#{{I'll also be at PAX East

[niennawept]

Not-Yet-Written-Fics Game

Tagged by @runawaymun to expose all my not written fics. There are ... a lot of these that surface for a time and disappear into the ether, so I will name only the ones that are the most pervasive.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but make it Tolkien (Elrond/Thranduil/Thranduil's OC wife) - aka Elrond's bisexual awakening, the fic

Adar taken prisoner in Valinor (Adar/Palariel) - an AU of my own Adar/OC story where they met in Valinor instead, with messy elf politics and mandatory therapy for the uruk dad.

East of the Sun, West of the Moon inspired dark fic (Adar/new OC) - This one is dark and doesn't have a happy ending (because Sauron is the worst), but if you've ever wondered what Angband was like in my headcanons - this would be the place to find out.

ira valarum (or, what were the Valar up to during the First Age anyway) - this would be a sequel to 'pax valarum' - the story of Melkor's captivity expanded. It's the First Age from the perspective of the Valar - why did they make the decisions they made? etc

Círdan recognizes a Moriondo - what it says on the tin. Cirdan knows one of the first uruks and finds them dead on the battlefield after the First Battle of Beleriand. I have a lot of emotions about this one.

Maeglin and Aredhel go to Doriath instead - Eol is Thingol's kin. Aredhel thinks that Eol will try to find them in Gondolin, so she and Maeglin go to Doriath instead. Thingol is frosty but polite to Aredhel for Maeglin's sake. This one's messy - but I Iike it.

Cirdan/OC longfic - I love Cirdan and I'm about to make that everyone else's problem to the tune of 70k words.

Kidnap fam longfic - with all the adoption trauma that I think is likely to come of that situation. Love may have grown between them but that doesn't make this a net positive situation.

MGIME with a twist (the twist is that it's also a body swap)

Thank you for the tag - listing these out proved to be more fun than I expected and I was already expecting a good time.

If anyone is curious about these, feel free to send me an ask and I'll tell you the vibes.

No pressure tags: @lordoftherazzles, @fishing4stars, @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras and anyone to whom this looks like fun.

[wellspokenrambler]

Rambler @ PAX East 2024

Hi folks! I just got back from PAX East over the weekend and, while I didn't really take part in the Expo Hall besides a couple of stalls, I did go to a decent number of panels - and thought it was worth writing up my thoughts on each of them. The only thing I love more than playing video games is hearing people talk about video games!

(I didn't take notes while I was there so this will be certainly more of a "vibes"-based assessment and why each one appealed to me personally, so apologies if you came here looking for a more objective description of each panel! I'll put links to the VOD of each panel where available)

Panels and thoughts below the read-more (it's long as heck! get ready):

Metroid: A Community Retrospective and Look Toward the Future

Having only played Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Metroid: Dread in my time, I wouldn't call myself a hardcore fan - but they are both games I've really enjoyed, and Samus Aran's pivotal positioning as a female character in video gaming history is always fascinating to me, so I had to check this one out.

It's so surreal to see the ways that a community like this had to adapt to long "dry spells" without any official new material for their fandom, and the joy that follows when something like Dread comes along to reaffirm their love for it. I don't know that I learned anything new from this panel myself, but it was still heartening to hear the panellists' clear passion for the games, and it does make me want to dip my toes into other Metroids (at the very least, the other two Prime games!)

Unlocking the Positive Potential of Gaming for Kids and Teens

I hadn't originally planned to go to this one, but met two of the panellists (Dr. David Bickham and Sam Schamm, MA) while eating brunch by the food trucks, and hearing them briefly discuss the subject matter fascinated me enough that I decided to pop along to it.

This was a deeply insightful panel on the ways that gaming can meaningfully help young people and foster their learning, agency, critical thinking, and other useful life skills - as well as thoughts on how to help them through the risks associated with gaming such as toxic multiplayer communities or, for want of a better word, the addictive potential of gaming. Having previously worked in a job which involved helping teenagers make informed decisions about their futures myself, it meant a lot to me to see serious academic thought being given to the subject given how prevalent gaming is as part of a child's social life these days. Excellent panel!

Mental Health and Gaming - Creating a Safe Space for Yourself and Others

While a difficult topic, I am nevertheless glad that I went to this panel as it covered the way that streamers and other "community figures" can navigate the creation of a safe space in the form of their community while also maintaining effective boundaries within that space. Of particular interest to me was reframing some of the language that often gets used in this context e.g. "trauma-dumping" and unpacking our own biases when dealing with uncomfortable situations.

If I had any minor criticisms of the panel, it would be that some of the suggestions occasionally felt like they veered a little too far into the side of... I guess trying to fix the lives of strangers? Now, in the interests of fairness I shall state my own biases that lead to this feeling, because it is not that I do not care about what happens to people: it is precisely because I've had to manage my own proclivity towards hyper-empathy in the past that I tend to take a step back from my emotions on that regard these days. Caring is good, but caring to the point of self-destruction helps no-one, and that to me feeds into what the panel was saying about boundary maintenance.

My own community is a small handful of regulars and a couple of hundred followers so this has not been something I need to worry about yet, but the panel has hopefully given me some tools with which to manage those situations if they ever arise, and for that I am thankful.

How Our Favorite Characters Have Real World Impacts on Us: A Look into Fictional Characters and ParaSocial Relationships

FASCINATING panel. I originally went to this because of my memories of being in the Gorillaz fandom and the weird and wonderful (and sometimes ugly) ways people interacted with the idea of the fictional band members in that space... But the conversation proved to cover a broad spectrum both of what constitutes a parasocial relationship AND what constitutes a fictional character; the panellists made the case that the personas of content creators and streamers themselves counted as fictional characters, and I think they are absolutely bang-on with that.

From my end as a Z-list Player of Games Online, even I am presenting a more polished version of myself there than I would have in the rest of my life - it's not "not me", but it's certainly not all of me, and that is enough to make "Well-Spoken Rambler" a somewhat distinct entity from the person who portrays them.

The inclusion of internet personalities into their definition ALSO meant, however, that at the Q&A I got to name-drop one of my favourite journal articles that I've read this year: The one-and-a-half sided parasocial relationship: The curious case of live streaming. This article holds deeply interesting connotations to me because of what it implies about the "half" of the one-and-a-half... which is that of course, behind the fiction of a "creator" is the person who creates, and that person is just as capable of developing fictionalised ideas of the people in their community (though with a more removed and likely self-aware perspective on it). The panellists had heard of the article and mentioned it was on their to-read list, but agreed it tied in well with the themes of the panel!

(... And yet the reason I was able to re-find the article so quickly is because I had linked it to a creator in a Patreon Direct Message a couple months ago because I thought it would be interesting to them... The irony is not lost on me. More on that later.)

Debate Club with Mari and PeeGTV

This was just a fun old time! I wasn't familiar with Mari or PG before watching this panel, but they have such a fun rapport here that I want to try and watch them more regularly now that I know of them. Jenna Stoeber acted as a firm but fair adjudicator of the panel - and I am definitely not just saying that because she is a recent convert to the Rambler channel and was pleasant and kind when we bumped into each other on the expo floor. She did a great job letting both sides of the debate (Millennial horror vs Gen Z horror) shine. If you listen closely around the 34 minute mark, you may hear a familiar little British voice raise a point about how you can't judge a horror by its synopsis!

Thinking Differently Together: Neurodivergence & Gaming

Folks... I am so so glad that there is a much greater emphasis on self-advocacy these days than there used to be. Look! Look at all those ND creators talking about their experiences and being listened to!! Look how it has a VOD so I can just link it and you can all see it too!!! Conversations like this one in a major event like PAX are a hopeful sign to me that progress is being fought for and won.

Only minor critiques for this one are:

could have used some discussion about more than just the usual ADHD/autism bracket that is discussed when it comes to neurodiversity (but then I think that about most ND discussions)

would personally have liked some chat about accessibility concerns while creating/streaming and neurodivergent (e.g. personally had to tweak my lighting because it was overstimulating me while I streamed)

Otherwise great panel!

Bridging the Gender Gap (13+)

Another great panel for encouraging diversity in the games industry - I appreciated the intersectionality of this one as well as the honest discussions about the ways in which things still need to be made *considerably* better throughout all corners of gaming. The panel also discusses actionable steps which could be taken to improve on these issues.

Surprised at myself for not having much to say about this one! I just think the panellists did a really good and succinct job at talking about the subject.

A Hunter's Dream: Bloodborne and Transness

I enjoyed this panel a whole lot - Having watched a playthrough of Bloodborne last year, hearing two trans women discussing the different trans allegories and interpretation of the characters and themes and lore of the game felt absolutely correct, even if it wasn't "canon".

If one was being pedantic one could call this the least polished of the panels I went to, but I honestly don't think that matters tremendously because both panellists were so utterly sincere about what they were covering that it carried the panel. You could easily tell just how much the subject matter meant to the two and it in turn meant a lot to me that they were willing to share it with a bunch of strangers as we were.

And then...

Um, Actually: The Panel

Hoooooo boy.

So remember earlier when I mentioned the irony of using Patreon DMs to grab an article about nonstandard parasocial interactions?

[ID: a meme image of Morpheus from the Matrix saying "What if I told you the guy I sent that article to is at a PAX East panel"]

So of course the panel for the Dropout show Um, Actually was being hosted by its two new presenters, Ify Nwadiwe and Brian David Gilbert:

Ify had been a wonderful host so far, and I really enjoy his work in general (especially his stint recently on Very Important People), so I was looking forward to meeting him.

...And then there's Brian, who has been streaming on Twitch for just under the past four years and who in that time has been subject to hundreds of my fun facts, insightful commentaries, and helpful actions (which he very much appreciated). That, alongside regularly taking part in Patreon livestreams, has led to a strange situation where I would not consider us friends, but we... don't not know each other? but we also don't know each other? Which is why the "one-and-a-half-sided" description in that article and the panel about parasocialness appealed to me (and why I sent the article to him too).

So of course when this panel got announced I wasn't gonna miss it. I really enjoyed what I've seen of Ify's hosting and Brian's fact-finding so far, and I wasn't gonna miss the chance to see the two chat about it - nor to potentially meet the guy who helped me raise £500 for ASAN last year.

But, turns out I wasn't the only one enthused by the panel, because it was Absolutely Rammed, like, an hour and a half before the panel started. I got lucky in that I managed to end up somewhere in the middle of the pack and got into the panel at all, but good grief did it remind me how I don't do well in crowds (even well-managed crowds, thank you PAX Enforcers xx).

It caused me to reflect a lot on the perceived casualness with which I interacted with Brian on Twitch versus the material reality of the level of interest from a LOT of people which he manages. It's the kind of thing which makes me wish to never become famous, because I don't know that I'd have it in me to manage that level of attention from everyone - even the very occasional instance of people recognising me online FROM Brian's streams and acting like it's a big deal always throws me off a bit (this has happened to me several times, I'm not even kidding!)

But then of course the Enforcers got us all in neatly and sweetly, and the panel was a delight! It was fun to hear Ify and Brian (and Jenna!!) talk about working on the show and the kinds of things they enjoyed putting in and what to expect next - such as another new season after the current one, as it deserves.

There was also a live session of Um, Actually questions which was at the time enjoyable, but since then numerous allegations of cheating and defamation have come to light against one of the participants, Gabe Hicks, and it is disheartening that something as grievous as this could have been going on that very weekend. I hope that justice and reparations can be made for the people affected by this, and I am going to move on out of courtesy to those involved.

After the panel, a meet-and-greet line formed for both Ify and Brian outside of the theatre and I was able to join it - it also felt important to me that I follow the proper procedures and not assume any privileges, since I know full well how that kind of thing can read and wanted to put my best foot forward, so to speak.

The play-by-play of our eventual meeting is as follows:

I greeted Ify first on purpose to let him know that he was doing a great job as the new Um, Actually host and I liked him in VIP

I then went to greet Brian, but at that point he had very blatantly already cottoned onto who I was and seemed very enthusiastic that I was there. I didn't feel any sense of star-struckedness, it was more like that sense of when you talk to someone online and then meet them in person - surreal, but not stressful.

Jenna took that moment to gently interrupt so she could rendezvous with the two men before the line ended - seemingly because of our vague familiarity and prior assumption of goodwill on our parts

I made sure to pass along some greetings from a few Discord servers formed around Brian's Twitch streams I was in, which Brian appreciated, and gave him a small gift which I brought with me - a small bottle of vivid iridescent nail polish (Ciaté London's "Forbidden Fruit", sadly out of production now), since nail painting and structural colour is somewhat of a shared interest of ours

Brian made sure to specifically compliment me on my shirt, to which I admitted the reason I wore it was because I knew Brian was the only person there who would appreciate it fully: it was from a game of Tee KO we played on Patreon at the end of 2022, which Brian won using a VERY existential t-shirt illustrated by myself:

(sidenote, after repeated success with these silly skeletons in subsequent games of Tee KO, I am very close to just selling my own legally-distinct skeleton shirt if I ever have a merch page)

Finally, I asked if we three could cap off the meeting with a video'd selfie, to which they graciously obliged me:

Having filmed what can only be described as a Cannes-worthy masterpiece, I said my goodbyes to them and made my way to the next panel...

The PAX Panel Show

...Which was just in the same theatre as the last panel, and with Jenna hosting and Brian on the panel. What a glorious event! I am so sad this one didn't get recorded - a truly deranged set of questions, including Portmantoad (guessing which video games have had their names spliced together based on the description of the resulting fusion), Ornstein and Sullivan (guessing whether a named character was from a Fromsoft game or from an opera), and a whole bunch of real-world questions about farming?? Joke's on all these city-slicker panellists, I grew up on a smallholding! So I was... actually no better at those farm questions than them. I can't tell you about industrial farming practices, but I can tell you how to hold a chicken! (gently, like a big hamburger).

After the panel, I approached Jenna one last time at the con and suggested that, given the inherent strangeness of our interactions (wherein we have become Twitch mutuals but still at best distant acquaintances) it would be funny if we took a selfie but made out like she was "the fan". She saw the funny side of it:

[ID: a tweet by Well-Spoken Rambler @wellspokentweet reading "Always a pleasure to meet a fan, @the_jenna", below which is a selfie featuring Well-Spoken Rambler and Jenna Stoeber. A reply from Jenna beneath this reads "HONORED TO MEET YOU, BIG FAN <3" in all-caps.]

Play What You Don't Know with DesiQuest

This was my last panel of PAX, and a bit of a last-minute wildcard! After relaying the above events to my good friend Hamish, he told me that his friend Omar would be doing a panel the following day, and that I should go and see it. And I am very glad I did!

It was really heartening to learn that a podcast like DesiQuest exists - a D&D actual play featuring an all-South-Asian cast and touching on the disparate cultures and themes that connect with them and their audience. As someone who is of Sri Lankan descent but without the cultural upbringing, it's something that appeals to me personally as another way to try and reconnect with that heritage. Definitely catching up on this one over the week!

I also got to say hi to Omar from Hamish, and it was a nice bonding moment cut short by my having to BOOK IT to a water taxi and conclude my time in Boston for good.

...

Phew!

Well, thanks for reading all of that if you did! It was a weekend that was at once fun, interesting, and thought-provoking. I still don't consider myself someone who seeks out big events, but being much more free and able to take part in those kinds of things now is super refreshing and I hope at some point (though not in the immediate future, boy was that expensive) I will be able to go again! Or at least do other events like that. Possibly something a bit quieter, but conventions don't usually run in flavours of "quiet", haha. Perhaps next time I'll bring business cards to recklessly self-promote better with.

See you around!

-Rambler

[pepperminthotchocolate]

I know, I feel like I'm only here to lurk and post once a year about a cool thing I found, but CALL TO ACTION FOR THE G/T COMMUNITY:

Yesterday one of my favorite performers, Brian David Gilbert, announced that he has been working on a kids show called Outdoor Ed for the past year or so. The entire premise surrounds Ed, a (in his words) "20-foot-tall mountain man who wants to make a nature show with the help of his woodland friends". There is a proof of concept video for this show coming out tomorrow on his YouTube channel.

For those who don't know BDG, he is a fantastic actor, extremely creative video producer, incredibly talented at making music in a variety of genres. If you aren't familiar with his work on the regular, you may have seen his Unraveled series on the YouTube channel Polygon (including his 40-minute presentation at PAX East about creating the perfect PokeRap):

Or possibly a video of his that went viral last year, explaining the US health insurance system:

What I'm trying to say is, he's got the range. If you want any modern video creator working on a creative children's show, it's him.

Not to mention, he's working with an extremely talented team to bring this proof of concept video to life. Look how cute these shots are!

Here's where the call to action comes in: this video premieres tomorrow on his YouTube channel. The more it gets shared and seen, the more likely it is to be picked up. Brian David Gilbert is also currently working at Dropout, an internet media production company that does a ton of insane things, so it's possible that he already has a potential foot in the door.

Everyone needs to watch this tomorrow specifically and share it around as much as possible. I can already tell it's going to be great, and if the video proof goes viral in the first few days, that could lead to more episodes being made or even a full show being produced. I'll post the link here when it premieres tomorrow. Please spread the word!

[j3rmaballs]

I don't know if anyone is interested but here's some phonetic transcriptions of Boston j and a breakdown of some of the sounds:

Context: The snow vlog video where he has a short interaction with his mother:

Transcription:

Mother: 'wɑt

J3rma: 'aɪ dʒʌs 'wɑkt ɪnə ðə 'doə

Mother: 'waɪ dɪdʒu du 'ðæ

Mother: 'dʒizʌs 'dʒɛɹəmi

Translation:

Mother: What?

J3rma: I just walked into the door

Mother: Why did you do that?

Mother: Jesus, J3remy

Breakdown:

"door" is pronounced in 3 speech sounds "d" "oh" and "uh"

The "dʒ" sound is a j sound which is made up of 2 sounds - "d" and the middle consonant pronounces in "leisure"

Context: pax east vlog when he's talking about the coffee maker

Transcription:

wʌn θiŋ ðəts ɹili ɪmpɒtn̩ əbaʊ maɪ tʃɛnəl wi gɑɾə ʃoʊ ðə kɒfi meɪkə ðæts ɪn ðə hoʊtɛl ɹʌm lʌg ə ðɪs bebi

Translation:

One thing that's really important about my channel we gotta show the coffee maker that's in the hotel room look at this baby

Breakdown:

The "n̩" sound is hard to describe, but it's essentially a release of pressure in the nose (I could get into the specifics of nasal consonants, but I'll leave it at that)

The "tʃ" sound is a ch sound which is also made up of 2 sounds - "t" and "sh" (it's essentially the voiceless version of "dʒ"

The "ɾ" is not an r but more of a "d" sound where the tongue taps briefly against the roof of the mouth (it's called an alveolar tap)

I wanted to put in the diacritic for a lip-rounded consonant for the k sound in coffee but it doesn't work

"ɹʌm" is the classic Boston pronunciation of "room" that most people have noticed about j's accent

[yugsly]

Hi Yugo, I love your work and I'm a huge fan of SFM and BKMN. By any chance will you be signing any autographs at pax east?

Totally! Day and I will sign anything you bring! I can't say exactly what yet, but there will also be cool things for y'all to get there that we can sign too. Someone else asked if I'll sign BKMN copies at PAX and sure thing! Nothing wrong with that. Thanks for asking!

[flipping-the-coin]

Orion...I know I shouldn't get involved but...don't you think that you and Optimus should fix the differences you have? I know it scares you but he is also a victim of all this and I know that if he had known that you didn't want this he would have found a way to reunite you with your loved one.

You shouldn't love each other, I know, but at least settle your differences *I'll give you an energon candy* and learn to tolerate each other even if it doesn't seem like it. Optimus needs you and even if he doesn't show himself, he's still a child so he needs you (along with Megatron) to make cybertron shine once again but better

From the desk of  Head Archivist: Orion Pax Hall of Records East Trion Square Iacon

Ah. this is an incredibly difficult subject for me, please understand. I would genuinely like to believe you, anonymous one, that Optimus is not a threat to me or my Conjunx, but it simply is not true. I will agree with you that he may be a victim as well, but that does not excuse what he forced me to endure. 

I know that you may believe that he was not aware that I was an unconsenting party in this arrangement, but I can assure you that I made my displeasure known to him again and again for millennia. My distress was obvious. My desires were crystal clear, especially after I was granted my freedom after Optimus and Megatronus united against the Unmaker. 

Optimus had the opportunity then to rectify this situation. He knew what it was I wanted. He knew what Megatronus and I meant to one another. He knew that I was taken against my will. He knew that Megatronus and I were perfectly capable of ending this war on our own. He knew that we sought to restore Cybertron. He knew everything! 

He had the chance to reunite us! He had the chance to do what was right! What did he do? He lied! He concocted a tale of amnesia instead of telling everyone the truth! He locked me away again and chose to continue with his war despite my continued communication expressing my anger. 

He would not even let me die in peace! No, he had to try and pass this torment off on another! A youngling, no less! I may have disagreed with Smokescreen’s indoctrinated opinions, but he did not deserve to be locked away as I was for a new wave of war to start all over again! If Smokescreen had taken the Matrix… I would not have been able to stop him from destroying everything that mattered to me… 

I was not even granted freedom after my beloved was killed… I was not allowed to properly grieve. I was not given permission to cry with my own optics. I was not allowed to seek out his frame and touch him one last time. I was not allowed a goodbye! 

He said nothing… I was alone. He chose to keep me alone, in the dark and broken. I’m sorry, but not even a tempting energon candy can make those pains vanish. I fear him so deeply that I can not even begin to express it properly.

Orion Pax

[thesexiest]

hiiiiii its been a second but a lot has happened. (sad Exie picture above not related) I went to pax east (~˘▾˘)~ !!! I got to see a lot of cool games and meet up with my team irl for the first time. Also, I got to eat a lot of good food my favs being falafel tacos and butternut squash ravioli :3 HOWEVER, on day 2 I got my purse stolen (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) which made me want to kill myself especially since I was extremely worried about flying home but tbh after getting the panicking out of the way I was in a pretty good mood. And now I'm home thank god.

Here at the top is a new character named Mimi! Scarlet's gf and a powerful wizard. Her name used to be Floria but I decided to rename her after someone really special to me. Mimi is probably one of my more developed characters for reasons I wont spoil but I look forward to showing her off more.

Next we have a slight redesign of Blanc, Exie's brother. I may have to redesign him one more time but I like the direction his outfit is going. He might need some modernizing so he doesn't look like such a jester （´﹏｀;）which actually is maybe not a bad thing but idk I'll let it sit in my brain a little...

now for the.... .。･:*♡ big news ♡*:･。.

Exie Quest has officially begun development!!! I am working with some coders from Menthasia (because I am not a great coder) and they have already completed the skill tree system!!! Also they are very awesome guys

its really happening lol (ꈍ‿ꈍ)

I'm gonna start working on assets to beautify this game

~~~~

also....I've been considering making a developer website where I can put these posts in a neater area. This will probably take a while tho lol but I am thinking about it

[fostersffff]

Actually because I feel like this is the last time for a few years that I'll have anything to say about Final Fantasy XVI, let me just pick on two things about this latest DLC:

When they were showing off the preview for this DLC at PAX East, they made a point of hyping up how Jill was going to be much more involved in the DLC. It was a tacit acknowledgment of the fact that Jill was pretty underwhelming in the main story: she popped off at Drake's Breath, and then that was about it for ol' Jill. You even got a little Pixel Jill pin for attending the panel, rather than, say, a Pixel Shula.

And then you play the DLC and Jill's major contribution is not saying anything out loud about her suspicions that her heritage is intertwined with the Motes of Water via The Witch, and then when Shula says "OH FUCK I'M ABSORBING TOO MUCH MAGIC TRYING TO DEACTIVATE THE TIME BARRIER AROUND THE BABY!", Jill says "I can help!", and then she helps, and that's it for ol' Jill.

It's not quite "YOU WILL FEEL ASHAMED OF YOUR WORDS & DEEDS" tier, but Jesus fucking Christ. But the real ass kicker is that they elaborate just a teensy bit more on The Witch in a sidequest you can do after finishing the main story of The Rising Tide, where an NPC explains that The Witch died not long after and that's also when the Timekeeper first appeared. And Jill has nothing to say about any of this, despite the fact that The Witch is one of the few concrete things we know is directly associated with Jill's heritage, because she wasn't in my fucking party at the time because she had to occupy herself at the village!

The other thing is the Tonberry King fight. I do actually want to give it props for being like one of maybe two encounters in the entire DLC that is designed in such a way to encourage, but not require, the player to use Leviathan due to the way the Everybody's Grudge attack works. Everybody's Grudge summons a huge swarm of tonberries that toddle towards you with very low HP, but if you try to melee attack them, they charge up with super armor and stab you, as tonberries are wont to do. So, you can either use your magic, or if you have Leviathan set, you can just blow them up at range. Cool!

The rest, though? Like the tonberries in general in this DLC, they're just a little too animated. Like, they look like tonberries, with the cloak and the big knife and the lantern, and they will sometimes approach slowly with the knife, but otherwise they're kinda just lizardmen.

But what else could they do? The tonberry encounter archetype is "kill this thing before the timer runs out", so how can you translate that in an action game while still feeling true to the nature of a tonberry encounter in classic FF games?

Why, if it isn't Stranger of Paradise! The Final Fantasy action game that released over a full year before Final Fantasy XVI and two years before this DLC, where they had tonberry encounters with regular ol' tonberries who can only slowly toddle towards you... except they also get a teleport to close huge distances instantly, as well as very powerful effect spells that will slow or outright paralyze you, at which point they can slowly toddle towards you and kill you in a single hit with their funny knife.

To their credit, they let the Tonberry King teleport so he can lumber for some of his inbetween animations, but then to take away credit, the teleport will then be used to make the Tonberry King move like Vergil 3, doing three helmsplitters in a row, before doing a backflip and a fuckin' Getsuga Tensho.

[seburath-aryes-ancunin]

Smol-ish rant-ish

I just wanna say that my boyfriend is damn lucky he has me.

I don't mean that in an entitled, arrogant way. So let me explain what I mean.

I just got back from Pax East with him and had the displeasure of his 69 year old roommate go with us. While I did enjoy the trip, all the annoyance of her I didn't. She revealed some rather...... unsavory things about my boyfriend that I had suspected all along about him.

I'm not gonna go into detail about them but I will say my reaction wasn't being mad or upset. It was more of disappointment because he himself didn't tell me. So for those reasons and a few others that's why I say he's damn lucky to have me.

I believe in more than second chances because there were times in my life people didn't give me second chances to explain myself and just left me on the spot. Later on when they found out the truth they apologized and asked to come back but I had already moved on and said 'you should have given me a second chance but you didn't and I moved on'. With him I've given him probably more chances than I should (according to everyone I know I should have left him a while ago) but to be honest he doesn't physically abuse me. He does tease me but when it does hurt my feelings he does apologize.

He actually revealed to me that I'm only his 3rd girlfriend (he's like 37 now. His birthday was the 25th of March) and his last 2 relationships he had weren't the best ones and they were abusive to him (his friends at one time did tell me this but asked me not to tell him) so he's actually learning what it's like to be in a good relationship with someone.

I've been in quite a few more relationships than 3 when I was younger and I get how abusive ones can be. I hate when people think they can abuse someone and that's ok to do.... it's really not and it hurts the person your with and sometimes they hurt others too.

And to some effect I guess I'm glad I have him too. I mean he's completely ok with me being with my wife and he's 100% willing to go up to her state and bring her back down to live with me and my mom when she decides to do so. I don't know many guys that are willing to do that. He's been always supportive of our relationship and never once got mad when we had our close moments when we met face to face for the first time. At one point he was grinning like a happy school kid in a candy shop when he saw us kissing.

I'm also grateful to him because he's willing to take my insufferable scared of heights self on trips with him and he's there to calm me down when I start to panic on take offs (I'm better with them but still don't like the sinking feeling).

Oh and he's lucky to have me too cuz I'm not a pretty girl that gets to be a whiny bitch when she gets dirty or a nail broke. I enjoy learning new things and getting down and dirty. Aka I enjoy fixing his car XD.

But all in all, he's a pretty cool guy. He has his good and bad moments as everyone does. Guess I'll stick with his nerdy ass for a while.

And PS to my wife, I still love you. I just had to say a few things to get off my chest. I don't think he follows me here lol. Tumblr is my free space from him.

[smoliboops]

tour ticket prices:

VIP: $125 at all venues (plus the usual taxes/fees for each one)

general: seems to vary (ex: dolby theater ranges from about $45-$65) but most common price range is $36.50-$61.50. may vary from theater to theater, plus the fees, etc, but at least it’s an idea :P

[magic-is-something-we-create]

happy wbw pax!! (world anvil almost never cooperates, but w o a h this map is insane!!!!) i'd love to hear a description of aree (also how do you pronounce it?) in winter :D

hi!! happy wbw to you too!!! :D and thank you, ive been slowly but surely updating the map over the last year or so!!

also this got really long so i put it behind a cut a;lsdkjf

Aree is pronounced ɐɹi, with a special emphasis on the second syllable if you know the IPA, or like uh-ree if not!!

Okay, a little backstory for this description: Aree is where Firebreathers starts, and where Ember has lived for ~12 years! It's a coastal trading city tucked between the roots and carved into the sides of a Godtree, and in the book, there's a lot of emphasis on the disparities between the different districts, mostly in the form of what the roads are made of! I'll try to clarify that, and separate the description from Ember's voice, but considering they'll eventually have the informal title of "the Voice of Aree", they'll probably still pop in!!

When winter hits Aree, the city of a hundred thousand lights falls as still as it can ever be. The Night Market, forever tucked as close to the roots as it can be, experiences it's first rays of sunshine when the leaves have finally fallen away from the canopy above. The clocktowers of the shaded city have their bells put on hold until the darkness returns in the spring, no longer needed when all can see the sky. The wide river that winds it's way beneath the west root and through the center of town spills sheets of slow, lazy ice into the ocean, along with those who use the solid surface as an excuse to skate or sled in from the countryside.

The dock workers find less gruelling days ahead of them, as trade slows from Emarye and Sieril, and the shipments from Deltierin take longer to arrive. Ship construction, the largest single industry in Aree, finds itself slowed almost to a standstill, but for the lucky crews employed by the rich to begin their galleons and yachts months in advance.

Woodsmoke paints the air with a homely smell, as it wafts out of every chimney in a languid roll. Children sprint along the cobbles of the seaside, as trains roar through the railyard to the east. The residents of Little Wasi, pressed against the windbreak of the roots to the south and tucked among scattered cobble and gravel roads, huddle close in these months. For they are still not used to the cold found outside of their desert origins, even after these many, many years.

Shops line streets of mingled brick and cobble, which in turn straddle the river, lacing back and forth over it with sturdy, thick-pillared stone bridges. Shops give way to inns give way to communes and guild halls, and brick lays itself in solid patterns across the ground. The University finds it's fields cold and barren, as students trek back and forth from class to dorm and back again, purple scarves and robes billowing in the wind.

The fires of the outdoor forges welcome their small Dwarven tinkerers, and those who pick from the magical scrap heaps left behind. The lanterns of the shaded city hang from swirling posts, lit by Fire mage patrols each night to guide workers back to their homes.

Homes that perch on the sides of the Godtree, and wind back and forth and back again all the way to the top, where bare, trodden wood becomes bark becomes years of new growth braided into a sturdy, comfortable footpath around the edge of the Citymanor gardens. Braided roads stretch across the tops of thick branches, lined with intricate iron fencing, and leading to the homes hanging like hives. Homes gilded with silver and gold and embedded with jewelry and stained glass. Homes occupied by the wealthy, passed from generation to generation, with room enough to house half of the city below, if they so desired.

They don't. They much prefer the gentle rocking the winter winds bring to their beds, than the chatter and raucous laughter that emanates from every tavern door, from every squashed townhouse window, from every construction yard at the end of the day.

thank you so much for giving me the excuse to write this!!! i hope it lived up to expectations :D

[runicmagitek]

PAX East loot! Got some tabletop games (and yes, they made an official Trogdor game), shirts, pins, and other fun stuff!

The Pathless shirt was actually free for trying out the game (it was really good, but I'll write more about it later). I needed something Kentucky Route Zero related and I loved how subtle the shirt was, so it's mine now. Same with Sayonara Wild Hearts. The little warrior heart pin was for donating to Take This, which helps support people with mental illness in the video game community.

The octopus and dragon pins are by Ukiyo-e Heroes, which I was psyched about because I've always loved his art. My boyfriend bought me the red dragon pin and sadly don't remember where he got it. And the adorable octopus plushie is from Yogibo, which my boyfriend also surprised me with!

I didn't realize Square Enix had a merch booth until Saturday and by then the moogle and tonberry plushies were sold out, but my boyfriend said he'd get them for me online 💕

[septichearteyes]

The HDWGH Tour, 5/30/18 . One year ago today.

I was just a lurker on the Jacksepticeye channel. Names like "Ketch" and "SepticHeartEyes" didn't even exist in my mind.

The thought "yknow, I want to see this guy live" struck me out of nowhere, while I was watching one of his videos. It was very short notice, but for some reason I was determined. I threw together what money I had in under a week and took a 13 hour bus ride with a friend to Indianapolis. I'd never done anything like that before. I was scared out of my mind but it was the start of a learning and growing point. A spontaneous adventure that I won't forget.

...

PAX East, 3/30/19 . Two months ago today.

I was pretty involved in the Jacksepticeye community by this point. I knew of PAX but thought it would be at least a few years before I could attend, but opportunity had other plans. Once again I said fuck it and threw some caution to the wind and embraced adventure. Pulled money together, hopped on a plane (I'd never flown before), and traveled to Boston. For the second time, I took a leap of faith, way out of my comfort zone, for this guy from the internet that played video games for a living. And I got to meet my hero. And he actually knew who I was.

...

5/30/19 . Today.

I prepare for yet another adventure. :') probably my most epic one yet. I'll be flying across the country. Alone. Am I nervous? Extremely. Will it be worth it? Abso-fucking-lutely.

A lot can change in a year. People can change. In ways I don't think I can fully explain I've done a lot of growing as a person. I don't think there was any way I would have done a trip like this so independently over a year ago, but I've got a confidence I've never had before.

I'm not trying to say that if it wasn't for Seán I wouldn't be at this point. Seán is very right when he says we shouldn't discredit ourselves for having the strength to change our own lives. I am the one that took the steps to do what I did.

What I am saying is that he was a very prominent figure during what was a very important growing period for me as an adult, and he will always be special to me for that reason. I've now got a new perspective on what I'm capable of, because of what I've done in regards to him specifically. It was also for myself. For a little adventure, and new experiences.

I think Seán has also done a lot of growing and changing in the last year. As I've worked on improving myself, I've been encouraged by watching him do the same. I have now been lucky enough to be able to tell him in person how proud I am of the happiness he's built for himself, and I really meant it. I grow prouder and prouder every day, as a community member, seeing what he's accomplished. And the fact that he's constantly encouraging us to do the same means a lot. Just him caring, means a lot.

@therealjacksepticeye

Here's to further growth ♥️ thanks for being there with us as we better ourselves.

You're something special, dude.

[sylleblxssom]

❀ KATSUCON UPDATE

I will likely be cosplaying as both Cindy and Lunafreya (Kingslglaive) at Kastucon and Anime Boston this year. Message/ comment/ send an ask if you would like to meet up! 

[luxenvulpies]

INT Continued: Oh okay, I could've sworn I read about it (saying they wanted to make the INT version similar to JP version... I'll find it) Also I've noticed that JP gets medals that we have just simply been skipped on (626 Stitch, 5* (SP Roxas/Axel/Xion, Sephiroth), Nightmare Meow Wow/Flowbermeow, 101 Dalmations (there were some interesting ones to me that I can't remember, I just looked at it). Why would these be skipped or not released sooner?

INT: (So sorry to bother) I was wrong about the interview bit I was referencing earlier. It was at PAX East 2017, but they were talking about revamping medals and the medal system so my apologies!

Unfortunately, INT will never become like JP due to how SENA handles the game. They know that they’ll still get whales to spend even without mercy deals. (How people spend their money is up to them, but I won’t ever understand it.)

I assume they removed the older premium 5* versions to keep them consistent with the following premiums which are only available as 6*. Other medals that you mentioned are…I don’t have an answer for it, honestly. I’m just as confused as you are. (Some may be left for later because they’re holiday-themed, like Illust Santa Sora.)

I didn’t find an interview discussing those topics, but this video is a fan interview that was posted in the KH subreddit. There’s two things of importance: they (SEJP?) wanted INT to be different from JP (we’ve been seeing that…), and to up the “power levels” to be similar to JP (which we now know means that they would be pumping out premium medals faster). Everyone thought this would be great, but, well…we know how most players feel now. In any case, there doesn’t seem to have been any changes to how medals deal damage in INT compared to JP.

Don’t worry, I don’t mind discussion. Even if I do tend to ramble…

[breadherodan]

I wish I could have met you at PAX. I wandered around the floor for ages hoping I'd see you. But I guess I'll have to currently settle for leaving comments online for you (that sounded better in my head, I swear). But, you are an awesome person. Your videos are really funny and always make me smile. You are genuinely a nice, kind, and caring person. Also, have you heard about the snake that only eats crickets? I was going to get one, but a friend told me they stress super easily.

A lot of people missed me at PAX East from what I hear which was surprising because I met more of you guys there than at South! You're Incredibly kind to say those words. I have heard about those kinds of snakes and their high stress levels. They are notoriously hard to keep because they get scared of even shadows!