#LOVE writing cool powers and spell lists

[monstersdownthepath]

I was inspired earlier today to try and stat out the Bedside Shadow. Let's see if this wave of creativity carries into anything, or if it's just another dusty project...

[au-roulette]

To celebrate the fact that we are halfway through the month of June and only a couple of weeks from the start of AU Roulette, have a post detailing the 36 AUs included in this year's challenge!

Like last year, this year's AUs have been curated to be intentionally broad, in the hopes that they will encourage unique takes on each prompt and the creativity of the authors participating. You are welcome to write anything that falls under the umbrella of your assigned AUs, whether it's an original universe, a fusion inspired by another fandom, or something else entirely.

(What's AU Roulette, some of you might be asking? An explanation can be found here, along with the link to sign-up!)

Without further ado -- the AU list, under a cut:

Roleswap - Maybe you want to switch two characters' places, do a class-swap for a D&D fandom, try your hand at an age-swap fic, or you have another idea.

Superhero -- Invent an original universe or do a fusion with one of the many popular big-screen superhero stories. Play it straight and give your favorite characters cool powers, or try a deconstruction of the genre. With great AUs comes great responsibility

Gothic Horror -- Castles. Ghosts. Vampires. Drama. Love that conquers Death. Take your inspiration from classic literature or a newer entry in the genre, like The Locked Tomb books. But be sure to make things spooky.

Post-Apocalypse -- Will the world end in fire or in ice? Or maybe economic collapse, war, zombies, or one of many other options? You write what happens next!

Fairy-Tale -- Pick a classic tale from the Grimms, Hans Christian Andersen, Asbjørnsen & Moe, Charles Perrault, or another favorite author to inspire your AU, try out a more modern re-telling, or use fairy-tale elements to craft your own story.

High Seas -- Including but not limited to Pirate AUs and other Age of Sail adventures. Try out something more historical, or throw in as many fantasy elements as you'd like -- or a bit of both.

Time Travel -- For fixing mistakes, making things worse, or time loops. Or maybe you want to write a fusion inspired by a piece of popular time travel media, like Doctor Who.

Western -- Another AU where writers are free to do their history research or to lean into more outlandish genre conventions. Cowboys, cowgirls, and cowpokes all welcome, of course.

Mythology -- Write a story inspired by your favorite myths and legends, from a whole host of different cultures. Or maybe you'd like to try your hand at writing some epic poetry?

Coffee Shop -- A classic everyone knows and has strong feelings about. Play it straight or add a twist, whichever suits your fancy! After all, no one said where the coffee shop has to be...

Ghost/Cryptid Hunters -- Maybe you want to write a story starring the next Scooby-Doo crew, or maybe there really is something strange in the neighborhood. Or maybe it'll never be clear what really happened -- it's your choice!

Secret Agent -- Code words, code names, you name it. Write a story about spies, cryptographers, or any other clandestine operators. Take inspiration from history or from James Bond. Just don't spill your secrets too soon.

Cyberpunk -- Time to write cyborg identity crises and fight the machine (literally)! Take inspiration from classic media like Neuromancer or Blade Runner or make a totally new cyberpunk universe of your own creation.

High Fantasy -- Elves and dwarves and gnomes, oh my! This AU could encompass everything from Middle Earth to D&D AUs to your favorite high fantasy books you read over and over as a kid. Or maybe you have your own spell to weave.

Band/Musicians -- Whether you decide to make the characters in your AU famous pop stars, part of an orchestra, students at a conservatory, jamming together in their garage, or otherwise musically-inclined, have fun with it!

Cosmic Horror -- You don't have to love Lovecraft to get creative with this AU. Make characters comprehend the incomprehensible, send them messages from beyond the stars, and get a little creepy.

Space Opera -- The genre encompassing works like The Expanse, Imperial Radch, Mass Effect, and Star Wars, brimming with galactic empires, alien species, and chivalric adventures. Write a fusion set in the universe of your favorite work in the genre, or invent a new one!

Sports/Athletics -- Pick a sport, any sport -- whether a team game like hockey, an individual one like archery, a paired one like figure skating, or something a little unconventional, like roller derby or HEMA. Then it's ready, set, write!

Historical Era -- An AU type absolutely bursting with potential, from medieval romances to 1920s Prohibition AUs, to ones inspired by historical fiction like Les Miserables. Whatever era of history strikes your fancy, you can write it.

Space Exploration -- Whether you want to write modern-day astronauts, a futuristic Star Trek AU, or something inspired by the space race, the sky isn't even the limit with this AU!

Urban Fantasy -- For all your modern-with-magic settings. Write an AU inspired by something like Teen Wolf, Artemis Fowl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Rivers of London, or invent your own world where witches and websites coexist.

Library/Archives -- What secrets are hiding in the stacks? Whether it's some kind of ancient evil or just some mis-shelved books, a librarian's work is never done so long as there are materials to catalog and patrons to assist.

Camping/Wilderness Survival -- Could be anything from a fun summer camp or camping trip to a nightmare survival scenario. Write everyone having s'mores around the campfire or something inspired by media like Yellowjackets, where they might be having... something else.

Steampunk -- A fantastic opportunity to get creative with your worldbuilding. Try your hand at some alternate history, or invent a world of airships and other flying machines of your very own.

Shapeshifter -- Can the characters in this AU turn into anything they want? Or maybe they're more limited, like selkies -- even unable to control their shapeshifting at all (can I get an "awoo" from the werewolf fans?)

Classic Literature -- An AU somewhat more dependent on fusion ideas, but still very flexible! Pick a favorite classic book or play and let it inspire your writing!

Dystopian -- Create your own awful society or let a favorite piece of media guide you, like writing a Hunger Games AU. Will the characters break the cycle, or end up trapped in it?

Scientist/Mad Science -- Write characters as normal biologists, physicists, chemists, the next Frankenstein, or as hapless experiments themselves!

Mecha -- Giant fighting robots, what's better than this? Opt for a classic Pacific Rim AU, one based off your favorite anime, or something of your own creation.

Medical/Hospital -- Are the characters working there, or the victims of some unfortunate accident? Or maybe it's a bit of both. Take it wherever you feel like.

College/Academia -- Are the characters in your AU students? Professors? Weary adjunct? Throwing hands at a conference? Some mix of the above?

Stage Performance -- Theater, ballet, stage magic, circus performers -- there's no end to the possibilities for this AU. But whatever you choose, the show must go on!

Fusion -- Mix your chosen fandom with another of your favorites! Perfect for classics Daemon AUs, or for newer popular choices like Severance. The choice is entirely up to you!

Mystery/Detective -- Whether you're writing the world's greatest detective or some meddling kids, play up the mystery! Use a classic locale like 221B Baker Street, or invent your own.

Archaeologist -- Send your characters to work at a dig or a museum, or possibly toss in a little extra adventure, Indiana Jones style. Or maybe you just want to nerd out about pot sherds.

Heist -- Will you write a story about master thieves? Vigilantes righting some wrong? What's being stolen and why? Try a Leverage AU, or a caper of your own making.

[midnight---hollow]

I dont know how comprehensible this is because im dyslexic and didnt spell check before writing anything down but i wanted to draw some of the interactions i think rose would have with the cast. I was gonna do more but i felt i could make them funny later on

Under read more imma talk about the situations i doodled :D

I think rose and idia have alot in common with the biggest difference being the fact she cant play most games (since she cant see the screen) i do think if she is able to join a club itd be board game club and i think that she would be really good at the games she is able to play. I specifically feel she and idia would be really competitive at math games since they are both extremely skilled at stem skills

In book one one after meeting riddle and learning from trey and the others what the rules mean to heartsybul rose decided they wanted to learn the rules as a peace sign and also out of respect(she managed to rope ace and grim into it with the hopes of it removing ace’s collar) rose lost her eyesight because she “didnt follow” lab safety rules and due to other backstory reasons she has the mentality that rules are there for reason, after a chat with riddle she was able to convince him to teach her the rules. Riddles on the list of characters i think rose would be close to because i think besides they tyrant thing, they agree on alot of the same things and have strong learning ethics and stuff

The heartshackle dynamic is always three dumbasses in a trench coat with yuu either adding to the pile or being the braincell holder. Rose is very much the brain cell holder, she is three seconds away from a breakdown but she wont let anyone know that so she just gives a soft smile and tries to find the most polite way to tell someone their plan is shit. Originally she made the truce with grim so he can be her service animal and she became friends with aduece because she thought they where good meat shields but she does genuinely start caring for them and enjoying their company, around book 4-5

If rose was an actual student in nrc she would have 100% been put in pomifiore. She is considered to be ethereally beautiful and she uses her beauty along with her innocent “doll eyed” act to protect herself as thats the only way she feels she can. Even if you get rid of all the trauma she used to love doing self care like hair brushing and outfit picking. I also think potionology would be her best subject magic or not since her father is a scientist and from a young age she was taught stem so she would have a step up on that subject. I just feel its the best dorm to put her in (also its fun for me cus i dont think about that dorm much but now with rose i get to think about them more and their dynamics)

I think rose thinks the leech twins are creepy scum with to much power to not get in trouble for their actions (i love them btw top 4 fav characters) but she would never say that out loud and i think jade atleast finds her interesting. I hc the twins use to be blind but they adjusted to being blind on land so horribly they made a contract with azul to take some of his eyesight in return for “something.” I think jade finds it so interesting learning how humans adapt to being bind and i also think he clocks how she is def hiding something under lock and keep. They are both “oh i know alot but im just gonna act dumb” characters but i think that would make them clash (though they would never confront each other about it)

Btw Floyds nickname for them would be either the default shrimpy or ghost catfish since her og name was ghost and even tho i changed it to rose awhile ago, i often keep it as a nickname for her or try to make her ghostly still. Also the fish just looked cool and cute at the same time, look it up they are so silly

I think leona is chill with rose. They arent friends but he def likes her more than most others in the school, enough to scare people off if they are messing with her a bit to much. He would grumble and tell her she needs to handle her own messes but he also wont stop helping her when he noticed she specifically takes her walks in ways where she will end up near where he rests (incase she needs a break away from others or worse if someone is following her) woke feminist leona def has a soft spot for her even if they dont talk alot (bonus: in the doodle i didnt write it but rose was reaching into her bag to grab pepperspray)

Rose is one of the best students in her class. She cant take notes(until she is gifted a braille writing stylus by riddle), she cant read (even if they had braille books i highly doubt twisted braille is the same as earths) but she has an extremely good memory and is really good at learning. Her father was a genius with multiple phds and while she never took the iq test shes always had a talent in stem and learning environments. She might not know the history of this world but she can pay attention in class and remember it without notes enough so to get good grades and she gets better when she is gifted the writing stylus. This definitely is something aceduce and grim fail to understand because when they ask how she just says “pay attention in class”. Her biggest struggle is when they do required reading but she is often able to convince grim or aduce to help in return for her to then explain the the passage says back to them

Mk thats it for now with rose. Roses story while not the closest to home in regard to my ocs means alot to me and im trying to do it as carefully as i can. I have alot of fun imagining her with the twist line and im prob gonna do a post just yapping about her opinion on the characters and theirs of her. Ill worry about drawing angst eventually but for now just silly doodles ^^

[sunday-spells]

self love spell jar

shake to activate!

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

What goes in:

Salt (i used pink salt 🩷)

rose petals ~ bringing love + strengthening relationship w/ self

baby's breath ~ purification of negative energy

orange peel ~ attracting love + happiness

lavender ~ promotes love, tranquility, + happiness

thyme ~ attracts loyalty + love

cinnamon ~ spell success + power

paper + pen (pink or red ink if you have it)

pink, red, or white ribbon/string

pink, red, or white candle

(optional) include cloves to banish internalized feelings of negativity/self hate/putting yourself down

(optional) adding seashells to incorporate the element water, as well as correspondence to Aphrodite if you worship her or want to call on her for your jar

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

Begin by cleansing your tools + space! Use an incense you love, a bell, clapping, or whatever way you like to cleanse. Don't forget the inside of your jar!

I chose a bigger jar for this spell so that i could hold it in both hands when i use it. Using your paper and pen, write out an affirmation that you feel resonates. I really like:

" I love my body, i love my mind, i love every piece of myself "

once you've written out your affirmation, roll the paper toward you to bring in that energy of self-love. Then, tie a piece of ribbon or string around it in whatever way feels ~aesthetic~ to you. personally, i went with a little bow 🎀

If you enjoy enchanting your herbs, do that before putting them in the jar. One by one, add your herbs while keeping your mind focused on positive, loving thoughts. If you can, list things you love about yourself, and, if you cant, focus on things around you/in your life or nature that you love.

lastly, drop in your affirmation and close your jar. Use your candle to seal it, and, if you want to, place some flowers/petals in the wax as it cools.

shake the jar to activate the energy of your spell and intention whenever you need a little extra love. I like to keep mine by my mirror/vanity.

✨🤍~ Blessed Be ~🩷✨

[whitehairandtraumatized-bracket]

White Hair and Trauma Brawl Round 1; Poll 7

remember, voting is based on swag, trauma, and favoritism!!

trauma and propaganda under the cut!

Trauma! 

Iyozane: They were crown prince of an empire but they were one of those crown princes that were getting set up to be puppet rulers while having little contact with the outside world "for their own protection". Eventually they felt so trapped that they consented to being poisoned. Don't worry they got better. How? "Some stuff happened." Their words not mine.

We don't have hard evidence for much beyond that, but "Some stuff happened." in combination with them going "It seems like I forgot to tell you" when asked why they didn't tell their current allies they used to be the crown prince and someone they used to know in their old life responding with "Playing dumb as usual I see~" (fondly to be clear) or something like that, it feels like they were not in an environment where "I did/do not want to tell you" was an acceptable answer.

Other subtext about their tragic backstory can be found in the fact that their main goal in the story is to become an influential person. This comes across as their suffering in their old life being in large part due to their own powerless through it all, especially in contrast to the power one would expect to have when they're told they will become the emperor someday.

Lysithea: “HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION BABY!!!! Due to political bullshit on top of a centuries long secret war between the church and the mole people, she and her siblings were experimented on in order to bestow two Crests (this world's magic mcguffin) into her body, and she was the only survivor. As a result, her lifespan has been greatly shortened, her hair lost all color, and this event has added to her already prevalent fear of ghosts. In most endings, she dies very young if she survives the war.” 

“The trauma actually is what gave her the white hair, which should count for something. Subjected to brutal blood experiments by TWSITD (spooky underground science dark magic guys) to be given two crests. So now she's more magical which is cool and all only her lifespan was more than halved! So fun!”

Propaganda!

Iyozane: I love them because they're just. Such a mess <3 They wanted to be a pirate for a bit and had supposedly given up on it due to realizing they couldn't do much with just themself and a boat but their species is listed as aspiring pirate (side note: Len'en dev likes to write in occupations as species names sometimes, might be part of some bigger theme might be a joke) and they literally have a spell card called "Great Pirate Iyozane". In general they like to get ahead of themself <333

There's so many more examples I could give of them being a mess but I'll just sum it up shortly. They once tried to scam someone only to end up in crippling debt because it turned out they were scamming an aspiring loan shark, and they're a bitch.

Lysithea: “She loves cake. She has the best Crest combo in the game. She has the best spell pool. She's fun. She's sassy. She's driven. She's smart. If she wins this contest I will be very bappy (if you know you know). This little magic nuke is a glass canon and I love using her in battle to kill the Death Knight. She's amazing.” 

“Once again, the white hair gave her the trauma, so…”

[j-richmond]

My favorite Yeld monsters

I was looking through the Yeld rulebook trying to choose some monsters for my next game, and I kind of got lost in how much I like our monsters. I know this is a little bit of bragging. I did all the art for the game, and my brother and I wrote all the monsters, so its like "hey, isn't this thing I made so cool?" But... Hey, aren't these monsters so cool? Part of it is, of course, that I'm designing the exact kind of monsters I want to see. No wonder I like them! Anyway, please indulge me while I share my 5 favorite Yeld monsters!

The Shipwrecker Queen: A kaiju sized mermaid with squid hair who eats ships? I like her a lot! I designed her for the Yeld Summer Collection, which was a set of odds and ends content that we released a few years ago. My idea was that these giant mermaids support the armies of the Deep as living war engines who destroy enemy warships and sink fleets. I think at first she was going to be a giant squid? This is better.

Big Bad Beetle Boss: A crime boss in the Bug Mafia! This guy shows up as a Boss Monster in our Rank 1 Adventure Set. In that adventure the Friends are witnesses in a trial against some dangerous Spelling Bees. This guy bursts out of the floor in the middle of the court room and skewers the prosecutor! I really love the idea of an insect crime syndicate!

Witch Cult Priest: The Elves of Yeld are cats. They were banished deep under Yeld's surface after starting a war that almost ended the world. Elves are absolute maniacs, and while they aren't individually evil they come from a pretty crappy society built on oppression and hatred. The Elves we meet in Yeld all seem to be little murderous turds. They worship a long dead Witch named Jan Hoddan, who gave them hands and the power to build horrible war machines. I really like this drawing. I was trying to kind of do a Conan the Barbarian style cultist, and I think it works. She looks absolutely deranged, like she would very happily cut out your heart as a sacrifice to her Witch God. Just like every cat I know. You can find her in the Elves of Yeld expansion.

Hasatch: We didn't really create the Hasatch. We stole it from the internet. Do you remember? It was like a weird meme monster from the early 2000s? I always liked it. Its so dumb looking. I don't know if the original intent was that its head looks like a dong, but unfortunately every time I draw it that's what it looks like. Hasatch fit into Yeld really well. They're big and dumb and smelly, and no one likes them. And they eat everything. This illustration is from the Yeld rulebook.

The Facetoother: Nick and I write and design everything for Yeld. Except we have a monthly event where our fans can create new monsters. The Facetoother is one of those monsters, a creature that sneaks into your bedroom while you sleep to steal your teeth! I really like the art for this dude. He's very weird and creepy! He appears as a free monster on the Yeld Patreon.

Lumbering Lumberjackal: Nick came up with this one. The Lumberjackals are the caretakers of the Ghost Oak Forest. They're giants (look at that pig on his belt) that cull the forest's Root Gods and harvest its trees. I like the pun name a lot, and tried to really sell it in the art. A jackal who is a lumberjack? Sure! You can find him in the Yeld rulebook. (Also, he's very handsome, right? Look at that smile. The broad shoulders. Those forearms. I didn't MEAN to make him look like that, but there he is.) Anyway, those are 5 of my favorite Yeld monsters. A totally self indulgent list.

[roccoparondi]

Spellbound (Michael Corleone x OC)

Summary: Day 26 - Dub-Con. Gloria Marino’s got most of Las Vegas wrapped around her finger, except the one she really wants—but it won’t be long before Michael Corleone’s under her spell, too. [AO3 link | Kinktober 2024 Masterlist]

Note: This AU is heavily inspired by The Love Witch (2016). It was a lot of fun to write evil!Gloria and turn this power dynamic on its head🤭

Word count: 1k

Warnings: Sexually explicit content involving dubious consent (use of a love potion for sexual coercion)

Gloria didn’t regret her move to Las Vegas one bit. New York was cramping her style. Every damn witch in the city knew each other, no matter their practice. Her mother, an old guard strega, didn’t approve of her using her powers so frivolously, preaching honor and responsibility.

The City of Sin offered Gloria all the debauchery she could dream of, her job as a hostess in one of the casinos’ restaurants was a revolving door of men she could use how she wanted and then kick to the curb whenever she was done with them. This routine suited her perfectly well, until she met the casino’s owner late one evening. Each subsequent encounter with Michael Corleone made her feel like she’d been struck by lightning.

Handsome. Dark. Powerful. Woefully disinterested in her—at least on the surface. She caught the lingering glances, felt his eyes walking all over her, even when she wasn’t looking. His latent desire was more than enough to work with. She dug her great-grandmother’s spellbook out from its hiding place beneath her bed late one night, full of dark magic her mother unequivocally shunned, but her grandmother held onto out of respect for tradition, passing it onto Gloria on her sixteenth birthday. Carefully flipping the worn, yellowing pages, she found the one she was looking for close to the end.

The ritual required consumption and copulation, with a complicated potion at the center of its successful execution—dangerous in the wrong hands, but she couldn’t think of a better purpose than binding a man like Michael Corleone to her, the kind of man she deserved. 

Pleased to have found most of the ingredients in one outing, she wasted no time in making the potion when the conditions were finally right. Gloria couldn’t cook a meal for her life, but her cookware had seen plenty of use. She spit into the pot on the stove, watched the thick, crimson liquid reach a boil, and then quickly removed it from the heat. When the mixture coagulated as it cooled, she sliced her left palm open with a steak knife. The blood dripped, melding with the rest of the potion with a sizzle.

Just as the recipe promised, it was sickeningly sweet. She frowned. A snag in her plan. The love potion would be easy enough to slip into freshly mixed cocktails or decadent desserts, but Michael indulged in neither. Tapping her manicured nails against the countertop, she considered how exactly she could slip him the potion. The best she could come up with was pouring some in the coffee he always ordered after dinner and hope he drank enough for it to have some effect on him. 

Her stomach twisted the following evening, watching him grimace as he took a sip of his coffee. He set it down, pouring cream into it before taking another gulp. No good. He waved the waitress over and asked for it to be sent back.

Gloria turned around, hardly able to focus on the list of reservations in front of her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her arm a few minutes later.

“Gloria, before I go, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about,” Michael said, his gaze especially dark as he stared into her eyes.

She smiled. “Of course, Mr. Corleone.”

“It’d best be discussed in private.”

“Well, my shift doesn’t end for another—”

“They can find someone else to cover for you.”

He ushered her out of the restaurant, and she couldn’t contain the smugness in her expression when he placed his hand on the small of her back on the elevator ride up to what she could only assume was his hotel room. 

The door hardly opened and shut before she was pushed against it, his mouth hungrily on hers, more teeth and tongue than lips, as if his intent were to devour. She resisted the urge to laugh. If only he knew, she’d have her claws sunk deep into him soon enough. 

Heat radiated off of his body, his passion for her so intense she was hardly able to pull away from his embrace for a moment.

“Mr. Corleone, I had no idea you felt this way about me,” she said breathlessly, the mirth in her voice betraying her ingenue facade.

“Ever since I saw you—I thought I had it under control, but—”

“Then don’t fight it, Michael,” she urged. “Don’t you want to make love to me?”

He still had some troublesome resolve in him, as he nearly mumbled an excuse about his wife until Gloria kissed him, pressing her pouting lips against his, practically smearing her freshly applied Rouge Dior across his mouth. Dug her fingers in his hair, unkempt and wild at her hands, and she hadn’t even gotten him over to the bed yet.

He finally gave in when she tugged at his belt, her hand brushing his growing bulge. 

A soft moan tumbled out of her mouth when he pushed her back onto the bed, his gaze white-hot and wild as he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants. She just barely managed to shimmy her panties down to her ankles when he threw himself on top of her. 

Taking his hand in hers, she brought it to her pussy. “Do you feel that? It’s all for you.”

“Only me, Gloria,” he said, his voice low, almost dangerous if she weren’t certain she was in control as he pushed his cock inside her. The potion had done most of the heavy lifting, enhancing his existing lust for her, dissipating his resolve with each passing moment he wasn’t penetrating her.

Her wavy hair fanned out on the bedspread in serpentine tendrils, a dark crown haloing her head. She wrapped her arms around him, prepared to damn him in her embrace. He was close, she could feel it, the way his hips stuttered, his thrusts longer and deeper inside her. Gloria knew what they’d call her after everything was said and done—homewrecker, slut, witch, spewed from lips curled in jealousy poorly disguised as disgust. 

Finally, finally he came, didn’t even try to pull out, effectively signing himself over to her. 

Pleasure cracked down her spine like a whip as she cried out in ecstasy, “You’re mine now, Michael. You’re all mine.”

“Strega,” he uttered in horror, as if his release allowed him to come to his senses.

She threw her head back and laughed and laughed and laughed.

[marreddream]

Tokyo Afterschool Summoners - HOUSAMOTOBER 2024

a daily creative challenge for October, with Housamo prompts! 31 days of prompts, 7 days, 1 day, or anything in between; any and all participation is welcomed and encouraged!

feel free to use/pull from last year's HOUSAMOTOBER prompts if you'd like, or even from another list entirely

drawing, writing, photo editing, GIF making, commentating; anything goes! use the tag #housamotober (spelled HOUSAMO + TOBER) looking forward to everybody's works!

Explanation of prompts under the cut.

31 DAYS VER. 1-11. Housamo Attributes Something with a character, vanilla or variant, with the corresponding attribute. Why not take a look at your Support Member List for inspiration? Of course, a piece inspired by the concept of the word itself is cool, too.

12-20. Housamo Weapon Types Something with a character, vanilla or variant, with the corresponding weapon type. Of course, a piece inspired by the concept of the word itself is cool, too.

21-24. Seasons Winter Wonderland, Spring Cherry Blossoms, Summer Swimsuits, Autumn Woods; something with a character and corresponding season.

25. Dream Event What type of Event would you most want to happen? And with what characters? The type of event you'd shell out all of your gems and tickets to pull on the gacha for. If nothing comes to mind, something inspired by the Ueno Fluffy Dream Kingdom event, Melty Dream with [X], or anything with the word "dream" in it is cool, too.

26. Role Swap What if Shiro Motoori had Kengo Takabushi's Belt of Power? What if Kengo Takabushi had Shiro Motoori's Necronomicon? You can interpret this prompt as an backstory swap, outfit swap, anyway you'd like.

27. Fairytale Stories of princess, witches, knights! Folklore of fae and more! Something with a character and a concept from a fairytale.

28. Monster Zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghosts! Too many to count, so many to choose from. Something with a character and a monster motif.

29. Candy Chocolate, taffy, lollipops, and hard candy! Too many to count, so many to choose from. Something with a character and a candy motif.

30. Mob Unit Show the mobs some love! Something with a 1-2 star character.

31. Halloween Free Space Happy Halloween! Anything goes here!

7 DAYS VER. 1-5. Beast Werewolves, werecats, werewhatevers! Something beast related. Could honestly just be any Therian character.

6-10. Undead Zombies, ghosts, vampires, skeletons; something related to being brought back from the dead. Or something with any character that has "died" in the story alive again, lol.

11-15. Slasher Michael Myers™, Ghostface™, Chucky™, M3GAN™; something related to the iconic slasher trope. You could even turn a character into their own original slasher!

16-20. Sports Baseball, Basketball, Cheerleading, Hockey; something related to the concept of sports! I thought sport Halloween costumes were more popular than they actually were, but upon further research, does not appear to be the case. But I've already made the list, so sports it is.

21-25. Outfit Swap A character wearing another character's outfit. Outfit Swap and Role Swap are basically interchangeable, so feel free to get creative!

36-30. Candy Chocolate, taffy, lollipops, and hard candy! Too many to count, so many to choose from. Something with a character and a candy motif.

31. Halloween Free Space Happy Halloween! Anything goes here!

[ishtates]

Cookie Run Oven break style relationship charts for the TNMN nightmares:

Basically how this works is I will list a character and write what they think of some neighbors and their reputation for some neighbors

I am, unfortunately, very bad at remembering. In lists for floors 2 and 3 some of the opinions and reputation may be forgotten to add or I end up adding more than intended. IE let's say Xezbet has an opinion of someone on F2, I might forget to add that to their reputation when I start their list

Floor 1 inhabitants

Xezbet Xerbet

Opinions:

Drugia ( rival ): " HAHAHA !! THERE'S NO STOPPING MY EVIL PLANS ! "

Lilith ( rival ): " Stop meddling with my magic ! "

Quachil ( tension ): " even I wish not to work with your powers, wretched brat ! "

Barbatos ( friendly ): " he's quite reliably stupid ! But very useful for getting me the necessary materials to carry out my plans ! "

Shub ( friendly ): " picking on the weak for your amusement, hilarious ! "

Yan Luo ( rival ): " I SWEAR I'LL BECOME STRONGER THAN THE KINGDOM OF DIYU EVER WAS !!! "

Reputation:

Ishtar ( tension ): " he scares me.. and he's annoying.. "

Exael ( tension ): " leave my brother alone. He's not some pet. "

Lilith ( friendly ): " his spells are really cool for a cranky old man ! "

Drugia ( tension ): " I can sense a hidden light in you.. but alas, you choose to ignore it "

Chaugnar ( tension ): " you're reckless and hardly think before you act, you are not the great entity you think you are. "

Drugia Fleurrety

Opinions:

Ishtar ( friendly ): " worry not, Ereskigal. I'm more than happy to help you with your nightmares "

Xezbet ( tension ): " I can sense a hidden light in you.. but alas, you choose to ignore it "

Anazareth ( friendly ): " I can sense her soul, the princess you love dear is more than grateful for your efforts "

Chaugnar ( friendly ): " a charming one ! Very sweet, though slightly harsh "

Zoth ( friendly ): " seeing you flash everyone a friendly smile is a heartwarming scene "

Reputation:

Ishtar ( friendly ): " thank you.. I've been having fewer nightmares "

Chaugnar ( friendly ): " my followers are always delighted to see you !! "

Teutates ( friendly ): " calming.. I like that "

Xezbet ( rival ): " HAHAHA !! THERE'S NO STOPPING MY EVIL PLANS ! "

Quachil ( rival ): " stop messing things up for me !! Augh !! "

Barbatos Barrabam

Opinions

Exael ( family ): " brother from elsewhere !! I love you bro ! Never forget that !! "

Anazareth ( admiration ): " tall and powerful lady ! That's so cool !! "

Yog ( tension ): " rude.. does he ever shut up ?! "

Teutates ( admiration ): " tall and destructive lady !!!! I like that.. "

Ah Puch ( friendly ): " he likes to give me flesh or bones of people he killed !! "

Reputation:

Orcus ( friendly ): " there doesn't have to be a lot going on in someone's head to make them good ! "

Exael ( family ): " he's a silly, sweet person, he tries his best ! "

Teutates ( tension ): " stupid man.. shouldn't you be chewing on something ? "

Dagda ( friendly ): " an interesting and kind fellow but please stop biting and scratching my disguises "

Izanami ( friendly ): " he's a little weird, but he's cool "

Exael Lanithro

Opinions:

Barbatos ( family ): " he's a silly, sweet person, he tries his best ! "

Xezbet ( tension ): " leave my brother alone. He's not some pet. "

Izanami ( friendly ): " I understand being sad.. if it helps, I think you're quite beautiful "

Orcus ( tension ): " how are you so chipper all the time.. especially with Prince Diyu around you of all people.. "

Abducius ( tension ): " yikes.. how do you live like that.. stop smiling like that "

Reputation

Abducius ( tension ): " well fuck you too ! I can't unmutilate myself ! "

Orcus ( tension ): " aww man.. but an enemy is just a friend you haven't made yet ! '

Barbatos ( family ): " brother from elsewhere !! I love you bro ! Never forget that !! "

Dagda ( friendly ): " you're quite the character, you know ? I like listening to you "

Anazareth ( friendly ): " you have hidden strengths, a trained knight such as I should know. Come forth and I'll aid you, we can spar "

Lilith Lilitu Lilit

Opinions:

Yan Luo ( admiration ): " OOHOO !! I love beautiful men !! "

Anazreth ( family ): " I'm forever grateful.. "

Orcus ( friendly ): " oh you're a cutie pie ! "

Ishtar ( friendly ): " aww I'm sorry that I used to scare you ! You're a sweetheart ! "

Xezbet ( friendly ): " his spells are really cool for a cranky old man ! "

Reputation:

Anazareth ( family ): " I couldn't leave you there, and I'm happy I didn't "

Xezbet ( rival ): " Stop meddling with my magic ! "

Izanami ( friendly ): " oh she's great, she likes doing my nails ! "

Zoth ( friendly ): " hoohoo ! You're always fun to have around for rituals ! "

Nyogtha ( friendly ): " her spell made it easier for me to stick together "

Yog ( friendly ): " I see a fellow fang friend ! "

Anazareth Anazarel

Opinions

Lilith ( family ): " I couldn't leave you there, and I'm happy I didn't "

Exael ( friendly ): " you have hidden strengths, a trained knight such as I should know. Come forth and I'll aid you, we can spar "

Ah Puch ( friendly ): " you're quite talented with blunt objects.. especially that precious bat of yours "

Quachil ( tension ): " you are a curse in and of itself.. "

Yan Luo ( admiration ): " I will always be here to serve you, sire "

Reputation

Yan Luo ( friendly ): " really, it's fine. I don't need protection. "

Lilith ( family ): " I'm forever grateful.. "

Barbatos ( admiration ): " tall and powerful lady ! That's so cool !! "

Drugia ( friendly ): " I can sense her soul, the princess you love dear is more than grateful for your efforts "

Shub ( tension ): " stupid mermaid.. learn to have fun !! "

Abducius Morail

Opinions

Ishtar ( friendly ): " best friend !! Oh.. we suffered too much.. "

Yog ( tension ): " you're annoying as hell.. "

Teutates ( friendly ): " you treat Ishtar well, so you're good to me !! "

Shub ( admiration ): " he's hilarious ! He's not that bad "

Zoth ( friendly ): " I'm more than happy to partake in a ritual "

Exael ( tension ): " well fuck you too ! I can't unmutilate myself ! "

Reputation

Shub ( admiration ): " oh he's awesome !! I love the way he fucked people up, too ! "

Exael ( tension ): " yikes.. how do you live like that.. stop smiling like that "

Nyogtha ( friendly ): " he's a lunatic but at least he's got good jokes "

Zoth ( friendly ): " an outstanding artist in mutilation, though I worry for him "

Ishtar ( friendly ): " you're a great friend, thank you for everything.. "

[feralkwe]

top five worst tropes, in your opinion?

ooh! a tough one, because there are so many tropes, and so many categories of trope (character trope, relationship trope, plot trope) that i could make a list just in one of them. but just generalized off the top of my head, no specific category:

5. amnesia. oh my GOD i hate an amnesia plot, especially when it is the only thing preventing the conflict from being resolved, or used as the conflict keeping a ship apart. the closest thing to an amnesia plot i have ever liked, and i feel dirty giving terry goodkind anything related to a compliment, but the chainfire spell in the last two sword of truth books was actually compelling because *everyone* magically forgot the character in question existed, every touch of her was wiped away in an actually cool concept. it's too bad tg wrote the most insufferable male protagonist ever committed to the page. he seriously ruined the entire series by existing. i wish there was a chainfire spell to make me forget richard rahl.

4. the misunderstanding. if your whole story arc/plot/reason a ship can't sail is because of some misunderstanding that could have been resolved with a reasonable conversation, you've lost me. it's uninteresting to me. it's just so flimsy as a concept that it cannot carry the weight of a compelling story. it makes the characters feel shallow. come up with a better obstacle. i believe in you.

3. deus ex machina. i love a good twist or unexpected turn, but babygirl you gotta leave us crumbs that lead us there, even if we, the reader, might be too dumb to see them. idc if it's a random convenient power introduced at the exact moment it's needed or a literal deus ex lowered on a crane to solve the problem. if it's too convenient without any context clues, i'm gonna be annoyed because i feel cheated. leave that stuff to the theatre professionals. you're not an ancient greek.

2. the perfect protagonist everyone loves. no, i don't mean mary sues as they've been smeared across fiction everywhere. i love me a mary sue! more people should be so bold! i mean the characters who never seem to have conflict with anyone ever. everyone is their friend. no one ever argues with or challenges them. no one is ever annoyed with them. wronged parties forgive them right away, even when they are wrongity wrong wrong. even the pc of an rpg runs into personality clashes with their closest companions and have to rng their way out of it. give me a little grit or friction, please! bonus irritation points if the characters just bang and it's all forgiven.

1. the love triangle. just... heck off i am so tired of it. no one writes it in an interesting way anymore. it's always obvious who will pick who in the most boring way. more often than not the third person is just mistreated and left hurt and alone or as a lazy plot device to keep the main couple in conflict. let me balance the scales of my terry goodkind compliment from earlier by saying that he did this most egregiously to my poor girl nikki in confessor, building her up in a relationship with the horrible protagonist who did not deserve her until the last minute when she helped rescue his real love. then he just... discarded her. it's boring. give me (believable, well developed) polyamory or find a better conflict for your obviously destined to be endgame couple. heck, even give me a person who genuinely loves both people and *tries* while slapping on a bittersweet ending! if your third person is disposable then your character did not earn their hea*.

*i purposely left off the hea. that's a post of its own.

[kiwikiswia]

hey @9617saphs totally didn't forget about this but, sighs

first of all, *them (blasts you with spelling mistake gif)

second of all, you SHOULD'VE TELL ME THIS IN THE ASKBOX dumba dumma I literally just found this from scrolling the tags of the post (i don't usually check activities <- scared) and found out you rb'ed my post which i'm sorry for noticing it late but then again you should've send this to my ask it's literally an ask game!!!! dum

(/lh /nm at the fullest i hope the way i word it kinda funny/unserious makes me actually sound not mad at all, I just feel like this funny)

anyway back to the answer,

I actually kinda expect someone will ask this 😭but at the same time I have to thought of the answers like "how do I make you know that this character mean so so much to me" since wooooords are hard and idk if anything I say is comprehensible to people but aight I'll try.

ok what was the questions aga- okay.

long post ahead whoops!

1.) How do I feel about this character?

short answer, I have uncountable arts and comics ideas about them what do you think i feel about this character

long answer,

the "they look cool but tf is that goofy ass hair tie brah is that a feather duster 😭" -> "grumpy cold freak /neu" -> "wait actually. I need to learn more about them" (no reason, but full of spite and curiosity) -> "FFUCKCKFUFUXKCUDK WHY ARE YOU SO COMPLICATED" (trying to figure things out) -> "ough this is not normal I'm not normal actually. /pos" -> "self projection beam go" pipeline.

can a character I used to mock on turn into character I've written and theorized on a lot? Into a character I self project onto? apparently engel from the hit game pk2 can do this to me, and as one of the most mysterious character in the game engel gave me so much headache long time ago it's making me insane (still am) but worth it! but I can't escape now! i might be forever staying in this regalle hellhole! wow!

2.) /r pair you like of this character

Need I Say Anything next question

3.) /non r pair you like of this character

the above answer goes too here actually. i've ever mentioned somewhere they're like. a secret fourth thing to me. their love is something incomprehensible to the world it *can't* be classified as merely and only romantic. sure it can be seen as such but I don't rlly want to strict the two's relationship under a status.

but for other answers is of course the other two of the main 4, leif and especially evelynne

don't get me wrong I do am insane more about zefirengel and the writing I have about their dynamic is a lot more (yes i'm biased thanks to the past me and how I want to bring back that old spite. sorz), but

never forget that evelynne is canonically the only person in regalle that engel has positive relationship with. they're friends and lynne mentioned engel helped her since the early days she became a merchant and said multiple times they're nice despite that cold cover of theirs. how'd they get along in the first place? that's the question. there's so SO many things I thought of about their friendship story and her perspective prove a thing that engel isn't always a very quiet cold and meanie person and can be soft and nice if you actually get them right.

(though smth to note I see them as queerplatonic. I think lynne would shriveled up if she found out she's in a romance with someone for a second and. idk they fit better as that honestly I don't think they understand romance or want to aha)

and leif. goodness. if they interact more perhaps prism may fall into apocalypse they're too powerful. they could be a good student-mentor duo. Leif called them "librarian friend" and I believe he would ask for guidance to engel despite already have gwynelle. engel too would admire his bravery and determination to help everyone and just being so friendly with anyone. how's he's just. a contrast with the so-called arrogant and strict aegles. I can list MANY similarities they have esp like. their mindset. actually If i have to list what things are the main 4 share the same it would be uncountable since each second passes I would thought of a thing then another.

OH AND DON'T FORGET GRETTA THEIR SO-CALLED SISTER i can't even say anything here it would be a lot LOT. God what are you two hiding. what are your motives to hide on places? what. what. what. wh

engel why are you such a complicated character (i AM the one making it complicated) (i give too much a fuck)

4.) unpopular opinion of said character

bitches who call them librarian aegle version of peanut pk1 needs to be executed

(this one is [mostly] for me ->) also people mostly thought they're mean and "annoying" or just see them like "ok sure you exist but you're kinda nothing with that grumpy personality", which I get people see it that way esp when you aren't into the game deeply but you've got to know there's more than that about them and once you learned atleast their origins you realized you can make things up, interpret how they are this and that and how they act that and this, it was so much fun to figure out how their actual personality blend with the others. you can actually have so much fun with them considering the many things about them unrevealed. truly the character to self project onto. it's fun.

5.) what you wish happened to this character in canon (?? smth smth around this I forgot)

grabs kurechii devs' shoulders. hey.

I know they really just seem really want to stay distance and unbothered by the people in regalle but. c'mon. can you develop more interactions of the main 4 with each other. I promise I know how to get it right I can help you I can give you ideas. more things about gretta and engel please. where could this engel enthusiast get other sources to learn about them. hey. can you still make them able to befriend others despite have to stayed mysterious. do I have to stay making things up forever like this. hey. hey. are you really gonna make them stay mysterious forever. that would be so bad you know. hey. can zefirengel become the 2nd sapphic rep of this game. why did you make them terrible. can they be more developed actually whether it's onto the healthy yuri or toxic yuri or tension yuri lead but can you not just left them like that. hey. h

.

ok that's all for now props if you read all that and idk if what I'm explaining is accidentally out of topic or I fully don't answer what the question asked aka I go off with what the question asked or. I actually just yap nonsense or nothing at all but idrc at this point i. certainly talk about things. and. I think my brain's fried from typing all of this. have this little doodle okay bye

[helluvapurf]

Out of curiosity, what are your Top 10 Fave HB ships overall?❤️‍🔥

My "overall" top 10 faves? ...Hmmmmm-

Honestly a lil tricky 'cause alot of my main HB ships rn aren't exactly "canon" (save for like, one or two lol), and I do like to multi-ship alot as well depending on my mood. Sooo if I had to name just the top ships currently in my head rn (even if its not a full 10 list), here ya go!

Fizz x Ozzie Beautifully lustful bfs not afraid to be doofuses together whilst always lifting the other up when they're down... honestly, what more can one ask for in a Hell-ranked power couple?~ 💞🔥 If they ever made a spin-off for Fizzarolli, I’d SO be down for that if it means more Fizzmodeus duets~ 😍

Blitz x Fizz -Biiiit of a controversial one I know, since ofc Fizzarolli is in a relationship rn/Blitz having his own issues wouldn't spell too much success for a romance atm... but like, ughhh I can't help it they're SO good, man T-T 💕 Like, two torn-apart childhood friends who grow up into a petty rivalry, sassing eachother out whilst learning to work together in danger, hashing out their feelings enough to forgive (whilst taking it slow friendship-wise) BUT also having Blitz stand his ground to protect Fizz at the Mammon event?

...Honestly, if it weren't for Fizzmodeus (+Stol*itz) existing, these two would THE perfect endgame, fr~ 👏👏

Loona x Bee "Peppy x Moody" aesthetics are always a huge soft spot for me in ships, so I couldn't help getting drawn to these gals maybe being more than just "pals" lol ;p

Esp with the potential of Bee not being afraid to call out Loona on her crap (unlike most others who deal with her lol), Loona lowkey finding Bee attractive & super cool (despite still being a lil jealous over her Tex crush), and knowing how intuitive Bee is as a whole... I feel like she'd be the best influence to soften up Loona to get her to express herself & have fun~💖

Bee x Tex Prob my fave (canon) hetero pair atm, I think these two are pretty lovely on their own accord too~ :3 Surprisingly subtle with their affections compared to other couples... but you can still tell how much they fit well given their laidback natures, abilities to "read" people (like Blitz when he got too drunk), and just overall care for eachother in that bit after Bee shrank down to size. Really curious of how they got together ngl (esp given how Hellhounds are pretty low in the hierarchy system as-is), I think it'd be pretty fun to read about~ 🥰

Blitz x Striker Ahhh yes, def a classic in terms of the alternate Blitz ships out there (though I guess not as popular these days, given Striker's current writing .w.; ). From how much they oozed chemistry from their first meeting, Blitz's respect for Striker's skill almost giving them good coworker potential, their similar insecurities/frustrations with Hell's hierarchy system (even with Striker going a more "corrupt" route with it in later appearances... the fact that even he declares that Blitz deserved "better" than how Stolas' treats of him speaks volumes ngl-). Like, there's SO much potential imho; whether its a slowburn-redemption pair, an "flirting-on-opposing sides" pair, a "come to the dark side- we have cookies~" pair... the possibilities are endless~ 👀❤️

Blitz x Mrs. Mayberry

-Ok, now this one's proooobably the least popular overall of the Blitz ships out there... but idk, just thought it'd be a cute idea the more I thought about it lol .3.

Blitz may be a goofy lil jerk, but he's clearly a devoted family man at heart whenever you see him with his loved ones (Loona, Fizz, occasionally M&M, etc.). And with Mayberry having that strong desire for a family (despite how she was cheated/unfairly-bashed on after her death), I feel like she'd lowkey be a sweet influence to balance Blitz's chaotic nature (whilst he'd be able to make her laugh/bring "excitement" to her current life in Hell). Idk, just something light & cute like that, yknow? :3 💜

[greenflamethegf]

What is your favorite TTRPG and why?

After seeing your answer, I supposed I should write a one to match. I have played so many different ones, I simply no cannot being myself to name just one. This to say nothing on system I have made or am working on.

Also, I will reference your post quite a bit, so let me just link it [here]

My first love is pathfinder 1e, but from even from there two really cool variants

Sphere Finder

a PF 2e before PF 2e. This takes PF and add a some system of sphere and talents, from supplants published by Drop Dead Studios. Effectively getting to choose marshal or magic powers to mix and match with feats and class abilities. A lot of death while being simpler then base PF 1e. Especially as caster no long had a list of 20+ spells, rather a few abilities and ways to modify. Similarly, for marshals, they even got cool thing like inspiring shouts or cutting a whole in space to teleport. So there wasn't much of gap between caster or marshals

Perhaps still speak TTRPG expirance, but It is quite taxing on the GM, and it largely still has the issues you mentioned in your post. Still, I would REALLY like to play it again. Heck, I would probably run it if I could, that instead of my day job. Anyway, largely in the same vain is

3.P

Perhaps a term you have heard being around in time of D&D 3.5, as was used to describe any amalgamation of PF 1e and D&D 3.5e. My favourite way to play it was to use PF a base and add more reasonable 3.X (D&D 3.0~3.5) rule books, as well as from 3pp (third party published) suppleness for both. It's difficulty, a crown king of complexity, but it did and still dose made my brain go 'woooo'. I still have oh so many indexes and lists for it. I get immense satisfaction with crazy fancy builds that are still rules legal.

however, they aren't I play and run these days... on that honour goes to

Uncommon Words

A cool hack of Dudgeon World that is simpler than 5e while providing more options, interesting characters. In many ways it's what people you don't play TTRPGs thing 5e is. And since this a post about enable TTRPGS, this the last mention of 5e.

DW and pbta (pawed by apocalypse) games in general have this cool three outcomes system of: Yes and..., Yes but... and No and.... This keeps the action going, often one action crates opportunity or danger that will be to relent for then ext one. Specially the way I run combat, it's just a consent stream of "This tread approaches, what do you do?", "This allay is gander, what do you do?", "This enemy is exposed, what do you do?".

Similarly, rules little means you can improve a lot of stuff. You can make a monster on fly with a simple questioner, and by deciding they do any actions appropriate for their kind.

Still, unlike other rules lite system (for example 2d10), it does offer some rule. Some character builds and dice mechanics. This is just enough to have a solid base for a character.

It's by one means perfect. The HP and damage rolls are a bit of a jarring departure from typical PBTA fun. Singularly, I it makes you count individual coins, then it comes to wealth, and I must it's a rather annoying bit of bookkeeping. Really, in D&D, I would never have played arc hares because those systems made you track how many arrows you use. Luckily, DW has that ones solved in quite an elegant way

Honourable mentions

So that dose were the contenders for my favourite. However, I should at lest named drop a some other of very cool systems I played, Mutants and Master Minds 3e, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Savages Worlds, Chronicles of Darkness, 2d10, Magical Burst and Blades in the dark

[victorluvsalice]

Another Game To Add To The List

So -- you guys all know that I like video games. I mean, I post on a pretty regular basis about the antics my Sims in my latest Sims 4 save file are getting up to. And you all know that I love to put my favorite characters in my favorite video games if I'm able to -- or even if I'm not. My current Sim family is my Valicer OT3; my Fallout 4 protagonist is Victor Van Dort (or as close as I can get with FO4's character creator and artstyle), and my Vampire: The Masquerade -- Bloodlines Malkavian Fledgling is Alice Liddell (I may not be able to actually reflect that with her appearance in the game, but I can sure as hell write about her adventures doing all the quests!) I have a vested interest in this sort of thing.

So -- when my friend @gaydragonwizards got me into Baldur's Gate 3, leading me to purchase the game for my birthday using the Steam gift cards my parents had gotten me, I immediately thought, "Okay, so -- Alice has VTMB, and Victor has FO4...but a certain newbie roller coaster OC does not have a game yet. And this one DOES allow you to do a custom character..." Which led to me deciding that Smiler was going to be my "Tav" in BG3! I haven't gotten very far in the game yet (I had to do an early restart to add in a mod patch that the creator was VERY SURE shouldn't be put in an existing playthrough because it fucks with XP and leveling a bit, and then recent hotfixes possibly breaking quest items made me too nervous to play for a bit), but I have gotten my Smiler set up, made it past the Nautiloid segment, and have started exploring the wilderness around the ravaged beach! Here's some shots of Smiler in the game:

Smiler's look from the character creation/level up screen! They're a half-elf with Body #2 and Head #5 because that was the combo that actually looked the most like my Smiler Sim -- have a comparison shot:

It's not a PERFECT match, but nothing was going to be -- it's pretty close, though! The hairstyle is of particular note because that is in fact one of the very first mods I picked up for this game: Alt Lae’zel Hair For Tav! None of the in-game hairstyles had the right sort of "bangs" that my Sim!Smiler sports, so I was REALLY happy to spot this on Nexus Mods to give my Tav!Smiler the right look, at least from the front. :) (And, hilariously, the mod was in fact uploaded ON MY BIRTHDAY, so I'm counting it as an inadvertent birthday present.)

Smiler's arrival on the Ravaged Beach, having just woken up from their little fall out of the Nautiloid! As you can probably guess by the outfit, I started them out as a Bard. That was the class that seemed to make the most sense for them, both from a "the roller coaster in Alton Towers is often associated with upbeat music and dancing, especially after the original Festival of Thrills and The Smiler Takeover, and bards DO get access to a good number of mind control spells" and from a "my personal take on Smiler is that they are super charismatic and want to make as many people happy as possible, and the Bard's high Charisma start combined with the Entertainer background suits that perfectly." XD However, they're not JUST a Bard these days -- thanks to the further power of mods, upon their first level-up, they became a Bard/Artificer! :D I picked that class because it has a whole sub-class dedicated to Alchemy, and one of my headcanons for my Smiler is that chemistry/alchemy (depending on the universe) is their thing. Plus it just looks like a super-cool class and mod. (And yes, I do have 5e Spells and Unlock Level Curve to enhance things further, with the appropriate patches (including ULC's patch to smooth out the weird XP valley while leveling up -- learning about THAT was what prompted me to restart so I could install it). Oh, and the exclamation mark is from Camp Event Notifications -- it's telling me that Smiler should Long Rest soon to get one of the special camp events.)

Smiler hanging out in the Wilderness camp! I came here for the first time after picking up Shadowheart, Astarion, and Gale, and was amazed at just how PRETTY the camp is. I mean, look at that waterfall over by the ruin that houses the Magic Mirror! :D Seriously, this game is gorgeous -- I've spent a decent amount of time just wandering around with the camera, admiring the scenery. XD Anyway, as you can see, Smiler picked up some new clothes -- the main outfit is some basic leather armor, dyed with the dye available in the Traveler's chest (I first dyed their starting jerkin, but hated the resultant color scheme -- I'm not wild about the red arms on this set, but at least the yellow pants and black chestpiece feel right!), while the cape and their new lute are from the Digital Deluxe content -- the "Cape Of The Red Prince" and the "Lute of the Merryweather Bard." (Hey, I got this for my birthday, I wasn't not going to get the Digital Deluxe content!) I had them give the lute a little try in-camp -- the upbeat Bard song DEFINITELY suits them. XD

And finally, Smiler with their current companions, ready to head to the nearby chapel on the beach -- Shadowheart (in some new, slightly better Sturdy Armor), Gale (in his robe and wizard hat), and Astarion (sporting more DD content, the "Bicorne of the Sea Beast" and the "Needle of the Outlaw Rogue" (the dagger on his hip)). They are indeed a motley group. XD Hopefully Smiler's 17 Charisma will allow them to talk their way out of most binds!

Now, you may be thinking at this point, "Well, this is going to spark another AU, isn't it?" And you would be -- partially correct. Allow me to explain by excerpting part of my and Squid's conversation while they were recommending mods to me and I was telling them about my plans to do Tav!Smiler:

Squid: ((though -- there is one thing that has popped into my head. with playing Smiler, obviously you can't have any of your Valicer stuff going on in BG3 by default. and do you really want to give yourself ANOTHER AU by playing as them again :P )) Me: ((Oh, that's not really a worry -- the Valicer in the Dark crew already fucking claimed the game as a potential AU ))

YUP. Much like how my brain insisted that the Alice in my Fallout of Darkness stuff be a variant of my Malkavian!Alice from Londerland Bloodlines, thanks to me getting into BG3 at the same time as my obsession with Valicer In The Dark ramped up, the AU in my head is now the VITD trio going through the game. And while it's only a partially-formed pile of shitposts as of yet, that idea PROBABLY deserves its own post...

[basedkikuenjoyer]

And now the big one. The first two as a set seemed like a good deal and worth trying, this one had me excited. It was a hunt to find it too! Even had some high drama for my young self. I think my brother stole some of the money I set aside for it, but I had enough spare change to make up for it. Nintendo Power mad the GBC rerelease look so cool, I could be a girl hero and there's a personality system that affects your stats? A human board game?

Now you're a party of four and aside from the main hero's special class you get to pick the other three! Leading to one of my favorite aspects of early Dragon Quest. The simple, elegant brilliance of its multiclassing system. You can start a character over at level 1 in a new class, with half stats and all spells/skills retained. A warrior who can double up on the handful of key buff spells. A speedy cleric. Making an absolute physical juggernaut out of the dealer/fighter. It's all possible and never that complex to get what you want.

Picking up from the first installment, this series may be simple compared to other RPGs but it is tight. As long as you are using your head a little, you can do wildly different strategies and they will all work. Maybe Dragon Quest games never have the massive spell lists counterparts like Final Fantasy do...but you know how those often have a couple dozen you never really use except once? That's not true in DQ. Most bosses will be susceptible to a status ailment or at least lowering their stats and the latter does it enough to be relevant. It might just be playing with numbers, and it's impossible to truly get without playing, but the design makes these boss fights have so much more of an exciting flow to me than more graphically impressive contemporaries and honestly what will follow for many years.

When you have rock solid mechanics like that, the game writes it's own stories. Like...last time I played a couple years ago I had a lark naming my party Kiku/Neko/Inu/Kawa(matsu). One dungeon that's never been iconic to me or anything took on new life as Kawamatsu was the sole survivor of the boss fight. Which meant my quick exit mage was dead. So Kawamatsu had to make a harrowing escape and it sticks with you. Or using my hero being Kiku as an excuse to try the Noh Mask exploit in the hero's solo dungeon. Now I'm going to say a word on the main story and the iconic twist, I'll hide for those who may want to try these.

I got to play these as a kid perfectly unaware of one of the most legendary twists in gaming. It blew my mind to finally beat Baramos and have more game left ahead...in Tantagel no less. Then we finally beat the real demon king Zoma only to find out I was Loto the entire time. This was a prequel, not a sequel. Which made the fact the world we started in reminded me so much of Earth even cooler!

That plus the legitimately good drama around the search for Ortega. It gets me when you come so close to a happy reunion only to have that dashed. What if you had been just a little quicker? Zoma was scary too if you're unprepared. Dragon Quest makes good use of buff spells and they're the golden strategy in this installment. So that iconic debut of the Icy Pulse ability that wipes them is backbreaking. Also love the Divine Dragon stuff in the post game for the remake. They went all out on that GBC re-release to a degree you didn't often see in those days.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Mt Fog

Photo: Rachel Bennett

Mt Fog began as a solo project for classically trained Carolyn B. but has lately expanded to include drummer Andy Sells (Afrocop, Select Level, FCS North) and bassist Casey Rosebridge (Swanderer, Crazy Eyes). Jennifer Kelly found the expanded palette a revelation on Mt Fog’s second album, Ultraviolet Heart Machine writing, “There is something magic about the way her volatile, fluttering vocal phrasings interact with the thump of bass, here played by Casey Rosebridge, or how the organic twining of her melodies sound braced by the thud of real, organic drums.”  Here are some of the albums on heavy play during the recording process.

Japan — Gentlemen Take Polaroids

I love the soundscapes and the fretless bass squiggles, and how they create this moody, mossy universe for David Sylvian’s voice.  Favorite track:  “My New Career”

Satisfact — The Third Meeting at the Third Counter

High energy, melodic at times and perfectly noisy, fueling me as I ride public transit in Seattle.

FCS North — Vocabulary

Incredible atmospheres, feels like the water of the Puget Sound washing over you. Andy Sells (drummer of Mt Fog) is a member of FCS North, active from 1998-2008 and very influential.

Talking Heads — More Songs about Buildings and Food

I saw David Byrne once at a Balkan music festival in Brooklyn, years and years ago; my friends were freaking out, and that’s how I learned about the Talking Heads. I absolutely love how David Byrne uses his voice and the particular dance-ability of this album.

Lizzy Mercier Descloux — Press Color

I discovered Lizzy Mercier Descloux this past year. What a band! And a voice with such cool attitude.

Sadhappy — Depth Charge

Seattle-area saxophonist Skerik was in this trio in the 1990s, and it’s just so funky and ridiculous at times.

Benjamin Britten — A Midsummer Night’s Dream (London Symphony 1960 recording)

My family listened to this all the time when I was a kid, as my sisters were in a production in the late 1980s. This recording is the original and so so good. I love Puck’s talk-singing. The orchestra breathes and sighs. A composition that is so synergistic between the sound and the forest setting.

Sugarcubes — Stick Around for Joy

I didn’t get into Bjork’s earlier project until about a year ago and this CD was my most listened to CD since I got it last summer. This is a band of elves, and they sound like they’re playing at the most fun festival.

The Sea and Cake — The Fawn

A reminder that simple and chill can also be emotional and powerful in its understated-ness.

Gateway — Gateway 2

When I listen to this, I am reminded that music is pure magic, that musicians cast spells with the sounds we create. SO SPECIAL.   You must listen to the whole thing but if not start with the beginning, “opening.”