#and prism absolutely won't either

[altered-and-broken]

WELL UH ATLEAST CUDA WILL SEE AN OLD “FRIEND” *fucking runs*

"... P-Prism..." "Y-yeah! She's been tearing out trees left and right, eating like crazy and killing everything in her path for a while. It was barely managable, but she got REALLY agressive about it these last nights and I don't know what to do anymore, man...

Worst part, is that the way I see her I think she's either very broody or just- uh- generally not very happy, heheh...-"

Another tree falls, with more force this time. Like if it was thrown into the earth with such rage and spite. Leaving the two triangles more that concerned, and honeslty afraid for their health.

"... Come on, you gotta do something!"

"Like what!? I am NOT going to hurt her."

"Well I don't know! Talk to her pretty, calm her down, restrain her, anything! Because the way she is right now, she's either: A. Going to kill someone, or B. Get herself hurt and we don't want that!"

"C-come on man! She's 14 tons heavier than me! I literally CAN'T do anything against her, even if I wanted to!"

"It's not about that."

"T-Tree! What's going on outside!?-"

The others try to peek out, before being pushed back by the Tree. All except Boat who wanted to check on Heli.

"Wave! Everyone!

Stay. Inside.

And DON'T COME OUT!"

"That is no ordinary beast...

Whatever you brought here Heli, I'm NOT going to let it hurt you."

"Boat, what do you think you're doing!?

Boat!!"

Boat however, did not listen, and instead went ahead to rummage through his ship to find a certain trinket he used a lot in his voyages to the deep seas. He knows it's only for marine monsters, but it still was functional enough to work.

"Boat! What are you-!"

Heli's cries were silenced once he resurfaced from his ship, a cold, harsh gaze fixed on the thick foliage...

"Don't worry Heli."

[tenebraevesper]

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 1)

Welcome to the first part of my personal elaboration on the topic of why ''Prime!Shadow is peak Shadow!'', or in other words, why Prime!Shadow is one of the best written iterations of Shadow's character.

Will I try to make proper arguments for his character writing? Of course. Will I also be biased as hell just because he's my favorite character? Absolutely!

So, if you can handle both of that, we should dive in!

Before I start, I suppose I should give a brief overview of Shadow's character and how he had been handled through the years. The general consensus seems to be that Shadow was at his peak as a character from Sonic Adventure 2 to Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) (as well as Pre-Reboot!Archie Comics during Ian Flynn's run), being someone who was deeply traumatized by the death of his sister Maria Robotnik, had his memories manipulated to get revenge on humanity, only to sacrifice his own life to save the world Maria cherished, losing his memories in the process and trying to carve out his own path, only to finally solidify his role as a protector of the world, even if his methods aren't always the most peaceful ones.

So, where does the idea of edgelord Shadow come from?

Yeaaahh... let's just say that Shadow's own game, Shadow the Hedgehog (2005), didn't do him any good in the character department, because it seems that all that people remember was that one time SEGA decided to give Shadow a gun and let him deal with an alien invasion. The confusing story routes didn't help either.

In time, Shadow's character went from a complex and layered character to something akin to Vegeta (no offense Dragon Ball fans!), much to the disappointment of everyone who understood character before he underwent this transformation. Also, I'm not counting Boom!Shadow in this because Sonic Boom is a different universe and its own thing, but I won't argue against the fact that Boom!Shadow's characterization as a complete jerkass didn't do Game!Shadow any favor either. That's not even mentioning the Sonic IDW Comics, where Shadow had many mandates tied to him that even the writers found it annoying to write him (although with the most recent arc where Shadow was shown, it seems that the mandates have loosened a little).

Of course, I might be missing out on some information, but this is the general gist of the history of his character. So, when Sonic Prime revealed that Shadow would be one of the major characters, you can bet that I was nervous about how he would be written and I decided to keep a close eye on his characterization; and honestly, I went from genuinely pleased to excited when I realized that Shadow was being written as a very compelling character. Not only that, but he also appeared to have gone through subtle character development over the course of the show.

Starting from the very beginning, I'm certain that you remember how Shadow's first appearance was basically him punching Sonic at the end of Episode 01: Shattered, a very impactful first impression that left us with more questions and headaches. The following episode, Episode 02: The Yoke's On You, gives us more details in regards to why he punched Sonic, seemingly out of the blue.

Shadow's proper introduction kicks off with him searching for the Chaos Emerald... and I have to ask, when was the last time we even saw Shadow genuinely smile? Was in the Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Games franchise? I don't really remember.

In any case, being clearly happy about finding the Chaos Emerald, he speeds off, only to suddenly sense that something is wrong and is met with a giant blue pulse of energy (released during Sonic's fight with Dr. Eggman) and a vision of Sonic using the Paradox Prism energy.

''Sonic!''

This expression just screams ''Something bad is going to happen and it's Sonic's fault! I'm going to kick his ass before he does anything stupid!''

We then follow Shadow as he searches for Sonic, clocking him square in the face for something he hasn't done yet. Eh, I'd say that this one wasn't really deserved.

Even before Sonic starts explaining his relationship with Shadow, we immediately get an understanding of Shadow's character. He is serious, works alone, quite fast and powerful, prefers to fight over talking things out, is willing to do anything to protect his home and clearly has a history with Sonic. Sonic proceeds to add how Shadow is his biggest rival, a buzzkill and that he totally roller-skates.

''They're air shoes!''

Did... Did Shadow just break the 4th wall? Did he just make a joke? Dude, not even Boom!Shadow got to do that and Sonic Boom was the epitome of wall breaking!

Yeah, let's just say that my jaw dropped when I heard this, realizing that Shadow's character in Sonic Prime will be different than what we got used to see.

So, after knocking the Rings out of Sonic (I mean that literally), Shadow questions him about what he has done, with Sonic pointing out how Eggman is the bad guy, clearly confused about why Shadow is attacking him.

''You literally shook the world!'' ''That's because I'm good! And powerful apparently! Jealous?''

After a bit of teasing from Sonic, he and Shadow get into a race, during which I had noticed something. While Sonic keeps teasing Shadow (and also having fun fighting him), Shadow tells him to stop and listen for once.

''Clearly you're angry, which is normal,... but I'm supposed to be on a bit of a mission here, Shadow!'' ''What mission?'' ''None of your business.''

Sooooo, have you noticed it too? Because there is something very telling in this interaction. If you haven't, I'll let it play out until the end. Anyways, to continue, Shadow knocks Sonic into a rock, with Sonic confirming another aspect of their relationship.

''Ughh, I know, we're fighting again. Don't worry guys, I'll calm him down.''

We now know that this certainly wasn't the first time they had a fight and it won't be the last time. Sonic points out that, whatever beef they have, they aren't going to settle it this way. While Sonic is right, I will admit, I had to gush over the excellent animation and fight choreography. X3

Sonic then hears an explosion from the cave where the Paradox Prism is and tells Shadow that he needs to get to his friends, only to get punched for his troubles.

''Learn to focus!''

Now that the flashback is over, what exactly is going on between the two?

First of all, the main thing I have noticed is that both Shadow and Sonic seriously have a problem with communication. Shadow knows Sonic is about to do something stupid, and from his actions (aka choosing violence over talking) he is trying to prevent Sonic from doing whatever he was about to do. It does paint Shadow as a bit of a jerk, but Sonic isn't completely innocent here either.

An observation I had made was that Shadow probably knows that if he tried to just talk to Sonic, Sonic would either blow him off and run away or just tease him back, which was confirmed when Shadow asks him on what kind of mission he is with Sonic responding that it's none of his business. I imagine that there were previous events where Sonic was doing something stupid and Shadow tried to stop him from making things worse, and that violence was indeed the answer to Sonic's antics.

If Sonic had explained to Shadow what the deal is, I'm certain that Shadow would help him out. Perhaps Shadow could've told him about his vision, but going by Sonic's behavior, Sonic would probably not listen to him.

This brings me to my second point - this moment establishes that, if there will be character development for Shadow, it will be mainly through his interactions with Sonic and them learning to work together and listen to each other, something I'm really excited to talk about in later episodes.

The flashback continues in Episode 03: Escape From New Yoke, where Sonic does the old ''Hey, look behind you!'' trick and Shadow falls for it, hook, line and sinker. Sonic knocks him into a wall and speeds off to where his friends are fighting Eggman, leaving Shadow to recover and follow him.

I do like how Shadow just shakes his head here. Even if he doesn't say much, you can clearly see what it is going through his mind. He's angry at Sonic, but acknowledges that this is just typical for his blue rival.

in Episode 07: It Takes One to No Place, we see that Shadow manages to reach the Paradox Prism cave, just as Sonic is about to shatter it.

''Chaos Control!''

Unlike Sonic's friends and Dr. Eggman, Shadow manages to use Chaos Control, preventing him from being shattered just like the others.

''Sonic!''

Instead, he finds himself floating in The Void. I'll leave what happened to him in The Void for the next part, but what is important to note is that he cannot enter the individual Shatterspaces, but he can communicate with Sonic every time the latter gains enough speed to use the Paradox Prism Energy.

''Sonic, it's broken! It's all broken!''

Sonic is at first freaked out, thinking he's just hallucinating. I suppose that explains why Sonic keeps ignoring him in any subsequent appearances, despite Shadow trying his best to contact him and trying to explain him what to do, like telling him how he's lost in The Void and for Sonic to keep moving and to not stop (which also leads Sonic to find out how he can travel between Shatterspaces).

I suppose this can also be interpreted as ''Sonic leaves Shadow on read''. X3

Once Sonic accidentally gets out of No Place in Episode 08: There Is No Arrgh In Team, he is confronted by Shadow, who is absolutely furious. Not that Sonic notices, given how he had a really rough day himself.

''Shadow? Ugh, I don't have time to deal with whoever you are. I just wanna go home.''

''Home? Home doesn't exist anymore BECAUSE OF YOU!''

Considering what Sonic had done, yeah, this punch was definitely deserved.

As I said above, the first eight episodes are here to establish Shadow's character, his relationship/rivalry with Sonic and his own flaws (mainly the lack of communication on his part, choosing to fight Sonic instead) and it is clear that in order to overcome those flaws, he will have to work with Sonic (calm down Sonadow shippers, we didn't get there yet), something I'm excited to explore in the second part of this analysis.

#Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 2)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[crossdressingdeath]

Memoirs by Gortash, Outline for Chapter 4. - I reestablish worship of Bane in Baldur's Gate as a hidden cult. - I realise the secret worship of Bhaal is also on the resurgence and acquaint myself with the local leader, an actual Bhaalspawn. - The Bhaalspawn and I work together on a heist from the House of Wonders and, discovering common goals, forge an alliance. - In dreams, the Bhaalspawn and I are visited by Bhaal and Bane, who name us their Chosen and command us to seek out and ally with Ketheric Thorm, the Chosen of Myrkul. - Visiting Ketheric at Moonrise Towers, I learn of the mind flayer colony in the Underdark below and conceive a plan to conquer its elder brain using the Crown of Karsus. - The Bhaalspawn and I employ a diabolist's services to gain access to Mephistar and steal the Crown. - We three Chosen use the Crown to enslave the Colony's elder brain - but during that raid, the Bhaalspawn is betrayed by the Bhaalist second-in-command, Orin the Red, who usurps the Bhaalspawn's power and declares herself Bhaal's new Chosen. - Following my master plan, the new trio brainstorms our grand hoax of the Absolute. - Note: Where to put in the Astral Prism and the adventurers who took it after its theft from Vlaakith? And when to admit considering taking them as my new allies?

Hm. Gortash is claiming that the Absolute hoax came about after Orin usurped Durge? Well, that doesn't fit. Considering he mentions to Durge that the two of them planned the whole thing together, including the bit where Durge would use the Bhaalists to spread terror in the Absolute's name, methinks someone's telling lies. I wonder if it's to do with him being a Banite? I mean, he's also claiming that it was his master plan when again at the coronation he tells Durge that they came up with it together. Either he's lying to Durge about their part in it, or he's claiming full responsibility in his memoir to make himself look better. Personally I suspect the latter, and also I'm wondering if it might be at least partially because they're no longer in the picture.

Anyway, more importantly. One thing I find really interesting about this: Gortash never uses Durge's name. I mean, it's not hard at all to add in a variable to use the character's name! Even I can do that with my incredibly limited knowledge of programming; Larian definitely could've. Which means him not doing that is more than just a necessary evil of having a character the player names. And it's not that he's trying to avoid naming names in his memoir, because he's happy to refer to Ketheric and Orin by name. I won't lie, I'm now combining this with the idea that Gortash was basically the only one to refer to Durge by name and thinking about Gortash deciding that Durge's name belongs to him and the general public doesn't deserve to ever know it now that they're gone. Something like... this one piece of them he gets to keep for himself.

[theminecraftbee]

I know that currently the hyper fixation is on Decked Out 2, but I remember you talking about Vault Hunters a while back and I finally got Prism to work so I wanted to know if you have some sort of guide to getting started in it? ^^;

oh, yes, absolutely! i'd LOVE to do a starting-out guide, i had one ages ago but it's very old information so it's not particularly good.

first, follow the steps to download - you said you had prism working so i won't go over those here, but my biggest "troubleshoot this way" is allocate more memory to java in prism's settings if the game won't launch, that's gonna be your problem like 80% of the time. also, i still get rare crashes (often if i've had the game open a while it's probably the known java memory leak problems), game will normally restart fine in that scenario, and the backups automatically run every two hours.

so, your technical steps are out of the way, and you want to start playing! there are two options: play a normal world, or go into the world settings when you create it, select the world type (the place you'd select a superflat world in vanilla), and switch it to 'sky vaults' if you want to play skyblock.

in general, i recommend playing sky vaults if you particularly like running vaults, if finding chromatic steel is your least favorite part of the game, if you enjoy building farms for materials, and if you want more of your resource-gathering to be tied to vaults or farms. i recommend playing vanilla if you like mining, if you want more breaks between vaults to find materials, or if you don't particularly like building farms and want it to be easy to play the altar without having to build any.

speaking of, once you're in your world, it's time to choose your difficulty settings! there are several gamerules to tweak these with. they're in your vault guidebook - not the quest book, but the black and green book. if you have cheats on (which you probably should), you will be able to click these settings in that book instead of running commands! it explains them there. personally, for a beginner, i recommend vault difficulty at easy or normal, i recommend vault mode as casual, and i recommend vault crystal mode as normal. vault loot is the one that is the most variable - personally i always play on either plenty or extreme, but that can make the earlygame go fast, so feel free to play it on default!

once you've decided on whether you're playing sky vaults or regular vault hunters and you've chosen your difficulty, my first recommendation is to follow the questlines in the quest book. until at least about level 20, most of the questlines do a pretty good job showing you what to do when. however, certain decisions aren't laid out, such as what skills or mods to take! that's because there aren't usually too many wrong answers on those, although if you want my OPINIONS on those i can give them in a different post in more depth.

however, as a general rule: you will want heal as one of your first skills, strength is good earlygame as well. mod-wise, when you'll need pickup upgrades for your pouches depends on when you start breaking chests with tools, you'll get a feel for it. now that pouches are unlocked by default though your first mod is a personal decision, just don't pick SNAD, lol.

additionally look up the recipe for animal jars and the animal pen, for some reason the game doesn't teach you those exist. animal jars work by shift-right clicking adult animals of the same species, putting them in the jar. you then place a pen, and put that jar in a pen. you can now feed the animals to breed them on a cooldown you see when you shift, and you can also swing your sword at them to kill them as though they are actual animals. this is a convenience that is much easier than having an actual giant pen of animals and i recommend using it. also having giant animal funny.

make pouches as soon as you can afford them in normal worlds; in sky vaults, rush finding enigma chests (the dark black/purple ones), which are rare but can have free pouches in them. earlygame pouches are basically extra shulker boxes but they get better powers later, use them.

early vaults are always very easy monolith vaults; it is always more worth it to light the couple of monoliths you're being asked to in order to complete vault than to pure loot.

however, bailing a vault isn't a failure; better to bail than to die, after all!

keep everything, but if that's overwhelming you and your storage, know that only vanilla materials are ever asked for by the altar, and even vault or mod recipes typically only require materials added by that mod, vanilla, and the vault hunters modpack, so you can throw out any and all decorative blocks. or don't! i don't i just dump them in storage but i have storage that can best be described as 'overkill'.

even if you unlock the vault compass first, you NEED a method to your vault navigation so you don't get lost and check rooms you've already checked. personally i turn right in the starting room, go straight until i hit a wall, go one row further away from the starting room, go in a straight line the other direction, and then unless i'm rushing for a specific room in a raw vault, i'm not normally efficient enough that i'm not ready to bail by the time i'm in front of the starting room again. however you may have a method that works best for you! mine probably works a little bad if you don't have a compass! just know some vaults are square, some are diamonds, and some are circles, so fancier patterns won't always work.

hopefully that's enough to get started! i hope you enjoy!

[ryttu3k]

Planning out my BG3 Sascha run and whoops looks like we're doing another 'bad' run. I'm sure it'll be fine!

Using the aasimar mod for that tasty Angel of Caine dynamic 8D

Old(tm). Highest stats are INT and CHA, classed as a draconic bloodline sorcerer/wizard (bloodline is gold/fire, mostly putting levels in wizard). Can't be selected in-game but they're the grandchild of Kereska, dragon god of magic.

So yes a half-deity dragon angel with fire powers I know they're OP I know but also have you seen Sascha canonically.

Trauma in their backstory, because ofc. When they were young, they fell under the control of another aasimar, Symeon, child of Tyr, who in turn served Michael, who claimed to be the avatar of Sune. Symeon was charming and manipulative, and Sascha, then calling themself Myca, fell pretty quickly under his influence. It wasn't a great time.

Had a sweet romance with Ilias, child of Silvanus. Ilias died during the Spellplague. Myca changed their name to Sascha and. Hardened themself off somewhat.

Present day, a powerful sorcerer/wizard who regularly looks in on places like Blackstaff Academy, using illusion magic to hide their wings and stuff.

Secret! Netherese! Cultist!

Has a fascination with illithid technology. It's so visceral. Why is the damn ship crashing why can't they examine the meat crimes more :-\

Immediately takes charge with their OP charisma. General play vibes are like, pragmatic and not very sentimental, but does try to take care of their coterie.

Mostly fascinated with Gale, another powerful and ambitious mage with a connection to Netherese magic. Definitely encourages him to seek out his sorcerer side (he'll end up multiclassing Storm Sorcery) and, uh, the Crown but also with an eye to maybe? using it themself?

Wary about the Dream Visitor. Does not like having their mind fucked with. On the other hand, very open to using illithid powers, although by the time they get the astral-touched tadpole they're already too negative about the Emperor to agree.

Major decisions, act 1: We are straight-out skipping the druids/tiefling/goblin conflict! (Or, well, AFAIK you can't avoid the fight at the gate, but otherwise they're going to do that, trade with Arron, talk to whatshisname who had the run-in with the githyanki, then go "yeah this isn't my business" and leave.) Won't be recruiting Wyll, Karlach, or Halsin, and the tieflings are fucked, I'm sorry everyone ;_; Might end up entering the Goblin Camp just for more info on this True Soul/Absolute business, but staying steadfastedly Not Involved, then heading on to the Mountain Pass and the creche. Obviously that'll go poorly, although Sascha is still going to be like, yeah, the one in the Prism is shifty, sure, I'll kill them. So that'll put a dampener on any potential relationship!

Act 2: I am… actually not sure how to navigate the Shadow-Cursed Lands here, without getting the lyre from either Minthara or Nere, or attacking the convoy. Hm. Might just have to do a straight shot for Moonrise. AFAIK Minthara can be rescued here and Sascha is just "yeah fine why not". Largely skipping the Last Light, so no Jaheira, and, later, no Minsc, so final team will be Sascha, Gale, Astarion, Shadowheart, Lae'zel, and Minthara. Does the Gauntlet for Shadowheart's sake, but will encourage her not to kill their fellow aasimar, so at least someone is getting a good end XD;; Okay they don't seem to like many other aasimar so, uh, sorry Aylin. Otherwise, makes themself at home at Moonrise and wreaks havoc while they're not looking while in the process of Learning Everything. And, uh, the Shadow Curse is not getting lifted, although tbh I think that was a given since I'm pretty sure Halsin dies if you don't get involved with the Grove-Goblin conflict ;_;

Act 3: Learning about the Emperor - they fuckin' knew it -_- When they meet Raphael later, doesn't agree to the deal, but does plan to steal the hammer instead. They want that crown for their bae, okay.

Character arcs: Gale - go for the crown, babe, I'll hold your flower. Shadowheart - she's already turned from Shar, let's just complete the process. Encourages her to let her parents go. Okay maybe she will go Dark Justiciar :| Astarion - …tragically I think they'd encourage Ascension I'm so sorry Astarion bby. Sascha is just, "Get revenge! Fuckin' eat him!" Lae'zel - reject Vlaakith, free Orpheus - although that's in part to spite the Emperor tbh. Don't know what's happening with Minthara, I guess we'll find out!

Endgame: Once they have the stones, have Orpheus turn illithid. Ultimately, destroy the Netherbrain, then encourage Gale to get the crown and become a god. For the epilogue, become a god alongside him. This won't go badly at all!

On the plus side, if I'm doing God!Gale romance here, I might be able to skip one of the several Astarion runs I have planned, and just do the "they actually do make each other better this time" run?

[thessalian]

Astrid vs the Goblin Camp

But first, some Visitations

Rafael: Oooh, looks like you're in a spot of bother. I could probably help with that ... for a price.

Astrid: Um ... thank you for the ... very kind offer. And ... you know, the banquet and everything, though I've got a bit of a thing about powerful magical entities and foodstuffs after the Hag And Undead Husband Incident--

Rafael: ...Sorry, how am I hearing the capital letters on that one?

Gale: She insists it's fractional pauses between words. I still can't quite manage it myself. Perhaps it's a bardic talent.

Astrid: Anyway, I'm afraid we're a little full up on deals with beings from the various hells. I mean, still not really liking The Actually A Tiefling Incident very much--

Wyll: I did apologise for that!

Astrid: Not blaming you! I mean, I was pretty suspicious too until The Exploding Hyena Incident. ...Look, sorry, but I think we'll find a way that doesn't involve an open-ended bargain with a demon, or a devil, or whichever sort of entity you are because you're clearly on that end of the spectrum. But thank you very much for the offer, and have a lovely day.

Rafael: You'll be back. ...Though now I really have to wonder--

Astrid: You'll be The Demon Dinner Party Incident.

Rafael: ...Ah.

And again...

Spooky Whispers: Find the Prism for the Absolute and--

Shadowheart: FUCK. OFF.

Spooky Whispers: *do, in fact, FUCK. OFF*

Astrid: Okay, I think I've been really good about not asking about the whatsit so far. But now I kind of have to ask. What is the whatsit?!?

Shadowheart: Honestly not sure, but most of my memories are being held as collateral until I get it to Baldur's Gate.

Astrid: Oh. So ... when I asked a little more about you...

Shadowheart: Well, yes, that was mostly the memory loss, but part of it was trust issues. But if it helps, I like night orchids, and I can't swim.

Astrid: ...I will find you ALL the night orchids. And maybe teach you to swim. If you want. Might take less armour, though.

Shadowheart: *perks up*

Controller Person: *starts seriously rethinking romance choices*

And, because infiltrating a goblin stronghold is the best time for this

Gale: Okay, so draining magical artefacts isn't so much working anymore and if I don't do something about this really ill-considered gift to my last lover, I am going to explode.

Astrid: ...I'm generally willing to leave the past as your business, but I kind of want to know who your last lover was that a gift you gave her is enough to kerboom you.

Gale: Um ... Mystra ... as it happens...

Astrid: ...wut.

Gale: Also ... the explosion wouldn't just kill me. It'd take out an area about the size of Waterdeep.

Astrid: ...................How much do we need to have extracted from you?!?

Astarion: So ... Shadowheart ... you wouldn't happen to have--

Shadowheart: No! Unless that's something they made me forget, but ... almost certainly no!

Astarion: Well, there you have it. Either Astrid feels she couldn't possibly match up favourably to Gale's ex, or he explodes and takes himself out of the running.

Shadowheart: Shut up!

Astarion: Oh. Oh. You'd accept pining from afar if it meant she didn't have to feel the pain of someone she cares about dying! You, a cleric of Shar, no less!

Shadowheart: My greatclub could be sharpened to a stake, Astarion...

But finally, into the Shattered Sanctum

High Priestess Gut: So you wanted to talk?

Astrid: Ummmmmmmm ... not so much. *pulls lute; to the tune of The Sound of Silence* "Hello goblin, my new foe / You are a creepy so-and-so / Since you're making all the tieflings stressed / We've come to do the violence we do best / And your allies / Won't hear your cries for help / Not a yelp / Because I'm caaaasting Silence..."

High Priestess Gut: ............*mouthing obscenities*

Astarion: *critical-hit SHANKs her to death*

Astrid: ...Anyone else think it's kind of ironic that a spell that makes a Silence has verbal components?

And, a little further in

Minthara: Go burn down the druid grove!

Astrid: Oh, for-- how many times are we going to have to save it from you idiots?!?

Minthara: Owowowow!

Astrid: Whoops. ...Wait, what am I saying; I mean good! 'Scuse me, Astarion...

Astarion: Waitwut--

Astrid: *performs dive-bomb on lute and Thunderwaves Minthara right into the chasm, destroying the bridge in the process*

Shadowheart: ...I have to admit, that's a lot more impressive than "yeet".

Astarion: Yes, but I can't jokingly copy that one.

Astrid: *shooting at Scrying Eye* Slay now, praise later, please and thank you! There's going to be backup, and unless they have the jumping prowess of a turtle, the bridge being out won't keep them at range for long!

Astarion: Ah, yes, but two can play at that game. *leaps over chasm, grabs goblin, FEEDS*

Gale: You had to give him those boots, didn't you.

Astrid: I was very disappointed that they didn't give him bunny ears.

And, awhile later

Ragzlin: The mind flayer corpse won't talk!

Astrid: I could ask some questions, if you want...

Ragzlin: You're a bard; you can talk good. FINE.

Astrid: What ... is your name?

Ragzlin: ...What the--?

Astrid: What ... is your quest?

Ragzlin: ...I don't--

Astrid: What ... is the airspeed velocity of an unladen bugbear?

Ragzlin: Hey, waitaminit--

Astrid: *Thunderwave dive-bomb on the lute*

Ragzlin: *goes flying*

Astrid: No convenient chasms here, though. Shame.

Stabnation: *ensues*

And, during a really needed long rest...

Astrid: So ... I've talked to Wyll about the pact he really needs out of, Gale about the ... kerboom thing, and Shadowheart about her whole deal. Want to tell me about the monster hunter?

Astarion: My master in Baldur's Gate wants me back, apparently. And there's nothing we can do about it if he wants to take me, so I'm not even sure why I'm bothering to tell you this.

Astrid: Do you even look at the things I ask you to carry?

Astarion: *peers into haversack* Alchemist's fire and ... what's this?

Astrid: Holy water, or so Shadowheart tells me.

Astarion: What the f-- are you trying to kill me?!?

Astrid: No, I would have put it in your wine if I was trying to kill you with it.

Astarion: That ... is a singularly horrible mental image, but go on...

Astrid: Just because those things work against you doesn't mean you can't use those things against other vampires. And you have options he doesn't. Like, being out in the daytime.

Astarion: You are suicidally overconfident ... and yet all of that might work. Yes, I think I'll echo Shadowheart here: I fear you.

Shadowheart: I do not fear her anymore!

Astarion: Oh, nonsense you don't; you just worry that your devotion to Shar might get in the way of--

Shadowheart: *throws a half-rotted treacle tart at Astarion's head*

Astrid: ...I was wondering why you were carrying those around. Anywaaaaay... How about we get some rest because we still have to find Haslin down in the pits and we should probably rescue Volo too.

Astarion; Gale; Shadowheart; Wyll: Volo's an arse!

Astrid: Yes, but he's an arse that doesn't deserve to be rump roast for goblins, okay?!? They were cooking dwarf out there!

Astarion: Still, couldn't I just take a minor nibble?

Astrid: Gods, no. Stupid might be catching.

Gale: So you can be insulting about people when you're out of range?

Astrid: That or he has a really bad headache right now. Either way.

[egg-emperor]

watched some of the sonic prime show earlier with some friends and i was very sad when the overgrowth episodes rolled around and there wasn't a eggman there, i genuinely thought there was a eggman cutting down the trees when i saw the stumps, i hope theres more singular eggman in the show's future because the council really aren't enough eggman compared to our eggman imagine the potential of more than just the egg council, different eggman for different shard worlds

yeah it's strange and sad that he doesn't have any alternate versions in nearly all the places, it would've been great to see him involved there, whether he was one of the threats to nature as usual or maybe an alternate where he works with nature instead of destroy. they had options with potential and didn't take them. and I would've loved to finally see animated pirate Eggman because he looks so beautiful as one in comic art but he was nowhere to be seen there too whyyy we we're fuckin robbed :')

it makes it feel like they just really don't wanna use regular Eggman or even any other alternate versions at all outside of the Council even more, for some reason. why are they the only variants we've seen and why are they all together in NYC? I hope there's still a chance that another alternate will appear in a future alternate world we haven't seen yet but since they reuse the same characters each time that are actually Sonic's friends then that doesn't seem too likely.

and I especially hope regular Eggman gets to do more but I'm not sure if he still exists after the prism shattering so I guess we won't see him until they fix all that, unless it turns out he wasn't affected in the same way like Sonic and Shadow. or if the Council somehow are him split up but that just seems really weird because yeah they don't feel Eggman to me either but get away with it as they're alternate universes but it would be random if they were actually supposed to be him.

Idk why they they don't seem to want to use regular Eggman and seem to want to keep their Eggmen to a minimum in general when more is always merrier. but regular Eggman should've stayed a part of the Council like he appeared to be in the concept art or he should at least get involved with them later if they're still in the picture for a while, and there absolutely should've been even more variants across the other worlds too and it'll be sad if they don't explore that even once.

[party-time]

Don't feel like drawing lately, but i did watched Sonic Prime yesterday and my mind won't stop thinking about it.

So i'm gonna just ramble about it under the cut, so warning for spoilers of Sonic Prime ahead.

For starters, there's stuff that other people have already said about the series that pretty much i totally agree with, so don't expect me to talk about most of the things we saw on the eps.

What i'm actually really thinking about is the whole situation with the shards and that cliffhanger they left in the final ep, none of which are going to be predictions but tather just things that are roaming in my mind.

Like what about the Chaos Emeralds?

So far the only chaos emerald we saw during the series is the green one, that is currently in Shadow's possesion, we know that because he used chaos control he wasn't affected by the Paradox Prism shattering. So it makes me think that the other emeralds might as well weren't affected by the situation at all, but if that's true and the prime universe dosen't exists then they could also be scattered between the shatterspaces; or at least that's ONE of the many posibilities.

They could have ALSO been affected by the Paradox Prism, because the only emerald we have seen so far has been used by Shadow and is still on his possesion, so could have been that the reason why it didn't affect him is because the emerald was being USED; unlike the others who's location are still unknown.

In any case, if the chaos emeralds can still be used, then there is a posibility that the Master Emerald could also still be around somewhere. Because we only see Knuckles on the series, never Angel Island or the Master Emerald itself, is not even mentioned by Knux; the only time we see mention of the Master Emerald is when Sonic remembers about the first time he meet Knuckles.

If the Master Emerald is around just like the chaos emeralds, then who's guarding them? Much better: WHERE are them?

No one seems to remember or know about them, yet there you have Shadow, the only one who seems to have realised and remember how usefull the emeralds are. So far the worlds Sonic has been and we saw they all circulate around the shards, and 0 trace of emeralds, something that makes me think that either: They're on the void, but far away from each other oooor they're on entirely different worlds. Maybe those worlds focus more on the Chaos Emeralds due to not having shards.

We saw a world where there is NO ONE, thanks to Nine, so maybe there are more little worlds like that and might be the location of the emeralds. Maybe those places are just mini fragments of what little is left of the prime universe, all protected by the energy of the emeralds who wheren't affected at all by the Paradox Prism. Heck even the Master Emerald could STILL be on Angel Island, but separated and far away from all the others.

(And talking about the Master Emerald, dosen't anyone see a bit of parallels with Sonic shattering the Paradox Prism to stop Eggman from taking it, with how Knuckles had to shatter the Master Emerald in SA2 to ALSO stop Eggman from taking it?)

I also feel in the obligation to point out:

The rings

The first episodes —and any episode that show's the prime universe pre-Paradox Prism incident— we are shown that rings are a part of the prime universe, in a way they make us undertand that the rings work the same way they do in the games, but when the whole situation with the shatterspaces begin we never see even one ring again.

Even Sonic is caught off guard by this, but then forgets about it inmediately.

If the rings DO work the same as in the games, then maybe now that they're gone everybody is basically either in absolute danger of dying or inmortal; because with the amount of times Sonic got his ass beat in other worlds, is impressive he only has a few contusions here and there sometimes.

In New Yolk City everyone is still alive, in terrible conditions, but alive even if they are robotized or something. In the other worlds most mobians that we see are also still alive, so it might be safe to asume that without the rings everyone is basically inmortal.

(And before anyone says anything, the whole "the series has to be kidfriendly" is a terrible excuse and with the batantly amount of stuff we have seen from the series, it won't surprise me if a character died.)

And i am also pointing this, because i haven't seen anyone do it so far: but Eggman got fucking divided, and not in the same specific way the rest of the main cast did. All of Eggman's versions are in ONE shatterspace, we don't see any other Eggman's in the other worlds; yet we see more than one version of Amy, Knux, Rouge, Tails and Big.

On more specific terms he got his OWN world, one where he's not alone and has a family —that ironicaly they are all him, so he did and didn't got a family—, yeah Sonic's friends are there too BUT they also have worlds that center around each one of them, but so far they didn't contain any Eggman's in them.

Something tells me Eggman while did want to reform everything, he also MIGHT have wanted to have a family, people like him; and let's remember he's the only one left of his family, so that could have also played it's part on the whole thing.

Just something i realised while watching, it's curious to me that New Yolk had different Eggman's and the other worlds didn't.

That's all.

[camaraderieofharmony]

THE CAMARADERIE OF HARMONY

a rain world oc askblog run by @delfinxxia , @frindoka , and @stormystarlight

CoH is our silly little askblog run by three silly little friends who are just having fun ^_^ this will be a fairly casual thing that we'll do in our free time so it might be pretty regular, might not be. we'll see!! revolving around five iterators and their companions, CoH centers mostly on found family, belonging, and healing. it's going to be both silly and serious. just how serious, well we'll have to wait and see for that too!

there's a couple rules for the blog:

absolutely no asks that are hateful or nsfw in any way. we won't be answering these for very obvious reasons

no magic asks, either! ex, a character is a different species/gender/etc. for a certain amount of asks/posts

we are probably not doing rp asks/asks directly from other ocs atm, sorry

and we'll add more here later if needed, but honestly this is all i can think of atm

other than that: ask anything!

the character lineup is right here, and below the cut, a bit more info on each of them!

higher quality image here

THE ITERATORS

Eighty Blank Pages / Pages (he/she): friendly and compassionate, yet a bit nervous! he's usually in a good mood, and it's very difficult to make her angry. she has boundless love for the others, and his can is the one they all often visit to! (owned by delfinxxia)

Howl in Broad Daylight / Howl (xe/xim/he): cool-mannered and calm, if a bit too passive and reserved sometimes. xe can seem detached from everything, but xis passion for the things he cares about is strong. xe's a little awkward sometimes, but doing xis best. (owned by delfinxxia)

Gaze at Ceaseless Light / Gaze (they/them): quiet, intelligent, and asocial. an iterator of few words. they are the oldest of the group and the obligate "mom friend," often being the voice of reason and the only one keeping the group out of trouble. they have a very hard time being emotionally vulnerable with others. (owned by StormyStarlight)

Second Silence / Silence (she/her): can be very cocky and blunt, but is playful and talkative with her friends. not afraid to speak her mind and takes no crap. loves to lightheartedly bully her friends and cause problems on purpose. (owned by StormyStarlight)

Song of Joyous Sparrow / Sparrow (she/it): a “childish” iterator with plenty of wonder for the world, sparrow has a fondness for all creatures— particularly dangerous ones. (except for vultures, which she deems to be too scary.) she has a fascination with the ecosystem and how all the creatures in it adapt and survive. she’s very excitable, easily entertained, and doesn’t really see solving the great problem as her one and only goal. (owned by frindoka)

THE SLUGCATS

The Reader and The Writer / Enigma and Sky (both he/him): a father-son duo. the reader is a very relaxed, down-to-earth slugcat, but on the other hand, the writer is incredibly excitable and bouncy. both of them have lived happily under the care of pages for about two years! (owned by delfinxxia)

The Protector / Dusk (she/her): a fierce and protective slugcat with such intense caring. she seems mean, but really means well. she's lived in pages's city for almost as long as the reader and writer. (owned by delfinxxia)

The Peacemaker / Prism (she/her): a young, bioengineered slugcat-lizard hybrid, of yellow, white, and cyan blood specifically. she's a cheerful, energetic bundle of joy and friend to (almost) all! (owned by delfinxxia)

The Engineer / Glass (he/him): an even-tempered and stoic slugcat who wandered into gaze's can roughly eight years ago and has stuck around ever since. he is very skilled in tool crafting and does not enjoy the company of other slugcats or creatures. (owned by StormyStarlight)

The Mediator / Accord (she/her): biogenetically engineered to have the antennae of a yellow lizard for the purpose of sending signals to other creatures. her genome was written by gaze as a gift for silence. she is measured, calm, and perhaps overly cautious. (owned by StormyStarlight)

The Siblings / Night, Luminous, and Rosy (any pronouns, and both she/her for latter): a trio of siblings under the care of sparrow. night is more of a cautious slugcat with a tendency to be a worrywart, often keeping their other siblings away from trouble. luminous is quick-witted and curious; she loves to explore and enjoys the thrill of adventure. rosy is similarly curious, but in a much more childlike, cautionless and fun fashion. (owned by frindoka, StormyStarlight, and delfinxxia respectively)

The Astronomer / Paradox (she/it): paradox is a shy slugcat who doesn’t like interaction with most other creatures, instead preferring to read stories from scattered pearls. she’s often found curled up in her own little corner instead of exploring. owned by frindoka)

The Collector / Chime (they/them): chime is a wildly adventurous and brave slugcat— though their bravery can often come across as stupidity, due to their tendency to rush headfirst into things. they enjoy collecting various items and have a fondness for bells. (owned by frindoka)

[thegoodomensdumpster]

(1) I'm fat and I fucking love the crumbs, it's such a bummer that they won't be around anymore. Besides, stereotype or not, some fat people (like myself) are messy and gross and some aren't and that's okay. I liked seeing myself represented in Aziraphale here, and it sucks that it's now being cencored. I'm fat and I'm messy and the fact that people want to hide that that's a thing makes me feel more ashamed about who I am than I wouldn have been if it was just left alone.

(2) I'm sick of the trope that fat people have to always be pristine and constantly ON AIR just to be given the same respect that a thin person would have, even if they themselves were also messy. I loved your crummy Aziraphale, he made me feel like I was still worth something and capable of great things and worthy of a dedicated love. He made a lot of people feel like that. Art shouldn't be cencored. This asks breaks my heart a little, because... I’m not the authority on validating people of course, but in case anyone needs to read that: OF COURSE you are worthy of love and respect and just being a human if you are messy, if you are fat, if you are messy and fat, or if you happen to fit a stereotype that mainstream media have rendered harmful. Because you are people, not fictional characters, and you exist beyond these stereotypes boundaries. You are complex, and alive, and your existence matters.

More under the cut for discussion on character design, stereotypes, tumblrfoolery, and my own incapacity to know what to do. The most important bit is above, but if you guys want to take part into a bigger conversation with me, either by replying to this post or MPing me, I’m welcoming you with open arms. It got a bit long, but hopefully it isn’t too confused.

(Also, quick side note: I’m not deleting any of the crumb jokes previously made, so if you miss them, you can still find them in the archive of this blog under the crumb omens hashtag.)

My opinion on character design is actually this one: there is no inherently harmful trait for a certain type of people, it is all a question of context and quantity. In the case of a character that is fat and messy, if it just happens that, among other fat people, one of them is messy, then it’s not a stereotype, and it’s not harmful. However, in our current media landscape, those two attributes happen to be associated way too often, enough that it leads to essentialisation of fat people ( aka: if you’re fat, you’re necessary messy, lazy, etc... these reductive associations are almost systematic ).

In the context of my blog and my work at large, if you’re familiar with it, I think it’s safe to say that I, personally, don’t use the fat and messy character as a stereotype, because I also depict other fat characters as non messy characters. Thats for my context. That’s also probably why, when I made all the crumb jokes, I didn’t even think about this stereotype.

But the thing is, I don’t post my fanarts in a vacuum. Especially on Tumblr where posts tend to have a life of their own when they get reblogged. They get cut from their context, hence only showing the tip of the iceberg, which is what I consider to be a harmful stereotype. And even within their context, it might still come as insensitive and hurt people who have been badly affected by this stereotype. And this has nothing to do with my original intentions.

This would lead to the consideration of how much of a private / public venture exactly a blog is, and to what extent should we take mainstream depictions into account when we design characters ourselves, and how much can we expect people to take things into the context of the OP’s work, or the OP’s blog, or the website it was posted on... This is something I’m scratching my head over, I’m not sure I have an answer to that. I’m not even sure there is an answer to that. But what I know is that this specific blog, though it still is MY blog, also has a following big enough that I cannot fully consider it as private ( although, I never consider any internet space to be really private ...).

However, I one hundred percent agree that there is a huge issue in, as a reaction to these harmful strereotypes, not allowing minorities and oppressed group as appearing any less than perfect. This is a terrible response, a terrible pressure, and it’s as much dehumanizing as only seeing people through the prism of stereotypes. And I know I can not satisfy everyone when I make a choice, but I do try to make the choices that hurt the less, or at least the ones that won’t hurt the group of people I care about (and by that I mean: I would not hesitate to make fatshamers feel ill at ease, but I do not want to hurt fat people over fatphobia).

So, yeah, it does feel like I fell into another trap that ends up guilt tripping people. But I don’t know how to react, I don’t where to stand, because I don’t know which reaction would bring the less suffering. It seems that there is no perfect answer, and fat people might get hurt either way. I just know that, since I’ve been made aware of the kind of hurt the crumb jokes could do, I’m feeling uncomfortable myself continuing them. So, this is not strictly censorship. Because, at least right now, I don’t feel like I want to continue them either. Maybe my mind will change, I don’t know, but I have the feeling that maybe my issue is mostly based on the media (aka: a tumblr post) rather than the joke itself. Because if, for instance, I had one messy fat character in a comic book where you can see other fat characters in all their diversity and complexity, then it wouldn’t feel like I’m tapping into a stereotype, and therefore I doubt it would make a lot of fat people ill at ease. Because that one messy fat character could hardly be cut from the context of its book. But with a tumblr post that can escape its context or directly be surrounded in a tumblr search on my blog by other similar post declining the same messy joke with the same fat character... I don’t know. 

I just, really, really don’t know.

I feel saddened by the hurt I’m doing to people either way, and I’ve received several messages of fat people telling me they liked the crumb jokes. But I cannot know if people who were actually hurt are just silent on this issue or if I’m just ... anticipating a hurt that wasn’t there to begin with ( because the original message that made me aware of this issue wasn’t actually written by someone who personnally felt ill at ease at that joke, it was just pointing it out as fatphobic, which I agreed to be an issue as well ). 

So, yeah. If you have any insight on this issue, absolutely feel free to contact me. This is an important conversation to have, or at least it is to me, and it touches on many important topics so it’s ... potentially long and convoluted and confusing. But I want to learn, I want to do better, and I want to help people feel good about themselves. This is possibly my number one goal as an artist. 

<3

[leqclerc]

At first I was kinda upset that Charles has a contract with ferrari until 2024, because I think he is wasting time in a car below his abilities but now I think thay this could turn out well for him.

He will try the ferrari car under the new regulations, and he will be able to have the full picture before he decides what to do. Maybe new teams will be joining next year, so he will have more options in case ferrari doesn't work out. He won't be joining another team blindly and hoping for the best. I just hope that strong teams will have a seat for him and he won't struggle to find a team, if that's eventually what he decides he wants to do.

Nah, I totally get it. Ferrari was always his dream. He’s the first FDA graduate to successfully make into their team. He’s young, and he’s incredibly talented. It absolutely makes sense for them to offer him a contract extension after just one season - and for him to happily sign it. Obviously I think he was expecting the 2020 and future cars to be at a 2019 level or even better, no one could’ve predicted their 2020 performance dip would be that significant, but even so I don’t think there’s anywhere else he wants to be right now. He’s set himself a goal - helping them get back to the top and challenge for the title - and I think that’s motivating him. There’s not much to improvement when you’re already at the top, but having that clear goal in mind, watching a team improve and become seriously competitive again and knowing you contributed to their success in a significant way...That’s personally satisfying. 

It’s easy to forget now - especially with all the hype around Max/Red Bull as the closest challenger to Mercedes - that Ferrari went toe to toe with Mercedes in the first half of 2018. Seb is still the only non-Mercedes driver to lead in the championship standings since 2014. That’s not insignificant. It’s easy to view Ferrari through the prism of their recent shortcomings, but the fact is they were really close at one point, not that long ago. Mercedes didn’t reach the pinnacle overnight either. Between 2010-2013 they had a dog of a car and were little more than a midfield team. People were calling Lewis’s McLaren -> Mercedes move “career suicide.” It wasn’t until 2014, when the new hybrid regs came into effect, that they started dominating - and even then, they had the speed but were often hampered by reliability issues that took years to iron out. If Ferrari seriously puts their head down now and nails the 2022 regs then we could be in for a treat. They’ve already got an immensely talented driver - now they just need to give him a quick and reliable car. And, y’know, tightening up their strategy might help 🙈 So I’m not expecting him to suddenly start winning overnight, the car’s not there just yet, but I wouldn’t count them out and say the extension was a mistake. They’re making steps in the right direction. They had a 2.4 second pit stop in yesterday’s race. Compared to their wheel gun-related struggles last season, that’s already huge. 

And also, yes - by 2024 the situation on the grid could be completely different. The regulation changes are going to shift things around for sure, but then there’s also the possibility of teams leaving/re-branding, new teams coming in, etc. At the end of the day there’s always three or four teams that are strong and could be worth signing with. It’s just too early to make predictions yet. Maybe next year we’ll get a slightly clearer picture of this “new era” and how the rest of Charles’s Ferrari days will pan out. 

[harusha]

I saw you getting some individual cards and I was thinking of doing the same but I also can't justify spending $10 are a couple cards since I won't do anything with them but just have them either. I don't want to get a booster pack since I don't want them all, just those individual ones. What do you do with your cards when you get them?

i put them in the binder card sleeves and look at them every once in awhile. Honestly, it just depends on what you like to do and value. B/c like… I kinda consider them in the same boat as Plushies. Some of them are adorable, but you don’t get to do much besides looking at and holding them.

I like the cards since some of my favorites don’t get “official” merchandise usually (Ex. Proton, Lance, Volkner, etc.) or I like the character a lot enough to justify getting their stuff (Ex. Marth who I also own a Nendoroid for as well as most of his cards, and I got the Echoes of Valentia special edition b/c I’m both a huge FE fan and also the Marth pin).

Honestly I don’t recommend buying Booster Packs if you want individual ones in most cases since you’re “gambling” w/ card packs. Just b/c it’s potentially in there doesn’t mean it actually is (Ie. See the fact I got Zinnia’s full art in 3 packs over Lance’s Prism which was what I actually wanted and each US set is $15 per box. Lance’s Prism is $2.50 online by itself).

Now that just applies to the “relatively cheaper” cards since stuff like Lillie and Cynthia’s full art cards run for like 70+ a piece. Or the Secret Rare Rainbow Charizard which is $150 at cheapest.

Like… buying Booster Packs or the individual card directly depends on if you want to “test” your luck or eliminate the luck factor. You can absolutely run over the “market” price by buying packs or you can save tons of dollars.

Ideally, you’d like to play the TCG as well, but nothin’ wrong w/ just collecting cards since competitive TCG is really expensive (ofc, I still think Yugioh is more expensive than Pokemon considering some of the top tier decks can go into the thousand and Konami’s penchant for “mixing” up the top-tier decks).

TLDR: I put my cards in those binder card sleeves and look at them every once in awhile. If you wanna play it more “cheaply” and kinda own the cards, play on the various online TCG simulators and follow people who do pack openings b/c they’ll usually show the code cards in Booster Packs (if applicable).

Or you can just get the card art from like Bulbapedia and print it out on some nice card stock. It’d be a lot cheaper tbh… Just use your home printer tho.

If it makes you feel better (or worst), Volkner’s card ran $18 for me and Proton’s ran a literal 25 cents and they wouldn’t ship the latter to me until I also bought a $1.75 Jirachi card with him. Just depends on how useful (and/or old) the card is in the TCG.