#but at the end of the day uh

[pokeberry5]

working out character designs for an upcoming thing (hopefully)

[anemonet]

rain world if it was hot

[front-facing-pokemon]

[braisedhoney]

“That was your most creative attempt so far!”

“And no less pathetic for it.”

(yes this is a reupload i had to correct some things shhh—)

evil clock 0ut narrator anyone?

[dol--blathanna]

Thinking a lot about Orym choosing a rabbit when asked what animal he would pick if cursed with lycanthropy.

Because, it makes sense. Orym is small, quick, agile, jumps well, and is highly perceptive. That definitely evokes rabbit imagery. But a lot of Orym’s identity is also tied up with being a protector – giving people AC bumps, the shield being as much a part of his fighting style as his sword, even his title: Saviour Blade of the Tempest. He wants to be a “Shield that protects Exandria”; his priorities about saving the gods are less about the gods themselves, and more about protecting the people of Exandria from the unintended consequences and bloodshed of releasing Predathos. And it would’ve been very easy to pick a large, strong predator to try and evoke the sense of a protector – a wolf, for example, an animal associated with loyalty and protecting its pack. Yet Orym chose a rabbit.

And I think that’s interesting, because rabbits are often seen as ‘cute’ animals – but they’re also a prey animal. In fact, they’re a common food source for many animals across several ecosystems: foxes, wolves, wild cats, dogs, birds of prey like eagles or owls, coyotes, stoats, and humans (and that’s just off the top of my head). Rabbits are skittish, easily frightened; to be rabbit-hearted is to be timid or cowardly. They are not generally associated with fierceness or prowess in fighting. Mice and rats are prey animals too, but typically seen as vermin (rabbits are sometimes seen as vermin too, but a farmer could eat a rabbit – they wouldn’t eat a rat). Deer are prey, but they have hooves and antlers that bring a danger to hunting them, for any animal – the difficulties of hunting rabbits are more related to their evasiveness, speed and good hearing than any life-threatening danger they might pose. Rabbits are, first and foremost, prey animals. They are killed and eaten, so that another animal might live.

Which made me think a lot about one of Orym’s other key traits: self-sacrifice. Bait and switch doesn’t just bump up his ally’s ACs, it specifically switches their place to put him directly in harm’s way. Goading attack is meant to encourage enemies to attack him instead of his friends. He literally made a deal with a hag, essentially exchanging his own life for power to protect his friends. How many times has he gone down in a fight? He’s not the only tank – but unlike Ashton (and Chetney, who also uses ‘self-sacrifice’ in his fighting style with his blood curses) he has no abilities to reduce the damage from the hits he takes (barbarian rage and the werewolf form).

(Side note: I think it’s pretty interesting that Chetney, the wolf, has attacked Orym, the rabbit, more than anyone else when losing control. That Orym’s facial scar was given to him by a friend, not a foe).

Of course, Orym isn’t the only character with self-sacrificial tendencies (FCG wins by a landslide), but I just can’t stop thinking about how weirdly perfect it is that he chose a rabbit for his animal. Rabbits are prey animals. They are eaten, so that other animals may live. Orym takes the hits, he goads and switches with his team mates to put himself in danger, he makes a deal with a hag at the cost of his own life. He’s a soldier, throwing his life away for a cause over and over again because Ludinus must be stopped, because Keyleth has put her trust in him, because it’s the only way to protect his friends, to protect everyone, because it’s the right thing to do. Orym is a rabbit. He’s always been a rabbit. That day in Zephrah, it could have easily been Orym who died instead of Will and Derrig – “unfortunate but necessary sacrifices”, as Ludinus viewed the attack. It’s unfortunate they had to die, but it was for the greater good, according to Ludinus. It’s unfortunate that a rabbit has to die, but it will feed a family of foxes, or stoats, or even a hungry human, so it’s acceptable, right?

Orym is a rabbit. He is giving himself to a greater cause that could very easily kill him – he already willingly signed his life away to Nana Morri. Because that’s what rabbits do. They die to feed others.

And the theme of being disposable is present across the entire group, not just in Orym – Bell’s Hells has been called a “party of NPCs” before. Aside from FCG’s death, I’d say Laudna perhaps fits this theme the best: she was literally murdered and hung from a tree simply because she looked similar to Vex, acting as a warning to adventurers she had never met before. But FCG’s death was – rightfully – viewed as a terrible tragedy by the group. Laudna’s decision to remove Delilah, finally freeing herself from her abuser and emphasising she is more, and deserves to be more, than just some disposable puppet – this was rightfully viewed as a very good thing! But Orym seems to be embracing this identity of self-sacrifice instead, rather than this mindset being properly challenged or acknowledged as a bad thing. After all, there’s no time. There’s too much at stake. Keyleth, Bell’s Hells, all the memories of those who have died in this fight, all the people who might die if Predathos is released and kickstarts a second Calamity – they’re all relying on him, right? A rabbit feeding so many animals with his sacrifice. And it’s not malicious compared to the way that, say, Delilah killing Laudna was an incredibly evil, fucked up and unnecessary thing to do. If Orym died to save everyone else, well, at least everyone else would be saved, right? Saving lives is good, isn't it? How could he complain?

Because rabbits are prey animals, and Orym is a rabbit too. Destined to die so that another animal may feed.

Except, that’s not true. Rabbits are more than just prey. They’re highly social, and thrive best living with others. They’re playful, they enjoy running around and kicking their legs just to show their enjoyment. They’re inquisitive and mischievous, even being associated with tricksters in some folklore and stories. They’re also associated with innocence, playfulness, spring, youth – all manner of things, depending on the story or culture. And they’re not helpless, either, even if they might be thought of as such. They can bite and scratch and draw blood quite easily if they want to! In fact, freezing up isn’t their only response when being attacked by a predator, they are known to fight back if cornered. They can sprint quickly, they have excellent hearing and senses of smell, they know how to evade predators.

Rabbits are prey, and they are also survivors. They have their own social dynamics, their own habits and dislikes and preferences. They are more than just a wolf’s meal. And Orym is more than a soldier, too. He’s more than a “necessary sacrifice”, he’s more than just a shield and sword. He deserves more than to die for a cause. He deserves a happy ending, just like everyone else. I hope he remembers that.

Orym is a rabbit. And the message isn’t that he shouldn’t be a rabbit. It’s that rabbits are worthy of surviving, too.

[northern-passage]

a little update.. what i'm working on/prologue changes so far:

no prologue! it’s chapter 1 now

removed the option to leave clementine behind. you have to take them with you :3c

removed height options (sorry!)

in general, edited the cc to flow better

combat preferences have been adjusted-- all still the same but i've made it more obvious how each specialty works mechanically which will hopefully make fights more intuitive to win (or lose, if you want)

genderlocked the sibling. officially a Sister

edited a LOT of dialogue; hopefully it's an improvement and feels more natural

restructured the wraith fight so that it's consistent with the fight in blackwater. with the changes made to the combat preferences this should make the combat system overall cohesive now <- i'm still working on this currently but i am HOPING to finish it by the end of this month.

i have pretty much rewritten the entire prologue. wasn't my plan at the start but here we are... so things are quite different. but also the same. i also streamlined a lot of the choices & branches and cut/combined ones that i felt were just excessive.

i plan to update once i've finished making & importing these changes, and i will probably limit the demo to chapter 1 (previously the prologue) until i get through and edit chapter 2 (previously chapter 1) because i really don't want to have the demo be inconsistent for however long it takes me to get through the next edits. hopefully this will not take that long, and then i'll put chapter 2 & and part 1/what's already been published of chapter 3 back up. and then!!! i will move on to finishing chapter 3.

i know this probably isn't the update you all were hoping for but i'm excited for the next steps with tnp :-)

[saltpepperbeard]

the way several characters have told ed and stede to "shut up" in some way, shape, or form. but when they're both talking to each other, they absolutely cling to every single word. they can't get enough of each other's stories, or ramblings, or little recounts of their days.

[solaestial]

i made an end roll fan video 🙈 the song is tenohira wonderland by sasanomaly

watch on youtube!!

[mellon1998]

Do I want them to stay in Last Bast and be safe and fed and have a community and maybe Tula could have a chance to slam down big style? Yes.

Do I trust this place for even like half a second? No. Absolutely not.

Let me be clear that I do not distrust each individual stoat in Last Bast, it is the institution of Last Bast itself that I do not trust.

[fandomfluffandfuck]

Thinking about Steve Rogers finally getting the chance to go to college post-ice and being the most fucking annoying student in a philosophy professors class

[turtleblogatlast]

I kinda love how the moment Leo got his dual wield katana back, he adapted so much more naturally to his teleportation abilities.

Not to say he didn’t come around with the odachi, but it was pretty clear that he struggled hard with the mystic properties of it, and I think that it’s partially because while the odachi itself is a portaling tool that seemingly most anyone can use, Leo’s innate mystic abilities call for something to work with him, not for him.

So it makes perfect sense why his katana, made from himself and more in line with how he naturally fights, finally allow him to seamlessly grasp his space warping abilities to the extent he can.

[fiveredlights]

squeeze my had 3 times in the back of a taxi📝📝

Daniel wakes up with a hand in his hair, running through the curls. When he tilts his head back, Max smiles at him. 

“Hi.”

“Morning.” Max dips his head down and kisses him. “I was wondering why you never came back to bed last night,” he murmurs softly, stepping over the back of the couch to slide down in between Matilda and Daniel. She’s still sleeping in the corner, unaware of his presence. 

“And you didn’t think to find me?” 

“Eh. I didn’t hear any yelling, so it probably wasn’t an axe murderer.”

“Wow,” Daniel whistles quietly, jabbing his cold feet into Max’s legs because even now, he still hates it. “Twenty-three years of marriage and you’re still so romantic. Leaving me to die because you didn’t hear any screaming.” 

“Wait till twenty-four,” Max jokes back, tucking Daniel’s feet under his legs. He reaches over to Matilda and pulls her blanket up from the floor, from where she kicked it off in the night and lays it over her again. 

“She’s okay?” he asks quietly, brushing the hair off her face. It reminds him of when she was younger, her hair just starting to grow in but wasn’t long enough to tie back. She would fuss over the curly strands hitting her face, even in her sleep and Max would sit for hours next to her, brushing the hair away. 

They eventually got their sisters to teach them how to braid her hair and that was the end of that, but sometimes he knows Max misses those quiet moments between them. 

Now they only manage to see her once every couple weeks, seeing more of her on TV than in real life. They’re proud of her—it would be hypocritical not to be—but damn do they miss their daughter. 

Daniel nods. “She’ll be okay. Just needed some life advice from her wise and sage father.” 

“You’re just calling yourself wise twice.” Max laughs, pulling his hand back. He slides his arm under Daniel’s waist and pulls him closer. “We raised a cool kid.” 

[front-facing-pokemon]

[tiramegtoons]

[ask--invaderzim]

dib give us an info dump / rant

[sketchingstars03]

IT’S FINISHED!! Happy (extremely) belated Father’s Day to three of these guys!!!

Yep that’s right I said three! Ink’s a dad too ya know! Especially on this blog, hehehe…. It’s his turn to be celebrated too!

A double celebration across two generations!

Even though Splatter and her Ink are The father/daughter duo for me, I couldn’t leave out the Dadsters, they are essential.

Ink and Aster (Zephyrtale Gaster) are created by the wonderful @comyet

Undertop Gaster is created by @under-top

And little Splatter is of course created by Me!!