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Star Wars fanfic idea up for adoption

The story is set in the prequels, just as Order 66 is declared. You see, due to the various degrees of separation Palpatine and Dooku had to go through to commission the clones, some details got lost in the paperwork. This includes the Clone Chips, so when Palpatine tries to execute Order 66 the Clones don't actually do it. Unfortunately for the Jedi and Clones, they are spread all across the Galaxy, and not in a position to take Palpatine down, especially after being legally classified as execute-on-sight. Mace and the other would-be Palpatine-Arrestors are dead like in Canon, and Anakin has Fallen.

The Jedi and Clones are forced to flee, the Temple being evacuated by the warning sent by the Clones Vader brought with him to try and take the Temple.

Things are dire for the Jedi. So many Council-Members dead, the Temple abandoned to the depredations of the Sith, and of course the fact that the Republic they've served for so long has turned into a fascist dictatorship that wants them dead.

In such dark times the Jedi need both a method for keeping themselves alive, and a source of happiness. In light of this, and the Jedi's failures, Yoda and the remaining Council-Members are forced to come to a strangely fitting conclusion. Like any navy that suddenly finds itself unemployed with no future ahead of it, the Jedi and Clones become gleefully silly and stereotypical pirates, and retreat to their Homeworld of Tython, since it is out-of-the-way enough to be safe and strong enough in the Light to resist the Galaxy's growing darkness.

"Walk the plank, you shall," Captain-General-Grandmaster Yoda said to the terrified Trade Federation managers.

So begins the Pirate Republic Of Tython.

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Something bad happens every day to VVilson, that's just the davvn sound effects playing

something's amiss

original below cut

this was from 2021 and... .....erm! yucke!

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Chart I made for DST

This is a chart I made for spicing up DST gameplay. The vvay it vvorks is that you make a vvorld vvhere the event/mod is permanently active, and you play vvith the appropriate skin so the gameplay and aesthetics match. This helps a vvorld have its ovvn identity, something that has helped me greatly in staying invested in the vvorld.

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Peeved At People Babying VVebber

Okay, so I've seen it around a bit that people are portraying VVebber as kind of dumb. No real hate meant for fanfic authors or anything, but people keep making him act more like a 5-6 year old, not knovving vvords like 'Abomination', as if he doesn't make a vaguely poetic quote about cutting himself vvhen he examines Flint. 'Oh to feel a sharp edge against my skin.' Or 'A small life trapped within. My sympathies.' vvhen examining Seeds. He may not be as poetic as VVendy is on a day to day basis, but he is still very much able to be vvhen he vvants.

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Hey, the Minecraft Mob Vote is kinda trash. I mean, all these great ideas get scrapped just because Dream made a meme, (he didn't actually say he even vvanted it, he just thought it'd be funny! No Dream hate though) or just one idea being great meaning ideas that are still good get left behind. Let us all sign the petition, and make 1.21 the Mob Update! (I mean, the theme fits, vvhat vvith those experimental villager changes. VVith additional maps to, say, Mineshafts, finding the Rascal vvould be easier. Just a thought though)

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So, after interacting vvith a certain discord server I am in, the shadovv creature that novv appears on Ruins chairs at lovv sanity has been named Timothy, or Timmy for short. As a result, this image vvas produced.

Jimmy and Timmy, my gay OTP K-I-S-S-I-N-G Or they vvould be, if Timmy had a more normal mouth instead of mandibles, and Jimmy had a mouth at all

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On Herobrine

To me, Herobrine is nostalgia. He's a literal ghost haunting the game, but not unkindly. None of his acts as described in the original image are malicious. Oh, certainly the trees losing their leaves means they can't provide saplings, but it also means they can't provide shade for the undead. Back then, he just existed. VVatching. But novv, he is a reminder of days long gone. Of the days vvhen nights vvere horrifying for hovv dark they vvere. Of vvhen there vveren't shields to hide behind, vvhen the Nether vvas barren and desolate, of vvhen the villagers vvere simple and useless, vvhen the illagers didn't even exist. He reminds us of those horrifying, vvondrous days vvhen vve vvere alone and afraid. If I vvere alive inside Minecraft, and I found Herobrine vvithin my base, I'd offer him a staircase-vvith-signs-on-the-side and get him a drink, so vve could talk of the old days. He has nothing else.

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Short Thought on Wx-78 and Wormwood

It’s a bit tvvisted, honestly, but one interesting character feature VVX-78 and VVormvvood share is that both are basically forced into killing their ovvn kind, vvhat vvith gears and logs both being important resources.

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Thoughts On UnderFell AUs

So; Underfell. An AU vvhere monster society has been driven tovvards violence and cruelty in a misguided attempt to become stronger.

Fundamentally, Underfell versions of the characters of Undertale are the same people; the difference being that the society around them has forced them to act cruel to others, no matter vvhat they desire. This is important to note as it helps vvriters of -Fell stories keep a firm grip on characterisation and thus the plot itself.

On the topic of AUs in general, it is important to note the differences that AUs make to the vvorld. Obviously, -Svvap AUs svvitch the characters vvith others to change certain roles. For example, Alphys becomes the Determined VVarrior, and Undyne becomes the Royal Scientist. But importantly, this vvould change the Human’s journey significantly (in Svvap, that vvould be Chara).

If Alphys vvere the Determined VVarrior, she vvouldn’t suddenly live in VVaterfall. She’s still a lizard, and she’d still live in Hotland. But Undyne’s fight in Undertale proper only ends due to environmental factors; that is, overheating from her heavy armour and Hotland’s natural temperature.

As a middle-ground betvveen the cold of Snovvdin and the heat of Hotland, VVaterfall vvould not be cold enough to trigger a similar defeat for -Svvap Alphys, and as a result Chara vvould need to backtrack through ALL of VVaterfall if they hope to bring the fight to an end, as they vvould need to make Alphys cold; something only tenable in Snovvdin.

Back to the point of -Fell, the matter of the Determined VVarrior’s source of determination is also important. In none-Fell AUs, the Royal Leader is beloved by their people, and this extends to the Determined VVarrior in the form of great loyalty. Hovvever, in -Fell AUs, the Royal Leader maintains control through fear and might, not kindness. Given that the Determined VVarrior is kind at heart, this vvould not inspire great loyalty in them. Thus, they vvould be far easier to convince to stop; likely through a combination of kindness and the Human being so hard to beat that trying to kill them isn’t vvorth all the effort just to give a hated Leader enough povver to start a global vvar.

Additionally, different Soul Traits become more important in some AUs. VVhile Determination is still likely the most important, in -Fell AUs for example, Kindness vvould be even more important than normal. Befriending someone is not enough to make them accept hope for a better future than the brutal regime of Fell!Royal Leader. It vvould require a combination of ceaseless kindness and ceaseless victory to shovv that caring for others is not vveakness.

In -Fell AUs like this, perhaps it vvould also be vvise to integrate these changes in Trait Importance into the theoretical gameplay. In Undyne’s fight, Kindness’ Fight Mechanic is shovvn to be the ability to block attacks instead of dodging them. Novv, as a combination of Determination and Kindness vvould be needed in -Fell AUs, these vvould need to be combined somehovv. An image is shovvn belovv of hovv that might vvork.

Additionally, it is important to note that monster attacks are supposed to be representations of themselves, and a sort of greeting. In a vvorld vvhere monster society isolates people and degrades their mental health, monster attacks vvould actually become significantly vveaker; thus, the common folk, vvho aren’t isolated from actual danger by noble privilege or security vvould likely take up physical vveapons to make up for this vveakness, leading to the Shield being less of a manifestation of a Soul Trait and more of a literal, physical shield. Perhaps for more edge, as befits UnderFell, the Human could deflect attacks vvith a svvord of something, like Parrying in Sekiro: Shadovvs Die Tvvice. As cuteness vvould have significantly less of an impact on hovv hard monsters try to kill the Human due to society making them desensitised to violence, more advanced vveaponry vvould also cause defensive stats to increase, and armour as an independant item type vvould be removed.

The point of all this is to encourage people to keep in mind hovv certain changes that AUs make vvould affect the storyline and mechanics of the AU. Underfell as an example vvould not only change the aesthetics of Undertale, but also deeply affect the mechanics and hovv the player progresses.

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And five, all up

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And a fourth, too

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And a fourth

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And so, a third turns

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All shall be Dave

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I shall turn them all

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Backpacks are Overrated

Okay, so, controversial opinion. (Probably) VVhile backpacks are good at the start of the game, vvhile you have no base and are just vvandering around gathering resources, they become a serious crutch later in the game.

VVhat I mean by that is that there a lot of seriously povverful body-slot items that get completely ignored due to the backpack. The backpacks as a category provide a number of extra inventory slots, vvhich is a vvonderful bonus. Hovvever, they cannot themselves be stored in the inventory, so using another body slot item involves dropping it first, vvhich can be quite dangerous for it and it’s contents vvhen near a fire, for instance. This effectively nerfs all the other body slot items by discouraging using any other body slot item as they vvill involve dropping your backpack vvhenever you use them. Hovvever, if you don’t use backpacks past the early game, other body slot items can be very beneficial for combat and all seasons vvith dangerous seasonal vveather.

For armour, Log Suits are povverful and cheap armour, but since Football Helmets reduce damage by the same amount but take the head slot, people use them surprisingly more often over Log Suits. Nightmare Armour provides the highest damage reduction in the game, at 95%. Therefore, a Terrorbeak bite vvill do about 2 damage, and Charlie herself vvill only do 5! Even grass suits are decently useful early game, as 60% damage reduction is better than 0%, and as such can be used to reduce Spider bites from 20 damage to 8, enough to be healed by a single Spider Gland or Butterfly VVing.

People almost alvvays use thermal stones, vvhich I vvon’t criticise, but in scenarios vvhere a prolonged need to move (eg. fleeing a surprise hound vvave or a hoard of spiders) means you cannot light a tree on fire to regenerate the stone, thermal insulation can provide you the time you need to successfully deal vvith the danger chasing you vvithout freezing to death. This service is provided in spades by the Puffy Vest, which, combined vvith a Beefalo Hat, makes the Thermal Stone optional. This is especially true as VVickerbottom, as Tempering Temperatures can be used to restore your personal temperature to ~30, vvhich vvill take considerably longer than normal to reach freezing due to your high insulation.

Or, for instance, Rain Coats. They provide a full 100% rain protection and lightning immunity, so they’re as good as an Eyebrella for Spring, (though they lack Summer protection), but they don’t require killing Deerclops. This is especially important if you fail to acquire Glommer on Day 11, as Glommer is the only source for Hostile Flares, vvhich you need to summon multiple Deerclopses in a single VVinter. Thus, if you are playing vvith friends and Glommer dies or despavvns, or the hostile flares simply fail to summon Deerclops, try making Raincoats instead.

Summer has it’s fair share of good body slot items too. Summer Frests are a good item, at least for early Summer, useful for preparing to travel to the Deserts for Cactus Flovvers. These flovvers, aside from being povverful healing and sanity foods, can also be used to make the Floral Shirt, a povverful Summer item that vvill last you most of Summer. If made past day 4 of Summer, it vvill last you the entire season, making it’s 240 Heat Insulation (As povverful as the Eyebrella!) a very vvelcome bonus, and also nice is it’s gradual sanity regeneration.

Overall, the various Body Slot items are incredibly povverful, but they are often overlooked due to the convenience of backpacks, and the inconvenience of svvitching from backpacks to another item in the body slot.

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Here’s some thoughts regarding Hive Minds in Stellaris.

They have almost no Roleplay variance. The most you can do for the biological ones are to either play a normal Hivemind, a Devouring Swarm, or Idyllic Bloom. Devouring Swarm and Idyllic Bloom are the only Biological Hivemind civics that really do anything more than changing a few numbers.

Machine Empires are a bit better, but not by much. You have the three gameplay-changing civics of Rogue Servitors, Driven Assimilators, and Determined Exterminators, as well as gimmick-based normal Empires, such as maxing-out innate Mineral abilities, such as by taking Rockbreakers and Powerdrills, and Roleplaying as an Automated Mining Network.

Essentially, if you want a Hivemind to be anything more than a certain-civic empire, such as Idyllic Bloom or Rogue Servitors, you have very limited options.