the crew. I read so much of everything, I love it all.

🏅- well developed OCs:

🎀 - all around kind person:

indulgentnine and @hellsdisneyprincess are absolute gems. They are so lovely, and so freakin' nice. @infernal-matriarch is a sweetheart too and contrary to Valentino, @the-delightful-temptation really is too. @keenie-bopper has been my friend a long time too. @damnedrainbows has been good to me as well.

Some of you have taken your OCs and really pushed the envelope with them and it's absolutely astounding. @copaceticjillybean with Jillian, @the-smallest-star with Gritt and Clem, once again voicesunified with Michael, @cast-you-dxwn with his Michael, @alkasden with Alkas and her characters...like I love them. You all are just so very talented.

😍 - admiring from afar:

Any of avispatr characters, they are so incredible, I read all the threads and interactions with others. I tend to watch from afar a lot, as believe it or not I do get nervous, but I really love to read everything I can, it's fun.

🏆- 10/10 blog/would recommend:

📌 - a staple on the dash:

Probably everyone I've mentioned already and much more!

Everyone I've mentioned. All of them. If you aren't mentioned here in this thread, don't take it personally, because I love and appreciate you all the same. If I'm interacting or talking here, group chats, or dms, believe me, I love you guys very much. 💕💕

[blood-and-pizza]

Notable Details from the original "Into The Pit" story (PART 1)

Upon the mill's closure, Oswald's dad works part-time at the deli counter in a store called the Snack Space (a 7-11 equivalent, basically), which requires a red vest as their uniform. Oswald is embarrassed by the fact his dad is wearing the vest as he drops him off at school. Just a neat bit of world-building.

Oswald has a best friend named Ben who moved into the next town over.

Oswald's bullies, including Dylan Cooper, call him "Oswald the Ocelot" after a cartoon character they saw as pre-schoolers, a big pink ocelot named Oswald. Again, more world-building.

Oswald is described as having freckles and a cowlick in the original story.

Oswald has no modern electronics in his home, save for one laptop he shares with his family. His phone is an outdated model he's embarrassed by.

Oswald's teacher, Mrs. Meecham, puts on a movie for her class on the last day of school, which is described as "about a farm with talking animals", "too babyish for a roomful of fifth graders". I'm guessing they might have been watching the animated adaptation of Charlotte's Web... or it could be wishful thinking on my part, since I love that movie.

Oswald has been drawing mechanical animals ("bears, bunnies, and birds") for reasons even he doesn't know, other than lack of anything better to do when he's bored.

Oswald's mom works at the hospital from 12PM to 12AM... yikes.

Oswald's dad can't cook to save his life. If it can't be boiled in water or heated in a microwave, he has to buy his meals... how relatable.

Blue-box macaroni and cheese exists in FNAF, meaning Kraft and its products likely exist, too. Just thought that was funny for some reason.

Oswald's dad squirts ketchup into his mac and cheese. I just think knowing he's the kind of dad who does that is really funny... kinda reminds me of my stepdad's love of ketchup, to be honest.

Other pizzerias that once existed in Oswald's town were Gino's Pizza and Marco's Pizza, both of which closed not long after the mill closed. Both Gino's and Marco's are described as good restaurants, while the food at Jeff's Pizza is described as "decent".

Oswald is into B-grade Japanese horror films, including kaiju movies like Zendrelix vs. Mechazendrelix. Zendrelix is apparently FNAF's answer to Godzilla, making Mechazendrelix an equivalent to Mechagodzilla. They're described like this: "... Zendrelix just looked like a giant dragon thing, but Mechazendrelix reminded him [Oswald] of the mechanical animals he drew when he stripped them of their fur." Zendrelix is also described as being portrayed by "a guy in a rubber suit", solidifying the connection between him and Godzilla.

Oswald and his dad both really love bacon. I just thought that was cute.

When Oswald visits the library, a place he finds "actually kinda fun", he shows interest in a science fiction book from a series, as well as a manga he liked. Based, IMHO.

The library Oswald visits frequently allows homeless people to use their computers and other resources. WE NEED LIBRARIES AND THIS IS EXACTLY ONE REASON WHY!

Oswald's mom, being a nurse, is a bit of a germaphobe and won't let Oswald play in places she considers dirty. A ball pit would be considered one such place.

The pizza Jeff serves comes in huge slices too big for the paper plates they're served on, and very greasy. As someone who was born in NYC and used to eat greasy New York pizza... I think I would have liked eating at Jeff's. Maybe.

Oswald reads a library book while visiting Jeff's Pizza, about "a world where kids with secret powers went to a special school to learn how to fight evil". I wonder how many books that describes...

Oswald plays an online fantasy game at the library that's free to play, but Oswald gets to a point where he can't progress without money. I wonder what game it could have been...

Oswald's dad and mom used to date in high school, often frequenting a roller rink, and are great skaters as a result. Oswald himself can't skate and needs his parents to hold him up.

Oswald's dad only ever buys vanilla ice cream.

There's a video rental service Oswald's family uses called Red Box, but I don't know if it's meant to be the same as the actual existing Redbox. Maybe it is?

Oswald's mom is very good at playing Clue... oh, and Clue exists in the FNAF universe.

Oswald's dad prefers practical effects over CGI in movies. Oswald is the exact opposite.

Oswald's dad is a fan of country music. Oswald... is not.

[lorewovenrp]

Reliving Roleplay Fever with a Warrior Cat Adventure!

I started this Tumblr account because, like many of you, I’ve been feeling the weight of missing those amazing roleplay moments. You know the ones I mean—the times when everything just clicks, when the stories unfold in ways you never expected, and you’re fully immersed in a world you and others have built together. It’s always those special sessions, that one moment, or maybe a series of memories that you just can’t shake. You know what I’m talking about, right? I think we all have that one RP that we just can’t forget.

I want to get back into roleplay because it’s something I’ve always loved, and there’s just something about the creative energy and the stories we can tell with other people. I’m planning on still talking about roleplays and lore in general, because it’s so interesting seeing everyone’s perspectives and hearing other people's stories. But... I think I might start a roleplay again myself. If I do, it’ll probably be Warrior Cats-based, mostly because who doesn’t feel the nostalgia of being an angry little kitty again? It’s a world with so much to explore and create, and I just think it’d be a fun thing to dive back into.

That said, it’ll likely be a little while before it opens up because I want to get the website set up just right—proper coding, neat layout, all that. I also want to touch up my preexisting litter roll and make sure everything looks nice and polished before I officially launch.

So, if you're interested in joining or just want to hear more, please let me know in the poll! Even if there’s not a huge interest, I’ll definitely still go ahead with it because, honestly, world-building and character creation have always been my absolute favorite parts of roleplaying. No matter what, I think it’s something I’ll enjoy as a hobby.

I would share a pic of the litter generator but its kind of large and even zoomed out it doesn't all fit. I'll try to get a video of it at some point for those interested in that type of thing! Some cool features it currently has:

Genetic Inheritance: Picks traits from both parents or just one for variety!

Mutation Possibilities: Introduces mutation chances (e.g., 0.3-10%) for added surprises.

Fertility System: Adjusts the fertility rate based on genetics, affecting litter sizes and chances of success.

Chance Breakdown: Some traits have multiple chances within chances. For example, the eye roll might first give a chance for heterochromia, and then, if it rolls, it splits further—whether the left eye is mom’s, dad’s, or a random combination!

[xiaq]

Favorite fantasy series: The Folk of the Air. I do NOT understand the hate this series gets on booktok/IG. The world-building is immaculate, the politics are juicy, the writing is engaging, and the romance is a slow burn that’s secondary to the plot and character development. I will read anything that Holly Black writes.

Favorite sci/fi series: The Murderbot Diaries. These are quick, quippy, and satisfying reads. I would die for Murderbot.

Favorite romance series: Not sure if they count as a series since they’re all standalones in the same universe, but Ali Hazelwood’s books ft. Women in STEM having unrealistic romances gets an A+ from me. If you need easy beach reads with happy endings, go for one of these (Also, the first book started as Star Wars fic; neat!).

Favorite graphic novel series: I’ve been following the Heartstopper webcomic for years, but I finally purchased/ re-read the print books this year. If you want sweet, nostalgic writing with diverse queer representation and whimsical art, Heartstopper is for you. If you want a historical/educational story, I highly recommend the Marchseries, which is an autobiographical view of the civil rights movement by John Lewis. 

Favorite historical romance: I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but I put off reading A Lady for a Duke despite rave reviews because I simply did not vibe with the cover. This was a terrible choice. I read this book in one euphoric sitting and then re-read it two additional times this year. The banter! The pining! The drama! 

Favorite fantasy: A Taste of Gold and Iron and its follow-up short novella Tadek and the Princess. These books may have changed my brain chemistry. I loved this world and its characters and the novella made me cry like a baby.

Favorite science fiction: The Martian. I’d read this before but I re-read it on a work trip and fell in love all over again. Such an excellent science-y sci/fi book that nonetheless feels very approachable and fun.

Favorite non-fiction: They Were Her Property is the driest book I read this year but the content was fascinating (and horrifying). If you want to interrogate your perception of white women’s role in slavery (and, to a lesser degree, the role of Christianity therin) — take your time, and be ready to adjust your worldview—especially if you think Gone with the Wind was an accurate portrayal of the south. How to Survive a Plague, on the other hand, is less dry—you can tell a journalist wrote it—but it’s very detailed. It’s rare that I don’t finish a book in one or two sittings, but this took me over a month. If you’ve ever wondered about the social history of the AIDS epidemic and how a diagnosis went from a quick death sentence to an easily manageable condition (and how hard grassroots movements had to work to get some fucking help to make that happen), this is for you.

Favorite comic: Infidel. Damn. The art. The narrative. So short but so impactful. This is horror, so be mindful.

Favorite graphic novel: This is a tossup between If You’ll Have Me, a sugary-sweet sapphic romance, and The Prince and the Dressmaker which is an equally adorable story about expressing ones true self regardless of social expectations.

Favorite WTF: Butcher and Blackbird and Bride. I’m still not sure how I feel about B&B but it was certainly an interesting way to spend two hours. Bride is on the list purely because reading the word “knot” on a print page instead of an AO3 tab felt illegal.

Favorite feel-good/comedy: Monstrous Regiment. I’ve read this book so many times and, after the election, I read it again. I doubt any other book will surpass what has become an emotional support story for me.

Favorite YA: Cemetery Boys (Magic! Mystery! Queerness!) She Drives me Crazy(Athletics! Misunderstandings! Enemies to lovers! Queerness!), and A Little Bit Country (Country music! Thinly veiled Dolly Parton references! Queerness!) (Hm. Seems to be a theme here).

Favorite Sports Romance: Icebreaker (the Graziadei one, not the Hannah Grace one). You know how a lot of hockey books (my own included) can be light on the actual hockey? Not the case with Icebreaker. The character development was lovely, but the hockey was divine. Graziadei clearly knows and loves the sport.

Favorite historical fiction: What the Wind Knows (Mystery! Time Traveling! Love! Ireland!) and Kindred (Mystery! Time Traveling! Love! The Antebellum South!).

Favorite Space Odyssey: Gideon + Nona the Ninth. I had to make a special category because neither sci/fi nor fantasy feels appropriate for this yet incomplete series which is as rollicking good fun as it is completely confounding. I still have no idea what’s happening but I can’t wait to read the next one.

Favorite pleasant surprise: A Court of Mist and Fury. I waited so long to read the ACOTAR series because I got such conflicting reports from folks. I took the advice of a reader I trust and powered through the first book. ACOMAF was worth the contextualizing journey. I loved it. I’m still working through the rest of the series but this book was an unexpected joy.

Least favorite book: Lol, no. We don’t play that game here.

[autumnbrambleagain]

Favourite caves of qud mods? I wanna dive in and fully mod my game

I don't have the energy to turn these into hyperlinks so you have to do the work of typing these names into the workshop and finding them, I apologize that I am not apologizing.

Hearthpyre and the Clever Girl Fork are obvious necessities. Starapple Valley and Regrowing Plants and Qud Fishing is on that list too for being able to make your own imprint on the world. With how the uh, story's themes go, I am even more feeling validated in my decision to spend most of the game building bases and farming and stuff.

Dynamic Background Color because I don't even remember what the game looks like without it anymore. I think I use the More Dots mod too.

Allography lets you add descriptions to things, including yourself, which is great.

1 Percent Loot Drops adds a ton of neat, very balanced items.

Cleaning Robots lets you have robots that clean fluids and I honestly just wish one in on EVERY settlement so they don't become giant messes after one visit. Indispensable mod.

Choose Your Fighter is good if you aren't a lunatic like me who just makes your own phenotypes and sprites and pets and dialogue for every character you play.

Jademouth is what I would argue to be the best, most diegetically natural town mod in the game. It adds very little to the world outside of itself, and adds a very much needed mid-game town with a fun quest and good characters. None of the writing feels out of place, it doesn't add encounters all over the map, it keeps to its own lane and does an great job of it.

Cryptogeology is an incredibly good quest which helps guide you to each town in the game naturally, has a ton of flavor, and a really decent reward. It feels like a natural part of the game.

Tealeaves adds a much-needed merchant to the Six Day Stilt who is also very well written and lets you get a chance at Newly Sentient Beings rep.

Issachari Evolved adds much needed variety to that faction.

Nightmare Treats gives you a lot more ways to reroll mutations, AND ways to gain mental stats. Eat them. It's safe. Nothing bad will happen.

Wired Child is a fun mid-late stage quest in Ezra that gets you a VERY nice weapon if you can manage it.

Return of the Arcwyrk. You need more enemies in your life. zzzap.

Knife Fights at Eddy's is mandatory, I'm sorry I don't make the rules.

A Specter is Haunting Qud adds some VERY nasty enemies and you deserve to be killed by them. Things should be scarier. Get scared. Basically Templar Hologram Wraith Knights but they're Eater ghosts. Fucked up! I won't tell you how to beat them figure it out yourself.

Village Finder because I hate the "go to each parasang and press + and then -" when looking for villages. Am I that dumb my character can't notice villages when walking through them.

Folk Scrap and Mundanity. Mandatory. Very flavorful.

Baboons of Babel adds much needed variety to baboon faction.

Judicators of Qud add a fun neat challenging robot who is kind of like if a leering stalker and a feral lah had a baby that wasn't the sum of its parts but something all its own.

Disjecta Membra's lore feels a little out of sync with 1.0, and it makes the game a giant mess. So basically, enemies can be infected, and when they die things get Interesting. It can cause huge problems and it's a fucking mess. It can make Call to Arms an unworkable disaster and Templar historical sites become unmanageable. I love it. I cannot play without it. It makes the game so much more challenging and stressful, especially in the early/midgame. The writing is fucking incredible even if its flavor doesn't line up exactly right anymore. Do not do this on your first playthrough but after your first playthrough install this and suffer with me forever. This might be my favorite new-content mod tbh.

Your Own Personal Relics is a neat adjustment to the Item Naming system which honestly I just wish-name things when I mod them to max anyway but it's neat.

Feline's Furnishings are good tiles.

Fluid Storage is great and the Klein Bottles are fantastic and putting 500 drams in their weightless moebius will never go wrong for you ever.

I think that should do you with the unimax's share of the mods I use!

Sidenote, Eule does a lot of mods that are Very Cool but also last time I used them they had a problem of all of them would spawn things in the jungle, so with all of them active every jungle screen would have like, their populations taken over by all the Argent Somethingorother and the Unseen Adversaries and the Arboreta Guys. None of them work with 1.0 anyway I don't think, and the mods ARE very high quality! But their spawn rates were extremely overpowering to the point where the jungle was basically just entirely made of those 3 factions and it was a Bit Much.

I'm also about to try out the Labyrinthine Trail and Xeototin Mechanical Somethingorother for the first time but I haven't done them yet so i have no comment.

Also Facial Equipment Diversity is neat too.

[thydungeongal]

You've stated repeatedly that D&D 5e doesn't possess the mechanics to enable the heroic-fantasy adventure that a lot of DMs/Players seem to think it's meant for. What mechanics would a game designed to cater to that manner of play and storytelling have? Care to offer any recommendations?

In my opinion for a game to really support the genre of heroic fantasy it should have at least some of the following:

Some way of character motivations affecting gameplay in a robust manner. D&D 5e has inspiration which can be rewarded for acting according to a character's bonds, ideals, or flaws, but it is so poorly integrated into the system it might as well be "your DM grants inspiration when they feel like it."

Meaningful nonlethal consequences. D&D 5e gives characters limited means of handling situations nonlethally, including combat, but for the most part combat defaults to lethal and the game provides very little actual concrete guidance as to how characters losing an encounter should be handled. Death remains the most meaningful, clear consequence in D&D, which means there's a risk of losing narrative continuity in pretty much every encounter.

Doing heroics should be tied into the game's incentive structures and in-game reward mechanics. D&D 5e by the book mostly rewards overcoming obstacles (with defeating monsters as the most clearly mechanically defined example!) and before anyone says "milestones" shut up, that's just putting more work on the DM instead of the game defining its own reward mechanics.

There should, in general, be a framework for handling more types of activity than just combat, and combat shouldn't necessarily need to be handled as a blow-by-blow affair, but this is something I think there can be a lot of variation on.

Games that I think fit the bill to varying degrees:

RuneQuest/Mythras: Character ideals like Passions are very well integrated into gameplay. While combat is lethal the game does a lot of the work of telegraphing that to players and GMs and since the game assumes that most opponents will be intelligent creatures with thoughts and feelings there's no expectation of "the orcs will fight to the death" which is a sentence I hate in modern D&D adventure design. While I personally think Passions could be better integrated into the game's advancement system, the way the game handles advancement through actually doing things and membership in organizations (integrating characters into the setting) works very well!

Against the Darkmaster (VsD for short): While mostly a very trad game in the same general wheelhouse as D&D mechanically, its lethal combat system can actually disincentivize engaging in combat for fun (not exactly heroic imo) and it actually provides lots of mechanics for integrating character motivations and doing heroics into the system, including its advancement structures! Hell, it even provides methods for corrupting character ideals and it has a clear campaign structure of fighting against a BBEG!

Fellowship: A game that very much approaches the same genre of fighting against a BBEG as VsD but from an indie direction, once again rewards actual heroics and building connections with the world over just killing monsters, and I mean that this stuff is already implemented into the rules. Also provides a framework for handling social situations, including making friends!

QuestWorlds (formerly HeroQuest): Probably one of the first "narrativist" RPGs (I'm only using that as a shorthand: GNS sucks), QuestWorlds is a very much a trad type of RPG but that approaches the act of gameplay from a very different perspective. Basically, the game has narrative convention built right into its mechanics. It is a very neat game and I heartily recommend checking it out!

Fate: I don't particularly like Fate but even I must admit that it fits almost all of my criteria there! It is more of a toolkit game system so some assembly is required, but I do believe one could easily run a heroic fantasy game using it!

The Shadows of Yesterday: Is a good game. I'm losing steam right now but like TSoY is a pretty good game and I like it. I think y'all should Google it, it's out there on the internet and you can just. Read it.

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 重啟之極海聽雷/Reunion: The Sound of the Providence/The Lost Tomb Reboot/this thing has too many names

Reunion (I'm just going to call it that) is a 2020 action drama about the most specialest little babygirl in the tomb-raiding world, his two husbands, and the cadre of assorted weirdos they pick up as they try to follow a set of directions left by a dead (?) man in the thunder.

Imagine if someone showed you the Mandalorian, and you were like, gee, that was a neat little sci-fi one-shot! because you'd never heard of Star Wars. That was basically my experience watching this show, having no idea that the Lost Tomb franchise (DMBJ) was even a thing. Turns out that not only is there a whole big continuity out there with these characters, but that Reunion takes place a few years after the main story's resolution. Don't worry, though -- Reunion doesn't spoil you for that resolution. It doesn't spoil you for much, period. Look, DMBJ has a weird relationship to endings, okay?

I have written a more thorough where-to-start guide for DMBJ as a whole, so if you want to consider other entry points, well, that information is there for your consideration. Yet it is my opinion that this is the best entry into the overall franchise, and a fun thing to watch just in general, and I'm here to make my case for both of those.

The rest of this rec will assume that you have no familiarity with the DMBJ series. That's okay; you don't need any. All you need is to trust my five reasons you should watch this.

1. Old Man Yaoi

As you begin this show, you are introduced to the Iron Triangle. That's them in the picture up there. Left to right, you have: Xiao Ge, magically tattooed immortal hottie who just got back from ten years in [scene missing]; Wu Xie, our protagonist, who's just a little guy and it's his birthday; and Wang Pangzi, the literal best.

(And yes, Wu Xie is in his 30s and Pangzi is in his 40s, which is not technically old man anything, but ... look, if you watch, you'll see why I think I'm justified in calling it that.)

They are extremely married. They are a disaster trio of disasters so disastrous that no one else should ever be subjected to their chaos. They're going to make sure lots of people are, though, don't you worry about it. Sometimes those people even deserve it.

However, because the show (tragically!!) decides that Xiao Ge has somewhere else to be like 95% of the runtime, most of the relationship you get to see is between Wu Xie and Pangzi.

I'm saying this now as an old gay nerd who just this year celebrated her 15th wedding anniversary: I have never, never felt so represented in media as I have watching Wu Xie and Pangzi interact. There's a little wake-up song they sing together near the end of the show, and it just ... it packs so much character development into thirty seconds. These boys have been living adjacent lives for so long that they've made up their own little shared songs about the mundanities of daily living. That is just what happens when you marry your best friend and then decide to get old and weird together. Ask me how I know.

Look, if you want to know whether this show is for you or not, watch to the end of the first episode, to the part where Pangzi flips over the table. If your heart is filled with joy (as it should be), keep going.

Love makes a tomb-raiding syndicate family.

2. A fun-filled action-packed romp of nonsense!

If you're familiar with Hellblazer canon, this will make sense to you: Reunion is Dangerous Habits. If you're not familiar with Hellblazer canon, try it like this: Reunion is a terrible place to start because it plays on your extant affection for a character who gains a terrible status effect almost immediately. It's a also great place to start because it throws you right in the action with measurably high stakes and gives you a reason to build that affection very quickly.

I'm also going to warn you right off the bat: The plot of this show got cut to ribbons by censors.

See, the DMBJ books, being books, are allowed to get away with supernatural shit! So you've got zombies and ghosts and curses and monsters and immortality and all your other standard ooky spooky semi-urban fantasy trappings. But the DMBJ adaptations, being live-action, are heavily regulated in their content. This is why, in the early Reunion episodes, our heroes are menaced by human-looking creatures that are actually ancient mannequins made of leather that are piloted, mecha-style, by evil clams. Because evil clams are more scientific than zombies. I guess.

So yeah, the plot of this book already had to get mangled into a more "science"-compliant shape even before it made it to filming. The real problem is that a whole lot more of it got cut after it was all filmed and put together. I have read an explanation of what the actual storyline was supposed to be, and yeah, if you know what you’re looking at, you can see (and hear) the scars where major elements got hacked out with a weed whacker.

Therefore: You cannot expect this plot to make sense.

But that's okay! You're not here for the plot to make sense! You're here to watch some characters you love run around through ridiculous and sometimes beautiful labyrinths, trying to solve puzzles you're never given enough information to understand, all in search of the resolution to a mystery that had half its guts torn out before you got to see it -- and you are here to love it. If you have ever laughed and cheered your way through a Mission: Impossible film without pausing to care too much about the plot holes it’s dodging left and right, you are in the correct frame of mind to appreciate this. Just believe that whatever engaging nonsense the show tells you is correct for the time being and go with it.

You cannot watch DMBJ and care about the laws of physics. You simply cannot.

Do not, however, let me give you the impression that the shoddy plotting is accompanied by equally shoddy performances. A major part of this show’s incredible watchability comes from how the cast is shockingly good. There are some serious heavy hitters among the actors. A major part of why this Wu Xie and Pangzi are my favorite together is the incredible chops both Zhu Yilong and Chen Minghao have, to say nothing of their real-life affection for one another. (See that scar on Wu Xie's neck? That scar is there because Zhu Yilong commits to the bit.) Effortlessly charming Mao Xiaotong turns potentially irritating wunderkind Bai Haotian into a perfect precious weirdo baby. Wu Erbai's entire second-season character arc could have been unintentionally comedic, but veteran of queer cinema Hu Jun sells even the undignified moments as relentlessly tragic. And of course Baron Chen absolutely kills it with...

3. This giant fucking loser

This is Hei Xiazi. That's not his name, but it's close enough. Allow me to do a dramatic reenactment of my watching his first scene:

[camera pans over to him]

me: Ugh, I recognize this kind of wannabe badass character design. I hate his type. He's self-important, hyper-masculine, and just a big jerk, and the show thinks he's soooo cool. Barf.

[thirty seconds later]

me: Oh no. I was so wrong. I love him forever now.

This is because he is (as indicated above) a giant fucking loser. Yes, he's a good fighter who knows lots of things. He's also a wet potato chip of a man. Sure, he can get you into a headlock, but he can also annoy you into submission, and that's honestly more fun for him. My wife has used the phrase “Vash the Stampede-coded” to describe him. My wife is not wrong.

And the kind of ridiculous thing is, being such a loser is what wraps back around to making him cool again. He's a loser because he just doesn't fucking care. His masculinity is the opposite of fragile. You tell him to wear a dress and makeup, he'll do it -- and sure, he'll complain, but only because he enjoys complaining. He has no dignity. He’s tits-out. He's gender. He's the worst and also the best.

Hei Xiazi is a major character in the other installations, to the point where he and his boyfriend (more on him later) even have their own movie. But of course, I did not know this on my first watch, so I kept expecting the show to explain his whole deal. It does not, but you don't really need it to. He sees better in the dark. He doesn't age. He's a thug for hire. There, that's all the bio you need.

One of the things that makes him great is that he is the least sexually threatening person ever. Across all the properties he's in, he spends a fair amount of time with women -- sometimes in very close quarters -- and they are perfectly safe around him. I actually wrote a whole post about it once upon a time (warning for tiny spoilers for a series that isn't this one) wherein I claim that not only Xiazi but Reunion in general is the television equivalent of the shirt that says I RESPECT WOMEN SO MUCH I DON'T HAVE SEX WITH THEM.

That said, this loser does get a sort-of romance plot here -- and honestly, I find it very cute! It's not even the only instance in this series of a bisexual guy in a long-term same-sex relationship getting a girlfriend, and I like that other one too! Look, the handle of my DMBJ sideblog is @katamaricule because I joked that Wu Xie treats polyamory like a katamari, and if you don't move fast enough, you're going to be rolled right up into his gay little cuddle puddle.

This is not a show for exclusive ships; this is a show for inclusive ships. The Jiumen Association is a polycule. You don't even have to know what the Jiumen Association is to know it's true.

4. The power of friendship

This show has a lot of characters.

I'd say the supporting cast is divided into three categories: characters who have been in previous installments, characters who have not been in previous installments, and characters who probably should have been in previous installments (or at least mentioned) but who were only created for Reunion so we have to pretend like we've known about them all along.

There is no way to tell which is which -- which is part of my argument that this series makes a good entry point to the franchise.

Take Huo Daofu. Huo Daofu is a brilliant doctor masquerading as a donut stand operator who treats Wu Xie with all the cold disdain of a man confronting the person who left him at the altar years ago. On the one hand, yes! We do know Huo Daofu from a previous series, and we've known he's both a doctor and a bitch. On the other hand, oh, we have no idea why he's like this about Wu Xie, and we probably never will. The show just treats it like it's for an excellent reason, and you know what, from what you know about Wu Xie, it probably is.

Consider also Jiang Zisuan. One of the show's principal antagonists, Jiang Zisuan turns out to be the brother of ... well, let's just say it's someone whose having a brother really should have come up before this. It has not come up. (And that's even before we get into the issue of his surname.) His stated identity as that person's brother is so bizarre that my favorite interpretation is that he isn't actually that person's brother -- all the flashbacks we see are just his delusions about a relationship he's completely invented. But there's no way you'd know how fucking weird this is on your first run.

Then there's our friendly little support himbo, Kanjian, who shows up to all occasions with two tickets to the gun show and not a thought in that beautiful head. (His name just means "vest," which is par for the course when it comes to the author's naming conventions.) He was a lot more menacing in the last series (where they kept putting sleeves on him, geez), where most of what we learned about him is that you can loan him out to other tomb-raiding families. Now he's a golden retriever with great aim and a slingshot. It's an upgrade.

The trick is, you cannot be surprised when someone shows up and the show treats them like you should know who they are, even when there's no possible way you could know who they are. I mean, for heaven's sake, Liu Sang arrives in the middle of an obvious beef with Pangzi, the origins of which are never satisfactorily explained, while also having a giant do-I-want-to-fuck-him-or-do-I-want-to-be-him crush on Xiao Ge, which is also never satisfactorily explained. Whatever, you just roll with it. He's got good hearing, a bad attitude, and questionable taste in idols. Now you're good to go.

(I should throw in a special note here that Liu Sang is many, many people's little meow meow, and not undeservedly. For a fuller explanation of why that is, please consult this other post I made.)

Part of the fun of this big cast is the adorable interactions you get. All the characters have appropriately big personalities, and the show loves letting people you wouldn’t expect bounce off one another. It’s not your typical action-hero show where nothing happens without the protagonist in the room. There are lots of exciting combinations and tons of charming dynamics! Unlikely friendships form all over the place! Enemies become allies! Allies become friends! Friends become friends with other friends! Some friends become enemies again! You'll need a scoreboard to keep up!

This is not to say the show treats all its characters perfectly or equally -- one of the precious few main female characters doesn't even get a real name, for heaven's sake, and the less said about the brownface racism, the better. It is, at its heart, a dude show for dudes made in China, with all the troubling decision-making that implies. Where it does deserve credit, though, is in understanding that its supporting characters are actual people with personalities apart from their function in Wu Xie's narrative. Sometimes the show just asks "what if [random character A] and [random character B] had to interact?" and has fun considering the answer! Which is almost always a delight to watch, and sometimes even breaks your heart.

5. Amazing rewatch value!

And by this I mean the experience of watching this show is remarkably different once you have any understanding of the rest of the DMBJ universe.

For instance, there's a point where two characters are scuba-diving past some submerged coffins, and one character tells the other whose coffins they are. Working only on information Reunion has given you, you're like, oh, that's where they buried the guy who built this creepy place, that's a little weird. Once you recognize that name from other series, though, your reaction is far more, excuse me, they did WHAT to WHOSE corpses?

Or another point where a character you've already met is on a train, and there's a handsome gentleman who just happens to be riding with her. He hands her his business card! Aw, that's sweet, he seems like a nice guy! Well, no, Xie Yuchen is not nice, but he is one of our allies, and he's Hei Xiazi's boyfriend, and a lot of what he's doing hits real different when you have a fuller grasp on why he's doing it and for whom. (Honestly, a major reason to watch Reunion first is so you're not fully and appropriately upset by how your black/pink gays merely have one teeny tiny scene together.)

From the way the series treats the persistent absence of Wu Sanxing, Wu Xie's third uncle, I absolutely, 100% assumed that he was a completely new character to this installment of the series, an extremely long-lost relative that we've somehow conveniently managed to never talk about before now. So imagine my gobsmacked surprise when I went to watch a different series, set much earlier in the timeline, where the opening scene prominently features Wu Sanxing as an actual character in the present-day narrative! ...Well, sorta. Look, there's a lot of fuckery with his identity in earlier parts of the story, and fortunately you need to know none of it to understand Reunion. But when you do, it suddenly makes a lot more sense why Wu Xie talks about someone who was a major part of Wu Xie's adult life like he died when Wu Xie was nine.

AND THE FLASHBACK SCENE WHERE A-NING GETS KILLED BY THE SNAKE, AND YOU'RE LIKE, OKAY, AND THEN YOU WATCH ULTIMATE NOTE AND IT WASN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL look, I know there are kinda reasons for this, different production companies and all, but seriously, what the fuck

All of which to say is that the experience of watching Reunion the first time is, hey, this self-contained romp is a lot of fun! The experience of rewatching it after watching any of the other DMBJ installments is a transcendently wonderful head-clutching avalanche of one moment of recognition right after another.

And here's the thing: You will watch more. Reunion is a gateway drug. If you are interested enough to make it through all 62 episodes, you're going to be interested in watching more. Which is great. The English-speaking fandom needs more people. Come down into the tombs. It's great down here. We've got snakes and arguably unintentional homoeroticism. Join us. Join usssssssss

Are you ready for an aventure?

There are a couple different ways to watch the first half, but there's (weirdly) only one way to watch the second, so for both of them, I'm going to send you straight to iQiyi: Season 1 (32 episodes) and Season 2 (30 episodes).

And just so you’re ready when Reunion is done, here’s how you find the rest of the DMBJ series, in the absolutely non-chronological order in which I, personally, think you should watch them:

The Lost Tomb 2 (AsianCrush, YouTube)

Ultimate Note (iQiyi)

The Mystic Nine (iQiyi, Viki)

Sand Sea/Tomb of the Sea (Viki, WeTV, YouTube, also YouTube)

Also, there's a lot of movies and side series and other pieces that are worth seeing, and even a couple of full series I've left off the list, and you can just slot them in wherever. And maybe we'll get Tibetan Sea Flo-- IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! And someday maybe I'll actually have time to watch it! What a concept.

They're so perfect. Perfect triangle. Perfect boys.