#|| bloodborne: I love slugs!

[luckyberet]

Marylin in Demons Souls: Gets in trouble for merely being a sorcerer, still proceeds to keep magic safe.

Marylin in DS1: Gets herself in trouble by seeking Logan and some other sorcerers... Starts quest to salvage all sorcery before it's gone. Begins to tutor students for novice spells, while learning more advanced ones and the most rare: soul sorcery. Then gets in trouble with the Scaleless.

Marylin in DS2: Gets out of crystal golem she was trapped, like princess Dusk, her adventure starts in the mines - gets in trouble with the loyal ones to the royalty but otherwise she is pretty fine - exclude target on her head. Her collection is increasing. She has started to study dark magic too but lacks faith to properly use it.

Marylin in DS3: Gets in trouble again for being filthy magic user, spends sometime trapped in Irithyll for interrogations - she just cannot get a break. By now her collection is big and she could be compared to Logan if not beyond herself. Some recognize her as a grand mage, while she has never been officially given the title.

Marylin in Bloodborne: Academic. Finds an remnant of Ebrietas and keeps the slug as a pet. Ends up under wing of a church worker, becoming his assistant while seeking knowledge of the old ones.

[henryvell]

Finally put together a properly well-rendered concept/reference for my hunter oc! Her name's Aubrey and she may not look it right now but there's something deeply wrong with her

a second one to come of her later on, once I get over the five or six hours it took to finish this LMAO

[undeadnecromancer]

[dreaming-raven]

He is so pathetic and creepy and insane. I physically cannot stop thinking about him.

[synthwayve]

Hi I wrote another Micolaurence thing. It is BAD(TM) because I was experimenting and I will probably hate it every day of my life but if I just let every writing project rot in my google docs I’m going to have more putrefaction than prose 🤧

There is also a surprising lack of angst because I am making these 2 suffer in literally every other project so. Commercial slug break!

[starinshadow]

Guys I beat bloodborne for the first time and got the ending "Honey would you still love me if I was a slug" what a fantastic fucking game. I wish I had spent more time on the character creation screen because my character is horrendous and now I have to restart the game to rebuild her stronger, better

[tuffcatdad]

dark souls ending: "will you perpetuate or end the cycle? and does it even matter anyways?" elden ring ending: "will you become lord of a fractured order? or will you burn it all away? or will you leave the lands between to their uncertain future?" bloodborne ending: "would you still love me if i was a slug"

[dailyadventureprompts]

Homebrew Mechanic: Bumpercar Combat

I'm going to keep most of my reasoning behind developing this system below the cut but I think we can all agree that D&D's combat can be painfully static. I love fight scenes but after going down a combined stage combat/ videogame boss design rabbit hole I've realized that one of the primary elements is missing from D&D's combat system, namely: Movement

From a mechanical perspective, D&D combat needs movement to break up the monotony of non-spellcater characters throwing punches at eachother until one of them drops, to introduce increased risk and randomness without damage-spike abilities.

From a narrative perspective, D&D combat needs movement to introduce tension and to help put character into day to day fighting beyond just flavor text. Likewise, fights that give different opportunities for movement will feel different from one another, making them stand out in the party's mind.

So without further ado I present my fun new system, which will have your party and their enemies bouncing around the battlefield like a demolition derby:

Press the attack: If you attack a creature and your initial attack roll is higher than their constitution score, you can force them to shift 5 ft into any of the tree squares opposite from your position. You then move to occupy the space they did.  

Back to a Wall:  Walls and other substantial barriers grant attackers the benefits of flanking as if they were a threatening creature. 

Give Ground: If you are attacked in melee and the initial roll is lower than your dexterity score you may shift into any adjacent square, forcing the opponent to move into the space you previously occupied. If you are attacked at a range, you may still shift, but the attacker loses any cover bonuses they might have till the start of their next turn rather than moving. 

Tripping Hazard: If you force an opponent into a square that could be considered rough terrain ( such as if it was occupied by a chair, or down a slippery slope) the target drops prone. 

First things first I want to say that this system is largely inspired by the dynamic combat movement rules by raventear productions, which I found over on reddit. It's a great system but the more I thought about it the more I realized that introducing extra rolls into combat was adding extra bloat to combat, and so I needed to retool the system to ensure that the party weren't having to roll any more dice than they normally would. My goal with homebrew is always to add more options, not bloat.

Also, go check out@jillbearup over on youtube, her series breaking down cinematic fights was one of the main drivers behind wanting to find a homebrew system like this in the first place.

Finally, long hours spent watching @ohnoitstbskyen 's in depth bloodborne playthough got me thinking about the design of fights, and the right combination of enemies and environment can truly elevate the player(s) experience. I'm also working on my own bloodborne game which gave me a reason to finalize this system.

Now lets get on to why I wanted to build this system in the first place: D&D combat is at risk of being painfully slow and boring, as it's aged the depths to which it can be slow and/or boring have only increased. While part of that is up to the skill of players at the table, I largely chalk it up to the fact that the base system of combat isn't much changed from the days of old tabletop wargaming....characters and monsters control like army units, clashing up against one another till one side drops or some spellcaster drops an AoE ( artillery). That rigidity is fine when one person is controling a whole army of units, but I think every melee character has been in a position where they're slugging away with the same old attack while the wizards get to do cool shit.

The system sort of worked back In the early days when characters and monsters could only take a couple of hits before dropping, but as the editions progressed and everything got more complex what might have first been a quick life or death clash turned into a slugfest. Attacks of opportunity and rigid flanking rules specifically encouraged this slowdown, and 4th edition, the only attempt outside of the battemaster to really play with positioning crashed and burned mainly due to WotC's incompetence.

So how do I use this?

If you're having trouble thinking of why this system might be fun to implement, here's a few ideas:

It makes groupfights more dangerous, encouraging tactical thinking. Getting advantage reliably is the deciding factor in most d&d combats, with the tide turning in favour of whichever side has the most bodies. If combatants are shifting around with every missed hit then that advantage is more up for grabs

It puts increased focus on hazards and terrain features. Ledges, pits, pillars, walls, furniture, dungeon-clutter. Make no mistake that if you use this system and then design your combat arenas with some kind of terrain feature, it's GOING to be used. Where previously players and enemies alike had to chose between engaging with the arena for a potential benefit or doing raw damage reliably, here they'll be able to do both.

It gives non burst-damage melee characters a new way to play. Rolling a barbarian or fighter is supposed to come with a scene of empowerment which can be undercut one folks realize their super-strong orc berserker is being outclassed for damage by the shifty guy with the knife. Telling that player "Yeah, that person gets to roll more dice, but you get to bounce badguys off the walls like pinballs" is more than a consolation, it's what they signed up to do in the first place.

It adds drama to the fight. There's only so many ways a dm can describe enemies taking non-lethal sword hits that only take up a portion of their hp, and they're liable to run out of those long before the campaign is through. Part of what sells the importance of those hits and keeps players engaged between the first and the last is the feeling that they've had SOME kind of effect. Moving folks around is a middle ground between doing nothing and dropping a foe, changing the battlefield in a myriad of small ways that can build up to something meaningful.

Art

[folkloric-love]

"You will find a woman who is more than the sum of her parts." Meet Vasilka, the demure and reticent "daughter" of the Abbot of Saint Markovia's Abbey. She enjoys cooking and sewing, and often takes in mending work for the villagers in exchange for small tokens and wine. She loves flowers and animals, spending a great deal of time tending to the gardens that provide food for the long-term patients confined to the Abbey's hospital. I was invited to join a campaign-in-progress to take on the role of one of the major NPCs and was more than happy to play as the demure yet slightly unsettling Vasilka! After receiving a rough outline of her character and background, I immediately began work putting my own interpretation onto her. I drew a great deal of inspiration from the Pinocchio archetype and characters with an emotionally flat affect, such as Rei Ayanami and The Plain Doll. It was The Plain Doll, especially, which informed a great deal of her personality and character arc, and I even tried to mimic her voice and cadence. The Bloodborne fans in the party were delighted, and one of the players said they "would turn into a slug and be comforted by her." It's quite possibly the highest form of praise I could receive for Vasilka, so thank you so much for that! It is my hope that the party will help to awaken the latent emotions buried deep within her heart and help her to become more "human." Please take care of her, everyone!

Thank you, @luclovestruck for bringing my creepy yet well-meaning daughter to life!

[x1702x]

4, 12, 22 and 23 for Micolash in the character ask game :3

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

Definitely castlevania. I dont know why but I think he could fit in since both bloodborne n Castlevania have gothic aesthetics yadda yadda. Idk i just find that idea endearing!

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

He likes bugs and animals people tend to dislike. He likes slugs, spiders and all sorts of critters any normal person would go "eeeughh"

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

I love when people explore his character before the nightmare. Was he always insane? Did he have humanity in him? I just love how people interpret him on his Mensis era!

23. Favorite picture of this character?

I have many... Shamefully so- But i needed them for painting, cosplay and other stuff... But my favorite from the collection is this one:

Its my favorite pose of his, hes so smug with it, hes literally having a giggle fest out of you... Hes so theatrical i love it

[silenthillmutual]

got tagged for a meme by @slugs-at-midnight :)

Favorite color: i like.......green with a slight bit of blue in it.

Last song: uhmm... i don't remember. i was listening to the behind the bastards podcast last time i was in the car.

Last movie/TV show: i think the last movie i watched was saw v and the last show i watched was futurama

Next on my watch list: i have one episode of midnight mass left to watch please for the love of god can i please get the focus to finish it!!!

Last game: Animal Crossing New Horizons

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: sweet

Relationship status: i have a qpp & we're polyam

Last online search: robot devil voice actor

Current obsession: i've been playing a lot of animal crossing recently but what my brain really wants is some time to replay bloodborne :(

Greatest flaw: i have many but the most relevent atm is that i'm too hard on myself

tagging uhhhhh @yahargulian @sanguinaryrot @twilitfossil @hermitminded @doomednarrative @rottencore and if anyone else wants to do it feel free :3

[smolhoneybat]

I wrote and send this before finding out there's a question section, my bad!

Hi there! I saw your essay on Bloodborne recently while I was playing the game, and I just wanted to say that it was a very INSIGHTFUL (get it?) essay in the themes of the game. I never thought of the themes the game was trying to convey until I saw your content, so thanks a lot!

Also, I don´t know if I should feel bad for killing Arianne´s... slug? I know the Great One´s blood is generally bad for humanity, but I felt bad when I took him out... Also, is killing Ebriettas the right thing to do? Or should I let her live? I figured I'd ask someone who understands the game better than me.

No worries! Thank you for the lovely message ^.^ there's so much tangled up on Bloodborne that there's loads of ways of looking at it and I always LOVE that in a story. Adds an extra layer to playing as you get to squiggle it about in your mind too haha

I didn't feel too bad about killing Ariana's slug because it was early enough that I had no idea what it actually was, and also she clearly did not want that thing near her. When she died too I immediately regretted it but I did get a tasty snack out of it... So for plot reasons technically the "correct" thing to do but maybe not so much morally XD you can skip one cord as there's 4 but you'd still have to kill impostor Iosefka instead but considering she's a serial killer who actively wants Great One babies, she knew what she was getting into.

Ebriatas I felt actively bad about killing because she's been locked down there alone and used by the choir; she doesn't even attack until you do. She's chill. Whenever a boss has to be hostiled I always feel bad about it. I guess I could justify it as a release from suffering but....well her fleshy altar can just bring her back so it wouldn't be really. Let her go sail the stars dammit! There isn't really a right or wrong storywise, as in there's no negative consequences for it, and she doesn't drop anything plot critical so there's no actual need (unless you like chalice dungeons but that's not main plot). You'll know what you did though and that can be worse. The characters in game are busy surviving the plague, and so are you, except *you* know there's choices hahaha

[bobbyzombiegg]

Cool Bloodborne Theory I found

On a youtube video about the slug things in the nightmare frontier (I forgot what they're called) I found a cool theory about the kos parasites. Pretty sure it isn't true since I think it doesn't fit in the timeline, but I love the idea/concept regardless. "This creature made me remember the parasites of Kos. There exist a parasite in real life that usually infests snails, slowly growing inside them until they become big enough. They force the snail to reach a high elevation, where they then attract the attention of birds by making the snail’s vesicular eyes bright and girthy, more like flailing worms. Birds then look at the snails, attracted by their appearance as if they were juicy worms, eating them and then the parasite infesting the bird. There is a theory that the Schoolars that found Kos in the fishing village were infected with the parasite, making them erratic and attempt their ploy to attract the Great Ones. And maybe… maybe everything was just to make the parasite reach another Great One. Everything is just a sickly nasty cycle of a damn parasite." the name of the parasite is Leucochloridium paradoxum by the way.

[katyspersonal]

Transgender micolash

Valid, tho tbh I am not sure whether you sent it to ask my thoughts about it, or just informed me about what idea you like? Sorry it is just hard to say with ask lacking extra words to make it a statement or a question, hahah

I've shared my thoughts about Micolash's attitude to themes of birth and pregnancy occasionally, especially in this post ( x ), but yeah, it comes down to: no matter what Micolash is born with, he would LOVE to have an uterus. So imo, if he was born female, he'd come to lack genital dysphoria and even feel elevated during periods, however would absolutely dread being associated with femininity or motherhood as a role OTHERwise. Like... He'd love what his body allows him to experience, but in terms of gender identity absolutely be a man. And alternatively, as a trans woman, Micolash would definitely take advantage of weird eldrich powers gathered to be reborn in a new body - remember what kind of setting Bloodborne IS! Alternatively, his gender identity could stay male forever and he'd JUST want a type of body that can birth life. He admires this shit to a bizarre extent no matter what!

Again, you didn't specify whether you mean trans man or trans woman Micolash, but in Japanese original Micolash is referred to with the status more akin to king/lord (pretty masculine), not 'host'. So if you mean trans woman, that piece should be factored in. In my mind, Micolash is a man (or, as I like to say, 'my precious boy'), but yes if he is a trans man I can't help but feel like he would yearn to change many things about his body... but not That One. Deeper voice and no b00b tho? For sure. But besides personal dysphoria, there'd be added layer of wanting to become a 'perfect human being' - both male and female. However, that would turn out... well, not so perfect. I think we all can agree the only character in Bloodborne setting who changes the body with eldrich magic and gets the perfect result is Paleblood Hunter when they turn into a squid! (no, Val, you don't get to make the 'is that Patches erasure?!' joke fhghfutjh)

On the OOOOOTHER hand, notice how most of Great Ones are feminine figures? Oedon and Mergo aren't even gendered in Japanese original, and I for one only call OoK 'he' because he appears weirdly humanoid and resembles fishmen, while his mom (who also has human face) is more similar to snail/slug women (sex dymorphism strikes again)! You might want to say "but Oedon-" but holdup! Ebrietas is adult version of what Arianna's child is and is known in internal files as 'bastard of the Moon' so Flora, a feminine Great One, could impregnate mortal women too, you know? So it is possible that a man could get gender dysphoria induced by close proximity with Great Ones, rather than it occurring initially. Like what if Rom for example is only a she after being blessed by Kos, because apparently Godhood in Bloodborne is feminine.

That being said, trans woman Micolash is not necessarily excluded! Just not an interpretation I'd personally choose, because Micolash and Rom in my thing ARE 'brother and sister' mentioned in Brain Fluid description! My Mico is a man no matter with what body he was born! Also, now that I considered it, for trans man Micolash it could work that he used to have full on dysphoria, but it was after communing with Great Ones that he got appreciation for organs of birth that was stronger. Basically Great Ones can shift one's whole self-perception by being TOO much of moms?

(Fun fact, @saintmicolash did come up with an idea like whole three years ago - that Micolash, born male, is reborn with female reproductive system after weird eldrich s3x with Kos, but he can't birth a human and instead can only convert human sperm into her phantasms. I think this fits the character well too, but this idea is just change of the body, without any gender identity change, so I can't say how much it counts...?)

[unlucky-leek]

Following on from my Bloodborne / Blood Moon Ursaluna observation, allow me to introduce you to Marveux:

Marveux started as a random character I created for Bloodborne, my first Souls-type game. I have now started to recreate him in similar games, and have developed a little timeline for him as a result over the last couple of years. The new Ursaluna being so similar to Marveux was hilarious to me, hence the observation, and I have now decided to canonically add "bear form" to Marveux's adventures. It even has the "corrupted eye" on the right side!

Presenting: A Brief History of Marveux:

Bloodborne: Marveux Debuts.

A simple man, Marveux had no idea what was in store for him. He somehow managed to resist the poison spreading through Yarnham, instead channelling it all into his left eye, which allowed him to see things he really shouldn't have been able to.

Following quite possibly the most traumatic experience ever, Marveux bests the Moon Presence and... Becomes a slug. Assuming he becomes the "new" Moon Presence, Marveux eventually tires of his eldritch existence and tried to regain his humanity.

Enter Blood Moon Ursaluna!

The Moon Presence appears in front of a crimson moon and this new bear has a crimson moon on his head. Coincidence? probably I think not!

Marveux tried his best, but *insert unspecified amount of time* of ingesting Beast Blood and being a literal Great One meant it was a little difficult for him to regain his human form too easily. Instead he ended up as a bear man / beast hybrid and fell from the skies, ending up on the shores of Kitakami. He manages to walk on two legs, and has even fashioned himself a cloak of sorts. He even got his original eye colour down! But it's just not good enough, and that poisoned red eye of his is now completely black.

"What cruel existence is this?"

Elden Ring:

Finally, after escaping from the small child that imprisoned him, Marveux retreated to an unspecified location to slowly regain some of his humanity. By the time he is summoned by the Forces That Be to become the Elden Lord, he passes as human again, but barely. He starts off with nothing to his name except a loin cloth salvaged from some of his old fur, and a crudely made club. He's got both eyes back, but it seems he can't quite shake the corruption from the left one.

Marveux has seen some things...

Slowly, Marveux regains his strength, salvaging what he can from his kills. Eventually, after yet another horrifying adventure, Marveux weds Ranni and becomes a Lord. Things, while insane, are good for a while.

(Marveux started as a wretch in this game, with the idea being that he was somehow reincarnated by a higher power, but this also works with the new Pokemon timeline, since he's only just become human again and wouldn't have any armour or weapons etc.)

Demons Souls:

An unspecified amount of time later, Marveux, now a Royal Lord is investigating something for his Queen, Ranni. Through unspecified means (because my boy is extremely unlucky), he slips through a fog gate and finds himself in the world of Boletaria. Unable to find his way back, but fortunately still in possession of some of his powers for once, he sets off on a journey to return home (wherever that is) and reunite with his four-armed love.

His eyes are finally starting to regain their colour, although both eyes are now a strange mix of red and green. There was a time when he tried to claw his red eye from his skull, but all he ended up with was some gnarly scars.

Alright, so he meets another girl on his journey, but it doesn't mean anything, promise!

I've only just started Demon's Souls so I'm not sure how it ends for him yet, but time will tell.

And that's the (current) Tale of Marveux!

When and if I play any more games like this, I'll have to see if I can fit them into the timeline somewhere!

Thanks for reading!

(Why the name Marveux? No idea, just thought it sounded fancy)

[huggingtentacles]

You're being nice to DS2 today, yay! :D

Soooo.... Any thoughts on Shanalotte and her dragon dad?

Also opinions on the lil piggies by the well at Majula? (was gonna ask about crabs but we don't have any in DS2)

Shanalotte has the motherly vibe I really adore. She's nice, though I would love to have more dialogue with her. And the fact that she accompanies me on my journey is really special to me.

I wish she was in a better game.

The ancient dragon is a cool encounter, I wish I could talk to more dragons throughout the series. Unfortunately his bossfight is such a slug to get through. It's long and repetitive, which is fine I guess it's just not for me. Dragon hunting, to me, must be intense and dangerous and exhausting. The ancient dragon is just exhausting.

The little piggies in Majula... A lot of my friends remember them fondly because DS2 was their first fromsoft game and they wrecked their shit. I came in with Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 behind my back, so the only thing I thought about them was the fact that they sure do look tasty.