#arcana mini game

[hexgirllovesyou]

There are two types of guy in this world:

Oh Julian my dearest...

And Lucio.. of course..

@thearcanagame

[samtheplatypus]

I forgor

(look at poor Oliver flying)

[mymomy-getsmashedbydumpstertruck]

HEAR. ME. OUT. What if the red plague didn’t kill the people who had it and instead they turned into an infected the last of us zombie like?? IF Lucio didn’t burn all those people with the plague who would know what happens to Vesuvia(sry if I didn’t spell it right). Like the MLP infections except the people aren’t ponies and..yk..

[rubinaitoart]

ABOUT THE ARCANA FIGURES

Okay so I’m a nerd. I play a little D&D, I used to paint the little figures for the characters with my dad when I was a kid. Usually they’re cast in a mold, but thanks to 3D printing you can get some cool custom ones depending on the site you use.

So I’m going to show you guys what you can probably expect, from the worst quality to the best (for the smaller figures at least).

Here’s a little background:

Asra’s figure is about 1.26 inches for the smaller size (32mm) and 3 inches for the larger size (100mm). The first one is about in line with a standard Dungeons & Dragons figurine for a 6-foot tall character, which are about 0.98–1.10 inches (25–28mm).

Of course, the standard D&D miniatures (depending on who makes them) usually indicate their measurement up to the eyes.

Portia’s figure (the smaller size) is listed as 28.8mm. So she’s the closest in size to the miniatures. And yeah, you’re not going to get a lot of good detail at that size with 3D printing depending on the filament used and the team that is trimming/sanding the models. A couple examples I found here of what a 3D figure this size will look like:

Of course this really depends on the filament being used. This fiverr shop can print mini figures at a damn good quality with a very fine filament.

The size of this figure in particular is probably a little larger than Muriel’s smaller size figure.

This Reddit post I found—which for some reason will not let me paste the link no matter what I do—is showing what a 0.15 nozzle can do. I don’t know the exact size but I’m assuming it’s a standard 28mm.

As for the larger sizes—which run about 3-4 inches—the quality will probably be better. But again it entirely depends on the production team and things like the filament being used, nozzle size, sanding, trimming, etc.

So if you’re getting the smaller figures, there’s one hell of a range of what you could be getting and it depends entirely on how Dorian is producing them. And… we have no idea what we’re getting yet because we have the 3D models as examples, not the actual figures.

[bopaaaa]

[Nothing]

Lucio: As expected, I’m handsome.

(This is my first comic(?)!!! Idk I’m so exciting)

[shanesbluechicken]

When you worked hard to get Nadia's hearts, BUT SHE GOES AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE

[totally-not-here-for-the-smut]

Do I write?

Yes, I write

☆Smut☆

Am I good at it?

No, it's cheap explicit smut.

Do I care?

Would Lucio?

Do I accept requests?

Yes, mini-HC are my favorites. Smut, fluff, weird/fun things.

If ask about the M6, state which one you care about the most :)

If you don't tell me the spicy level, I'll assign randomly

If I feel like it I may go for the feels

Do I like collabs?

If you put up with my shitty time organization, I'm down for it.

Do I draw?

Sometimes i draw other people MCs.

Do I draw smut?

No, dinamic anatomy scares me.

Where is the smut?

Navigatie here

And then i do memes

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hi, Brainrot! Can I have some mini-HCs with the M6 which the MC is lonely in Valentine's Day? Because that is me right now, just playing otome games and eating chico by myself :')

The Arcana Mini-HCs: When MC is alone on Valentine's Day

Julian: beats himself up mentally because he assumed you had a Valentine already and that's why he didn't ask and now you're all alone and - shows up at your place panicking in case he's too late

Asra: they planned a surprise date for you, but didn't tell you they were doing it so you thought you were on your own. he'd feel bad about it if he wasn't so excited to see you light up when he reveals it

Nadia: falsely assumed that, knowing her, you already expected her to be planning an afternoon out together. surprised and horrified when she walks in to see that you're all alone and it's her fault

Muriel: the only reason it's taken this long for him to show up is because he heard you say that that's how you're spending the day and he took a detour to pick up some snacks before joining you.

Portia: she realized last minute that the picnic lunch she's making you would be even better with an extra ingredient and dipped out to buy it. you're not going to be alone much longer, that's for sure!

Lucio: he got so excited planning his big Valentine's day bash that he forgot to invite you. hunts you down with a pout when the party isn't as fun as it's supposed to be, drags you out to make it better

[teecupangel]

Yes public answering is allowed.

Take your time, I know I am not the only one with asks.

Desmond Miles, Malik Al-Sayf, Kadar Al-Sayf, Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad, Leonardo Da Vinci and Ezio Auditore all playing Dungeons and Dragons pre canon (pre AC.) Desmond has no idea who his friends are cause he didn't pay attention to history lessons and drowned out his father after awhile of his bloodline importance speeches. Kadar is the Dungeon Master/Storyteller. Malik and Altaïr play Paladin and Cleric respectively. Ezio pretty much plays himself, charming flirt. Leonardo, plays powerful characters since he feels powerless often. His friends enjoy Desmond's company that when he goes missing they step up to find him. And Desmond's mind is blown after viewing Altaïr's memories that he figures out who the other two are.

Once again take your time.

Okay.

What if Altaïr is in a forced sabbatical?

Maybe it’s similar to what happened in 1191 where Altaïr’s actions led to the death of someone. Maybe it’s because he deliberately got between their team and the Brotherhood under William Miles.

If you want to keep Clay alive, maybe he saved Clay and that led the Templars and the Assassins into almost recognizing him so they’re all lying low.

Altaïr being not allowed to leave the house is his punishment XD

Malik is an inch away from actually strangling the man with the lan cable for his computer because a bored Altaïr is an annoying one and Kadar took a part time job because he’s that bored.

Kadar met Desmond because his part time job is a delivery man for a specific brand of alcohol that Bad Weather keeps on stock.

Kadar recognized him immediately as William miles’ runaway son and befriended him because he’s curious.

Their friendship leads to Desmond admitting he’s curious about DnD but doesn’t have friends to play with. Kadar invites him because he has online friends that he actually plays DnD with (one of those friends being Rebecca and, if you want a watch_dog reference, Wrench) so he gets the others to play DnD as well because they’re all varying degrees of noobs.

Also, this way, Altaïr would actually have something to do XD

Before Desmond gets there, Kadar makes them promise not to talk about anything Assassin related because Desmond is the first actual offline friend Kadar has made that wasn’t part of the whole ‘we sorta got reincarnated/transmigrated into the future but we’re not gonna talk about that I guess’ thing.

(I’m using http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/ for character info and I am absolutely not sure if they’re already available by 4e XD)

Unorganized Notes:

Kadar uses 4e rules but is fast and loose with them (because I wish to give them 5e but 5e was relased in 2014 TTATT). Leonardo makes the minis but Kadar makes the maps (he does check online for references). It’s his own campaign but his online DnD group helps him (he actually plays a Rogue online named ‘Altair’ without the ‘ï’ because he’s still a fanboy)

Everyone agreed Rogue is off-limits because they might all choose Rogue and also to not tip Desmond off so no one is a Rogue. Desmond screws this up by actually picking Rogue. Desmond actually goes for Assassin Rogue because he loves irony XD His backstory is that he left a cult of assassins as a child and is trying the adventurer life. Everyone just feels a bit awkward when he told them that backstory but Desmond just breezed through that so it was just for a moment XD

Malik is an Oath of Vengeance Paladin who share the same deity as Altaïr. In-game, this is because Altaïr is a Cleric on a mission to appease their god and Malik is there to keep him in check. Out of game, Malik wants to be the one to finally annoy Altaïr this time around and this backstory gives him an excuse to do it.

Altaïr is an Arcana Domain Cleric who is on a mission of redemption as ordered by his deity. The reason why he’s in a road of redemption is unclear and it’s clear that Altaïr has no respect for his deity. In-game, everyone who worship the same deity call him their god’s ‘Chosen’ and he hates it (Kadar absolutely loves to ham out the worshipping of the 'Chosen' XD). Out of everyone, he’s the player who is absolutely min-maxing his character.

Let’s be honest, we’re all expecting Ezio to be the Bard and he is. He even plays the guitar because, according to him, it’s better than a minstrel's lute, whatever that means. Absolutely a School of Swords Bard that has the highest Charisma stat among all of them. He’s the designated leader and the one who pulled everyone together into this weird group of adventurers. He may or may not be a noble who ran away from home.

Leonardo is an Artificer. While Artificers are already available as a class in 4e, their specialties were officially created for 5e but fuck it, let’s say it’s a modified Artificer class because Leonardo should be an Artillerist Artificer. If you don’t want the Artificer class because of how questionable it is possible for 4e, my alternate suggestion is Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer for pure magic destruction or Great Old One Warlock (unli Eldritch Blast). He plays Ezio’s character’s long suffering childhood best friend who joined the group because Ezio ‘begged’.

The campaign may or may not be a chosen one absolutely not wanting to do his mission as said chosen one and being dragged along by his god approved babysitter and a misfit company (the twist is Altaïr's mission is to actually find their god's child that is supposed to save the world... it's Desmond. Desmond's the god's child. The cult he's from is worshipping the same god as Altaïr but Desmond, Altaïr and Malik don't know it. Kadar thinks he's made such a good plot twist XD)

(I left their races ambiguous for you to play with. I personally would suggest making Altaïr a kenku for the lols XD)

[hexgirllovesyou]

When you see ur bestie in the same party after u realized u both lied to each other

@thearcanagame

[wyrdle]

Greetings Dragon Booster fans! I am organising a Dragon Booster Fan Tarot Deck project, and applications for contributors are now open!

Applications close 17th November 2023!

APPLY HERE

More info in the above form or below the cut! Reblogs appreciated!

What is it?

This is a not-for-profit fan project, to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Dragon Booster plus make some cool merch together! Currently, the goals for this project are:

Create a physical tarot deck/card game*: 35 cards, consisting of 22 x Major Arcana featuring any canon characters and optional OCs and 13 x "Draconium Arcana" where we cover all 13 Draconium colour crew leaders/side characters and dragons. The deck should also include a mini booklet introducing artists/instructions to play + board (if relevant) shipped to every contributor.

Create a digital printable deck: Free for the general public to download, print at home, play and enjoy

*Depending on whether we figure out a card game for this project.

-----------

Each artist will be responsible for:

Making 2-3 card designs. Each artist can draw 1 or 2 Major Arcana, featuring any canon characters and OCs of their choice. Each artist will also need to select 1 Draconium Arcana and feature minimum 1 canon crew leader and 1 dragon.

Finalisation of card assignments will be through a tally system and discussion on Discord to prevent too many character overlaps.

-----------

Timeline (Summary)

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NOTE: As this is a not-for-profit project, contributors may have to pay for the printing and shipping of their own deck of cards. Please indicate in this form your budget/ability to pay for yourself. (This will not affect your participation!)

As with any other indie project organised online, merch-related projects carry some risks with the fulfillment of physical orders, especially in the case of relying on regional reps to reduce shipping fees. Very likely, the base of operations will be in Australia and products will be shipping from here, with reps in US/Canada etc. to sort orders there. For now, we are unlikely to be opening sales to non-contributors, unless discussed further through chat and if their orders contribute significantly to paying for costs to contributors.

----------

Who is the mod/organiser?

Hellooooo I'm Wyrdle or Ann, and I'll be the primary organiser/designer (and likely logistics person alongside calamari-san) for this project. I was the mod for the digital DB zine and fundraiser zines Stories for a Cause (Vol 1 and 2), and am active in making my own zines and merch. I'm based in Melbourne, Australia, and have been a big Dragon Booster fan for a long time! You can always reach out to me via socials or email at wyrdle.art@gmail.com.

[blabbin]

Disco Elysium Fandom Masterpost

Decided to compile all the cool projects fans have made for Disco Elysium! This includes game resources, fan games, and fun collaboration events!

If you want to be notified of any updates, you can click on 'subscribe to conversation' for this post!

If you've got any corrections/updates/suggestions, reach out to let me know! ((Last updated: January 29th, 2023))

Game Information/Archives/Resources

Disco Elysium Wiki (Literally contains most everything you'd want to know about the game, including a ton of image resources)

FAYDE On-Air by Morgue, Pieartsy, and Sphinx111 (Search engine tool to easily find any in-game dialogue)

Disco Reader by xyrilyn + Guide on how to use it (Search engine AND text visualization tool. You can see the full dialogue trees as flowcharts)

Disco Elysium Explorer by Leerion + Github (Inspired by Disco Reader. It works much the same way but it ALSO includes the audio clips for every piece of dialogue!! + the text for every language released so far)

Disco Elysium Checklist compiled by MentalPrinciple0 (Includes all red/white checks, their difficulty level, all possible modifiers, as well as items, tasks, thoughts, and their modifiers)

Complete OST + Ambient Mix compiled by OnlySheStandsHere (Includes everything added for The Final Cut)

High Quality Full Map of Martinaise compiled by For Lack Of A Title

Map of Revachol West vectorized by freezebobs + svg file

Disco Elysium: Country/Cultural Mappings compiled by Limey (List of all the geographical places named in-game, what we know about them, and what some real-world parallels are)

Disco Elysium: A Timeline compiled by six and brenn (A complete timeline of every event mentioned in the game, from the creation of the universe to the events of The Hanged Man case)

Theoretical Entroponetics by 57sfinest (Everything we know about The Pale + OP's own theory)

Fanworks

Fandom Collaboration Projects

((since these are big collaboration projects, I unfortunately can't properly list the credits on this post. Make sure to check out the respective credit pages of the projects!! So many talented peeps!!!))

Disco Elysium Fan Colouring Book (SFW)

Disco Elysium Fan Colouring Book (NSFW) [[18+]]

Social media tag: #EspritDeCouleur

Fire Escape in The Sea Montage-Disco Elysium

Social media tag: #FEITSmontage

Disco Elysium Montage/Cleaning Out The Rooms

Social media tag: #COTRmontage

Disco Elysium Secret Santa 2022

Ao3 Collection

Bonus Round! Prompt List is open for anyone to fill if something grabs your interest!

Social media tag: #DESecretSanta2022

Disco Elysium Rarepair Fanworks Exchange

Ao3 Collection

Prompt List! Open for anyone to fill if something grabs your interest!

((There's no tag, everything is compiled on the twitter account. If you post anything new, make sure to @ the account to be RTed!))

Disco Elysium Tarot, the Major Arcana

Social Media tag: #DiscoTarot

An art challenge to recreate famous paintings into something Disco Elysium themed! Feel free to join in!

Social media tag: #DiscoElysiumArtClassic

Fan Games

After the Mind, the World Again by Pieartsy (TTRPG)

Disco Elysium: Game Boy Edition by BloodyStapler

Disco Dating by Slugandthorn, Capreola, Frankie, and Joe/BerlinChild (Visual Novel)

The Cryptokiller, project lead Arthur Stahlschmidt (Visual Novel) ((Make sure to check the itch.io page for a full list of the team!!))

Mystery Miniaturist by Jasmine "Katy133" Osler (Visual Novel) ((Make sure to check the itch.io page for the full list of credits!!))

WE GOT A CODE 31 by Slugandthorn (Dancing Penguin Kim. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!!)

Mini Mini Disco by OinkOink!Studio (a collection of mini-games! The links on the main page might be broken, so here they are just in case:

Nod match with Kim

Pretty Jean Jean

Beg Money)

Disco Elysium: Signature Skill Selection by FeigningIntelligence (Take this quiz and find out what your signature skill is!)

Twine Games/Fics

Re-Hearsed by Apepers

Requiem for the Apostle by Alphawave

Sweeter Kind of Fire [[18+]] by Kawa

Disco Elysium: Insomnia [[18+]] by mouseoverlord, Booboboobo, cyaber5, LoveSplean, and Aila

One Day in Jamrock [[18+]] by CeaserAmarelo

Fan Skins

((Want to write a fic/make a game that looks like Disco Elysium? These cool peeps got you covered!))

Disco Days Workskin by abyssalcaptain (Ao3)

Disco Elysium Workskin by Cunticuss (Ao3)

Disco Elysium Twine Macros by Apepers and Pieartsy (Twine)

Disco Elysium Framework for Ren'Py by Katy133 (Ren'Py)

AI

Uberduck Voice AI for Kim Kitsuragi by emmash527 and justinjohn-03

Uberduck Voice AI for Cuno by TheTiagoFire

Disco-Narrator Voice AI which includes: Kim Kitsuragi, The Narrator, and Joyce Messier [[Unfortunately it's been down for a long time now]]

Character.AI (You can make your own characters pretty easily, and there's a bunch of ones for Disco Elysium, including Kim, Jean, Trant, and Cuno last I checked)

Misc.

Disco Elysium Mods

Disco Elysium Item Card Creator by ColorfulTie (fun lil tool to create your own items with stats in the style of the game)

Disco Elysium fan music by Aila :

Insomnia Vol 1

Rain in Revachol

[words-from-the-coast]

audly’s favourite (free) d&d resources

d&d books are really expensive. for beginners, that can be daunting if trying to get into playing. some people are under the impression that you have to have all the books (or at least one or two) to be a good dm or player. 

so i’m here to compile my favourite resources! 

5etools

literally my favourite. it has sections divided by what you’re looking for, and a super easy filtering system. it’s got stuff from most books (except the critical roll ones) and dm screen resources! also has the ua (unearthed arcana) playtest materials. 

D&D wiki

also has pretty much everything! not really divided by books (as far as i can find), which may make it a bit tricky. but if you know what you’re doing, you’re set. especially helpful for spells. 

Fantasy Name Generators

in my opinion, naming things is one of the hardest things to do. like you’ve got this cool axe weapon thing that glows but you don’t want to just call it the “glowy axe”. or a super badass elf character that has a pet raccoon. or a city where your campaign will be. so you go through your brain for a good name and it’s empty. names give things meaning and importance. choosing one is hard. if the name generator doesn’t give you a name, it should at least get the ball rolling. they have one for pretty much everything.

Roll20

basically a dnd specific discord! you can host games, display maps, and have access to all your player’s sheets in one place. i find this one a lil tricky to navigate without a mouse, but i’ve managed with just my trackpad. roll20 also has a fairly extensive compilation of resources like class descriptions, weapons, etc. etc. i use it a lot when making magic items and worldbuilding. 

DnD Disability 

all about incorporating disabilities into dnd! i really enjoy this site. they offer some creative mechanics for varieties of neurodivergence, chronic pain, and mobility aids. a super amazing resource to make your game more accessible. 

Hero Forge

great for making character designs and has the option to buy a 3d print of your mini. some of the race options are little limiting (read: i tried to make a pigeon aarakocra out of a ravenfolk and it did not work), but overall is functional. 

D&D Beyond 

at this point i think everyone and their mother has heard of D&D beyond. it’s essentially the “official” dnd site, with all the official content and boundless homebrew. it has a character creator option too, which is useful for people who need some extra support. the issue is that it exists behind a paywall. if you want to add anything other than the “standard” options or use someone else’s homebrew in your game, you have to buy a membership. you can browse homebrew just fine without one, but can’t put it on your character sheet. for all it’s costly negatives, i do find joy in the unhinged and unbalanced home made things people conjure. worth at least looking at. 

Pinterest 

great for character and setting inspiration! also has some homebrew monsters, items, and weapons which can be meh. if you’re looking for nifty mechanics, pinterest may be your place as well. i have seen both phenomenally cool things i’ve incorporated into my games and the Most Questionable Things Ever.  

Arcane Eye

more of a blog, but does contain exceptionally useful knowledge. much like roll20, arcane eye has resources that can inform you as a player or dm. they have guides to different things.

D&D Compendium 

it sure is a compendium! it’s got the whole kitten caboodle, “how to dm” and “how to play” sections if you need some extra help, map tools, and a bunch of other how-to’s. they have links to other dnd resource sites as well, so if you can’t get it on the compendium, you can get it from one of those. you can also network and find a group to play with via the compendium. (but be careful with strangers from the internet, said the stranger from the internet.)

The Official D&D Site 

has a bunch of free pdfs for character sheets and whatnot, as well as some pre-generated characters and basic rules. they don’t have a huge amount of content for free, but who can blame them with all the pirated content out there. 

donjon

so many free generators. a dm’s best friend. they have map makers for dungeons, towns, npc’s, etc. so much stuff. so much. less useful for beginner players, more for dm’s. also good if you’re super into worldbuilding and want something to help. 

Azggar’s Fantasy Map Generator

again, more for dm’s than players. also just really good for worldbuiling. if you want a unique and comprehensive overview of a world, continent, or country, azggar’s is a good place. when i saw comprehensive, i mean comprehensive. it’s got political state lines, capital cities, ports, trade routes, population densities, distribution of regional ethnic groups, religions, government styles, the whole works - all fully editable. the tools can be a lil confusing at first but they do get easier with practice. 

Kassoon Puzzle Generator 

puzzles and riddles for your players! some are simple, some are more complex, depending on the skill level and knowledge-base of your players. can be worked into dungeons or given as a one off in an encounter. 

NPC Generator 

the title says it all. gives a basic name, occupation, class, race, etc. for an npc. all of which can be edited and randomly generated. 

The Homebrewery

a place to format your homebrews into an official-looking style. requires a smidgen of coding, but they have things that teach you that. it’s mostly for different headings and dispersion of sections. 

Podcasts 

if you’re just starting in dnd, listening to other people play can be informative, and hopefully entertaining. some shows are intended to be listened to as stories, rather than actual-play, other as wholly normal dnd, some a mix of both. they can spark inspiration for characters, settings, etc. i’ll give a mini list of my personal favourites (maybe a longer list later): 

- dames and dragons: so lovely. i’ve been listening since high school, and at this point it feels like listening to old friends. top of my list, highly recommend. 

- girls who don’t dnd: a group of girls who’ve never player dnd before playing dnd. this one is great for beginners who need more clarification on mechanics. 

- dungeons and daddies: it’s about literal dads from earth transported to a magic realm. so so so funny. 

and yeah! that concludes my list of my favourite resources for dnd for dm’s and players of all levels! happy playing! 

[bopaaaa]

[Nothing]

Lucio: They love me.

(I noticed that what i posted last time was less readable so i fix it and repost it)

[bakuliwrites]

How do you think the M6 would react to the Mc having a familiar that also knows a good portion of magic?( Arcana head-cannon to clarify )

( Sorry this isn’t an Astarion question, just haven’t played the game yet so I wouldn’t know what to ask.)

I would be happy to answer this! Ohmygosh, no need to apologize! I am always delighted to get Arcana related questions and requests, so feel free to ask away :)

This one will be more of a mini-headcanon. I also have a couple of other familiar-related headcanon posts from my old blog that I'll make sure to upload to this blog as well! Thank you for your ask!

Asra

Asra would be delighted! You having a familiar that is well-versed in magic just means that your journey towards relearning magic will be made so much easier. Depending on the type of magic your familiar is adept at, Asra can decide how best to work with them to aid you in your journey to relearn your skills.

Nadia

Nadia would be intrigued! I think she would be rather curious about the sort of magic your familiar knows. She'd also wonder what sort of connection you and your familiar might have, given that you are still an apprentice and your familiar seems to be more knowledgeable when it comes to magic.

Julian

Julian would be fascinated! Though he's a bit of skeptic when it comes to magic, some of that doubt is put to rest when he sees how skilled your familiar is. In fact, as he gets more comfortable with magic himself, he learns a bit from your familiar as well!

Portia

Portia would be overjoyed! In her excitement, she'd probably ask your familiar to showcase some of their magical ability. I think she also would be interested in learning some tricks from both you and them.

Muriel

Muriel would be curious! Especially if your familiar is well-versed with rune magic. Your familiar also loves Muriel, given that he is an animal lover by nature, so I think they would get along really well!

Lucio

Lucio would be so excited! Not only does he get to see your magical powers at work, and also learn a few tricks here and there, but now your familiar can show him, too!

[bossbutch]

indie video game i liked and have thoughts on cool wow

friend of mine was streaming Cartomancer Anthology the other day, (a grab bag of indie games a la haunted demo discs and such, themed after the major arcana) and one of the games included really clicked w me. in a way i wanted to talk about

it's the game themed after the high priestess card. the tldr plot is you're The Seer and you have to help people think through their problems. you do this with the main gameplay, a puzzler sorta like lights out, where you rotate and then place a shape, all the tiles in that area flip states, and your goal is to make enough of them black.

i think splatoon 3 (released after cartomancer) has a pvp game kinda like this? it's not difficult to understand, and the puzzles are pretty comfortably "not brain melty but not trivial" which is a nice place to be. what really struck me was how well it fits the story. each character you help has puzzles that fit them and their trouble. the first I noticed was a novice alchemist, who is frustrated over how much they still have to learn- their puzzles are all broken versions of the shapes on your cards, slightly too small for them to fit properly. the librarian who is worried about time management and organization has mini-puzzles in cramped spaces. etc

the character Problems are all low-stakes my little pony style things like that- one character wants to pick a different career than their mom wants them to, one is worried about whether their job will have made a difference after they die, one is passive and conflict-averse. I'm not necessarily a fan of like, fiction-as-therapy (this is not charitable at all lol i cant think of the proper term) but it fits the fairy tale aesthetics of the whole thing, and its not offensive or anything, the underlying philosophy is fine, its just a bit twee. and sometimes you're in the mood for something twee! or at least i am. a specific philosophy thing i really liked isn't said directly, but almost none of the puzzles have a "perfect" solution that will turn all the tiles black, and sometimes progress requires getting "farther away" from your goal. woah hmmmm how do those relate to what the characters are doing. i like it a lot okay. the actual puzzle gameplay couldve been anything at all- hidden objects, or match 3, or nonograms, etc- and a worse game would have it be arbitrary, but it's not. ..you see the connection you see why it's cool and why it works

the aesthetics and style- also good. between puzzles there's an overworld that does that delightful 2d-characters 3d-environment thing seen in like "paradise killer" and "smile for me" (and "sewer rave", which shares a developer!). and that's always great, the character designs are all great, it's lovely. they have multiple expressions and do the squash-stretches, and they all have unique nameplates with little designs (which i dont have a screenshot of, gah). theres just a lot of care put in. its nice.

i was struck ok? i fell in love. it happens. shoutout to weird little indie games. shoutout to @slitherpunk