#but those people are very specific and play a special role in their interactions in a way others dont

[swordofruln]

[mun] yall ever worry u dont fulfill expectations

[in-case-of-grace]

Alternatives to "GM" in TTRPGs

Spurred by a recent post from @imsobadatnicknames2 that found its way into my feed by way of @anim-ttrpgs' addition (this post got too big to be a reblog sorry), I've been thinking about the influence of the terms we use for the host-and-narrator role in a TTRPG. Each tends to carry some connotations and implications as to what the role might entail, and these can influence how people play your game.

At best, this may enforce your intended roles for the game, alongside its themeing. At worst, your chosen term for this role may create false assumptions, and lead to people approaching it in a way that makes it unfun for them.

There's also an aesthetic component to consider! Having a term that matches your genre and vibe can go a long way! It's gonna be a balancing act— does the term change how people interact with your game enough to become a problem? Does it match and enforce your themes and aesthetics strongly enough to balance some of those problems out?

Below, I'm gonna go over a couple common (and uncommon) terms for this role and what I think their connotations, implications, and best usecases are here. These are gonna be beholden to my own biases, of course— and you may see different connotations entirely! Maybe it'll help folk think more about what terms they want to use!

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"Game Master" is very gamey. It implies that this person is setting up a bunch of specific, pre-made mechanical challenges-- like an obstacle course. I will admit that it does have the weakest connotations of all the commonly used terms I'm aware of, though-- simply by virtue of it having become so commonplace across all sorts of games.

I think it works best with chunkier, mechanically heavy games. Due to it having a weak connotation, though, it won't hurt your game if you use it elsewhere, it is kind of the baseline these days, after all.

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"Storyteller" implies that this person is sitting everyone down and telling them a story. Like putting on a play. There's an implication that they are going to be controlling most of the narrative here-- and that the players don't have as much say in it.

It's also technically incorrect, given that...well, the players are storytellers too! The point of these games is to tell a story together!

It can work for more narratively focused games, it has some lighthearted, cutesy vibes that can be a good fit for some-- but its connotations can lead to this person taking more control than you may actually intend for them to have in your game.

It's one that I don't think accurately fits a lot of games, and is chosen more for its aesthetics and vibes. (Something I have done before, and with time it bothers me more and more.)

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"Narrator" is the opposite of Storyteller-- it implies, to me, that this person has less say in the narrative than the players. They are there to impartially narrate and describe the world's reactions to what the players do, little else. A passive observer, almost.

I think it can still work fine for plenty of games-- especially those with contemporary settings. It's the sort that, to me, feels more suited to sandboxy games that are more focused on providing a bunch of simulationist tools for players to poke and prod the world with, rather than on telling a structured narrative.

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"Dungeon Master" is particularly genre-limited. It carries a lot of the same implications that GM does, but for fantasy games in specific-- especially dungeon crawlers.

Only making a special note of it here since it is tied to A Particularly Big Game in the community. Its connotations are much stronger than GM's, though, and it feels out of place in rules light games— unless they are specifically set in a dungeon.

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"Director" is one that can have drastically different implications depending on the background of who reads it. If they're a film buff, they'll think it implies that this role has final say on everything, and retains high levels of control that the players do not share. Very much akin to Storyteller.

However if the person reading it is more familiar with video games, and the Left 4 Dead series (and games inspired it) in particular, they'll see the Director role as something more reactive and behind the scenes. They may think this person is responsible for improvising and presenting the players with challenges and scenarios that match their current situation— be it narrative or mechanical.

There may have been a specific plan made ahead of time, but it is filled with a ton of contingencies, with an expectation that improv will fill in the gaps.

Though like Narrator, the L4D type of Director implies a somewhat passive, observer role that isn't meant to have a say in the story.

I think most people will see it with film connotations rather than the Left 4 Dead connotations— which is unfortunate, considering that the L4D type of Director is actually really well suited for certain types of TTRPGs. I think "Game Director" vs "Director" may help alleviate this somewhat, but I'm unsure how effective it'd be as I don't think most people share the L4D brain association I do.

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"Referee," "Arbiter," "Judge," and "Moderator" all share the same problem as Narrator-- but 10 times worse. These are all heavily laced in passive connotations-- and imply that this person is there simply to determine the outcomes of mechanical situations, but has no say in the narrative.

They can work nicely with like, sports or competition TTRPGs in specific, though.

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"Master of Ceremonies (MC)" implies that you're not playing a game, but that this person is about to lead you through an awards ceremony, drop some bars, or host some stuffy 500 year old regal event called "the Ceremony of the Ballet Fish" or something.

I don't think this one fits in TTRPGs like, at all, frankly. I just cannot imagine someone in that role being referred to as an "MC" unless we're talking about a game that is specifically about a ceremony, or rap.

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"Caretaker" implies that this person's role is to maintain and care for the world, game, and story. It implies that they not only facilitate the garden you're all playing in, but that they also trim or rearrange it to suit everyone's needs-- including their own.

I actually think this one is very nice. It doesn't imply that they're an absolute monarch, nor does it imply that they're a passive observer. It also manages to encapsulate the amount of background work the role can often require, without taking away their say in the resulting narrative.

A Caretaker has agency in the story, while remaining cognizant and receptive of the players' agency, too.

This works really well for games focused on telling collaborative narratives, but I think it can also work fairly well for mechanically focused ones as well. It feels pretty versatile!

This one is new to me and I honestly might start using it for my games going forward, unless someone knows of a common connotation I'm unaware of!

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"Facilitator," and "Host" both imply that this person provides the space and tools for the game, and nothing else. They handed the players the keys, told them to lock up after they're done, and left to go do sick flips in their motorcycle or something nerds do.

To me, the term by itself implies this person has very little to do with the actual game. I don't think these work any better than, say, GM, without a thematic justification.

Host could be amazing for some sort of bio-horror game— or for a game show RPG. Facilitator feels DoA to me. Both, however, could work if your game really is set up so the Facilitator/Host just provides tools to the players and does little else.

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"Guide" implies that this person takes on a fairly hand-holdy role in leading the players through the game and its narrative. Maybe not quite railroading, but they definitely do a lot to keep the players on track.

This one, I feel, carries some "teacher" connotation— as if this person is responsible for teaching the players the rules. It's on them, not the players, to read and remember the actual rules.

I feel that this connotation largely ruins what good this term could do.

But, it can still work well in certain cases. If your game really is meant to have a focused, linear narrative, it can work quite well. The same goes for specific genres or settings— such as anything dealing with camping, national parks, or tourism.

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"Overseer" taken at face value, actually could be pretty apt. They'd be someone who oversees the game and does what they can to keep things fun.

Unfortunately, due to the word's use in workplace environments and dystopian fiction— it has some pretty heavy cultural connotations that turn it more into a dictator role. They have complete and total control over the game and its narrative, even if the players disagree with their choices.

I think it can work well for games that deal with dystopian or corporate settings, where this person might actually be meant to have more control, or simply for the flavor— but not a ton else.

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"Producer" is vaguely similar to the film-style Director-- in the sense that it comes from film. However, unlike the Director, a Producer coordinates and works together with the players to tell their story. It's a more collaborative role that shares power and agency more evenly with the table.

This also somewhat accurately implies the amount of work that goes into the role, much like the Caretaker.

However, given its origins, it doesn't imply they're playing a game— I can't entirely explain why, but it feels similar to MC in this sense. The term is very heavily entrenched in its origins, and carries strong film connotations— even though, yes, video games have producers too!

I think it'd be rad to see games using this, though. In time the strong film connotations may shake off! Like Caretaker, I think it's fairly versatile and could be well suited for a wide variety of games.

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Niche terms such as keeper, warden, overlord, president, deity, and fixer are always worth considering, too! These tend to just be one-offs used in a specific TTRPG, that suit their setting and tone in particular.

Now, each can and does have its own implications and connotations to consider— weigh those against how well it serves the vibes of your game before you lock in!

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"Host and Narrator (HAN)" implies the same things that these terms do separately-- but combines them to offset (some of) their downsides. This implies that they host and provide the tools needed for playing the game, yes, but also that they actually stick around to narrate and respond to the players.

When Narrator is combined with Host here, I think this also transforms into something a little closer to the Caretaker— as the Host and Narrator both, they have more of an active role in maintaining the space (and story) they've provided.

It feels similarly versatile, as a result. I just made this one up and don't know if there are any games that use it already, it could have legs— it is a little dry and flavorless, though. This may give it a potential leg up on Caretaker, which does have a lil bit of a lighthearted vibe that may feel off in, say, a horror game.

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Honorable mentions - Scenestress - Conductor - SOUP (Story Overseer United (with) Players) - Their Majesty - MOMMY (Mediator Over Making Mythic Yarns) - JOE (Joe Ojoe Ejoe) - Representative (REP) - Doormat

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Again, these are all just according to the implications and connotations I find in these terms— you may find others! What you pick is going to depend on you, your game, and your intended audience!

I don't know if perfect terms exist, and it's wise to explain whichever you use within your rulebooks— just to ensure that someone else's biases and assumptions don't lead to them misinterpreting things.

Is there anything I missed? Any terms you like to use? Do you have a vastly different set of assumptions for one of these terms? Please share!

[kadextra]

q!Forever & q!Bad, comedy and tragedy are two sides of the same coin

(little meta rp analysis & appreciation)

Comedy and tragedy- complimentary concepts when it comes to the dynamic that is these two characters.

Their lore together is truly like a soap opera to me in the way it operates, entertaining in how goofy it is- I laughed so much during interrodate. They had a whole elaborate musical prank war over a stolen gun (which neither of them even had, they’re just too dedicated to the bit.) The first thing they say to each other after q!Forever returns from the nether is “You look terrible!” 💀 and my guy gifted a bloody chainsaw as the flower of the day to q!Bad in purgatory 1 which was happily accepted.

Even when the characters show attraction for each other, it’s usually through some ridiculous romcom thing. q!Forever is in love with q!Bad dressed as pink barbie and thinks photos of her are the best gift a person could ever receive?? 🤨 q!Bad daydreams about q!Forever as a lobster with blonde hair and a six-pack??? brother be projecting him onto larry the lobster from spongebob squarepants dude what is wrong with them 😭 sometimes I wonder how they’re able to do all these bits in improv and take it seriously, it’s impressive

The characters are not normal, their relationship is not normal, it cannot be viewed normally. the ccs know exactly what they’re doing in creating whatever *gestures* this is, and it’s amazing. over the top, cute, played perfectly for comedy

But the characters aren’t just that, you can’t have them without the inverse 🎭 like a punch to the gut after all the sillies, they really know how to do tragedy well.

I very much look forward to whenever they’re at the top of their angst game, bc they both LOVE to make their cubitos suffer. to an insane degree. My god these two can’t go 3 days with their characters experiencing some peace and joyful whimsy, they *must* rp their ocs actively dying, horribly diseased, going crazy

And they go hard with it. I’m very serious when I say multiple times during the lore I’ve had to get up and walk away to calm down because it was too intense. super special shoutout to the q!Forever first happy pills arc stream & October 1st q!Bad psychotic breakdown stream. I’ve never been so shocked as I was watching those live, the stamina to do highly emotional rp like that is actually nuts. some of the most angsty mfs on this server fr (the #1 spot goes to quackity though. hey maybe i’ll make a tierlist)

So when Bad & Forever bring the best of their angst ability into serious rp interactions together that Aren’t comedic…? we are in for a treat. that talk they had right when q!cellbit died to the code, the richas rescue mission, the election, voting arguments, post-ron kidnapping, colorblind test/therapy, flower of the day. many scenes that are seared into my mind, but none is more so than The Happy Pills Proposal. goosebumps whenever I think about it… the scene ever. the way it was framed, the lines they said, how it had tense, chilling buildup before a literal explosion. how are these people capable of doing the most silly things and then turning around to stab us in the heart 50 times

So you bet I’m crossing my fingers for a meeting between @v@ & q!Bad. Forever is absolutely killing the role so far. If q!Bad gets involved I can already taste the glorious angst…. since he has specific traumatic experience in also being possessed, & having killed his possessed friends in another life. he recalled the memory when talking about how to save q!Forever last night. fun! *shaking*

anyways that’s all :D love these characters, I had been wanting to do a little meta appreciation post for a while so I thought why not now ^^

[indie-ttrpg-of-the-week]

Apocalypse World

Did you know that some early PBTA games used to have *Blank* world as a naming scheme? it never really caught on

Touchstones: Fallout, Mad Max

Genre: Post-Apocalypse, Drama

What is this game?: Apocalypse World is a roleplay focused post-apocalyptic roleplaying game, its also the game that spawned the very popular PBTA framework

CWs: Apocalypse world deals with many dark themes, it's considered an "R-Rated" game citing Language, Sex, and Violence, it also features Mind control, mentions of drug use, and general post-apocalyptic horribleness, however I will attempt to stray away from those themes if possible

How's the gameplay?: OK, I'll likely actually link back to this review a few more times as we talk about other PBTA games, just so we can skip explaining the PBTA gameplay every time, so we're gonna try to be pretty thorough this time Apocalypse World's primary mechanic focuses on the use of Moves, Playbooks, and a 2d6 resolution system, where 1-6 is a miss, 7-9 is a weak hit, and 10-12 is a Strong hit, however your roll will always progress the story in some way, this way even failure can be fun! Moves trigger when doing specific actions, and they all interact with mechanics in some way, the prototypical move in Apocalypse world reads like this: "When Narrative trigger: gameplay effect", then this will either help you with a roll around the gameplay effect, or have you roll for a new gameplay effect, whereupon it'll read like this: "On a 1-6, Failure with consequences, on a 7-9 Success with Consequences, on a 10-12 Success with no consequences" Moves will usually add a stat to them, Apocalypse world's stats are Cool, Hard, Hot, Sharp, Weird, and HX, HX being an asymmetrical stat determining your relationship with other characters.

Playbooks are your character's narrative role, it will give your characters their narrative abilities, gameplay moves, relationships, appearances, basically everything about your character beyond things such as name (and even then, some games remove THAT distinction too), you pick one at the start and generally stick with them the whole game, think of it as a class, in Apocalypse World specifically every playbook has a "Special", a move that generally triggers when characters have sex, this might seem like the type of thing that other games in the framework dumpster pretty quick, but you'd be surprised it actually took a bit for people to get rid of that one

What's the setting (If any) like?: It has one Ok, in all seriousness, Apocalypse World's setting assumes you're playing in an edgy, presumably nuclear, mad max inspired post apocalypse, characters are grimy, aesthetics are leathery and gritty, mutations are common, and shit's BAD. Otherwise, feel free to work on the specifics, maybe you just want to play 1-to-1 fallout, or maybe you want to create your own fully original apocalyptic version of The Butt, Coventry, UK

What's the tone?: Dark. Apocalypse World makes it very clear that the world sucks, and the characters (probably) suck, while you could play a ragtag group of do-gooders, the game assumes a morally gray cast in a world that is actively hostile towards them. Apocalypse World's tone is, not for the faint of heart

Session length: Variable but 3 hours is usually enough to do quite a bit

Number of Players:  3 Minimum, but obviously more can help

Malleability: Apocalypse World's setting is generic to non existant, letting you play a ton of post apocalyptic settings, while branded apocalypses like Fallout or Mad Max might be difficult due to the inclusion of overt supernatural elements, you could really do any nuclear apocalyptic setting within this framework.

Resources: Apocalypse World has quite a few resources just due to being one of the oldest PBTA games, a google sheet exists, I've seen some short scenarios, and the game provides you with Move and Playbook cheat sheets, fan playbooks also exist and there's some pretty good ones if you look around enough, it's not a lot but it's enough for what the game is And here's the big cheese! While most modern PBTA design comes from Monsterhearts and Masks, this is the game that started it all, its gritty and very rough around the edges, but I still really like it

[theamityelf]

About Makoto in sdr2 AU how would his dynamic with Hajime would outside and inside trial? Also, I think Makoto would realized he from different class from others because he checked his class ultimate beforehand. Specially when there are two lucky students so they at very least have one year difference because they choose one lucky students per year. Like, why does he and togami here with other teen from different class? What makes Monokuma single both of them? Where are their other classmates? And maybe monokuma still hinting the change of title but Makoto doesn't realized it but some other students would. Like the impostor, if they still alive, would realized Makoto being the only person from different year. Or maybe Komaeda because he's observant. And how about Chiaki? Like, it must be awkward for her because she knew him but couldn't do anything because maybe her program made her register him as student rather future foundation member.

(Yeah, I think the case where he doesn't know he's in a different class than them is the one where he loses the memory of being invited to Hope's Peak at all. In the case where he does remember being invited to Hope's Peak, he knows he's in a different class, but they still have to be told that it's specifically the class right after them.)

I totally agree that it would be great if those students (Imposter, Nagito, etc.) picked up on Monokuma's hinting more than Makoto. I mentioned Nagito specifically, in the other post, because I think Nagito would be the most intrigued by the idea of Makoto having once been a luckster but now being something else. I think Imposter would notice the implication but wouldn't care as much about it. They'd just kind of log it away in their mind, in case it becomes important.

And Chiaki definitely knows everything that's going on with Makoto but just can't tell him.

As for how Makoto and Hajime would interact in and out of the trials, I think (and this isn't even a manifestation of my shipping agenda! I really mean this!) that Nagito would play a big role in that. Especially in the first investigation, which I will get to later.

When they first arrive at the island and Hajime passes out, I think that would be the first meaningful interaction between the three of them. I think both Nagito and Makoto would express concern, but when Nagito commits to waiting with Hajime, I think Makoto will leave.

Presumably, introductions happen very shortly after Hajime faints, and when everyone is dispersed and doing their own thing, I think Makoto would end up paired with Mahiru.

After all, Makoto didn't pass out, he tried to be there for Hajime, and when Mahiru says "It's the boys' job to protect the girls," I can imagine Makoto saying something like, "Oh, right, I'll do my best!" Basically, I think Mahiru would tentatively consider Makoto pretty reliable, at least relative to the rest of the guys. Just a normal, sturdy guy. I could see Mahiru deciding she wants to look around for good photo spots or something of the sort and Makoto tagging along to help her carry stuff.

All of this to say, when Hajime wakes up and goes around meeting people, I think Makoto is with Mahiru, helping out with whatever she's up to.

Makoto introduces himself, like, "I'm Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student. And, that's about it."

Hajime says, "I thought Nagito was the Ultimate Lucky Student."

"Yeah, I think I'm from a different class or something...I looked up the Ultimates from my class when I got my letter, and I don't remember most of you."

"Did everyone look up the other Ultimates?" Hajime asks rhetorically, with a glance at Nagito.

"Hi again, Makoto," Nagito says cheerfully. "Nice to see you're making yourself useful. What are you up to, Mahiru?"

And so on.

I think they would stay in that dynamic (of Nagito and Hajime as each other's first friends on the island and Makoto separately friends with Mahiru or whatever other friendship he forms; I think he would definitely also try to spend time with Imposter, assuming he's Byakuya Togami from his class) for most of Chapter 1. When Monokuma appears, I think Makoto would say something like "There's no way anyone here would kill each other!" and Hajime and Nagito would both think he's pretty naive, but I think Nagito would also encourage Hajime to "Try to think more positively. Like Makoto!"

And, like we've said, sometime between Monokuma showing up and the first murder happening, Monokuma starts hinting at something different about Makoto, which Nagito clocks immediately.

Now, as for the first investigation. (I'm not saying who dies first or how, because if I'm going to think through that exact chain of events, it'll be in a different post.) In the first chapter of canon SDR2, Nagito kind of insists on investigating with Hajime, and that's Hajime's first/formative experience in investigating the murders. In THH, Makoto's first investigation happens the way it does because he's the one under suspicion, so he has to investigate to avoid being the one they vote for. (Of course, I don't think Makoto would have been complacent about the investigation if that hadn't been the case, but those conditions are still important to acknowledge.)

What I'm imagining is a scenario where Nagito has noticed both Hajime and Makoto separately and is kind of trying to test both of them. He thinks they both have protagonist energy and wants to see which will prevail. So while Nagito does still probably play a role in the first murder and help the killer to confuse things about the crime, I think he would also specifically frame Makoto.

After all, if there's a mere lucky student who has ascended to the ranks of the true Ultimates, as Monokuma implied, Nagito wants to see him prove himself (...under a great deal of pressure, because also Nagito is kinda jealous).

So he frames Makoto and investigates alongside Hajime. Pushing Hajime toward actual clues and confusing Makoto as much as possible.

And then in the trial itself, I think Hajime will have found more physical clues and will supply more of the just-knowing-stuff-beforehand answers (like what an octagon is), but Makoto will have more testimonies from witnesses and gathered more spot-the-difference type evidence (like the Hifumi glasses thing in THH). They both do great with their respective areas.

Chiaki and Makoto are the best at keeping things going when the conversation lulls, and Chiaki and Hajime are the best at cutting through the noise when people get a little too set on a single argument. Chiaki is very involved for both of them.

(Nagito is awed at the teamwork and competency. Makoto has fully won him over, and of course he still adores Hajime.)

And I think when Makoto finds out Nagito was deliberately framing him, his feelings would be hurt, and Hajime would still feel betrayed, also, by Nagito turning out to have plotted to start the killings. And I think they would talk to each other about that. It would drive them together as friends. I think Makoto would maintain that it was all Monokuma's fault, even if he feels hurt by what Nagito did, and Hajime would agree that Monokuma is the real enemy but still very much not let Nagito off the hook.

And in subsequent chapters, when Hajime tries not to care about Nagito, I think Makoto continuing to openly care would kind of give him permission to actually deal with the hurt and anger and care he still feels for Nagito. (Chiaki would be right there with him, in that regard; these two care about everyone, and Hajime is the one who, while he does care about the others, doubts them a lot, too.) Makoto kind of slides incidentally into the role of Hajime's optimistic friend once Nagito loses his trust, and I think Hajime doesn't trust Makoto quite as much, as a result, but they still gravitate together.

In future investigations and trials, Hajime, Makoto, Chiaki, and Nagito are the main players.

(Boy, I hope this brainstorm answered your question, but you can send another ask if it didn't, lol!)

[kazeofthemagun]

Anonymous asked:

send 🍀 and i'll recommend an oc rp blog

Positivity meme

[.....Oh boy y'all already know where this is going]

[I legally cannot answer this without putting my bestie in the #1 spotlight, aka Bug aka @cursedfortune aka some other blogs I'll mention in a sec. Literally the most amazing person ever and one of, if not the best friend I've made here in my 4~ years of being on tumblr.]

[To preface, Bug's blogs post ns/fw so keep safe if that's not your thing/you're a minor, as well as heavy content to be expected from dark fantasy-themed muses. The details you'll find on the blogs themselves, so I'll refrain from wasting too much time when I could be getting to the JUICE 🥤.]

[The main, the OG, @cursedfortune . Bug's main OC, Mortem, is amazing in every way. Seriously. She's got it all. Looking for a strong, competent female character with an intriguing and compelling backstory sprinkled throughout the blog? They're your Bug. Fancy some in-depth exploration on blue-and-orange morality that transcends human understanding and puts in the forefront the often terrifying workings of balancing forces? They're your Bug. Really, those who have been here for any amount of time probably know but Mortem is Kaze's first and only ship but neither of us went into it thinking those two chucklefucks would catch feels in that way. In hindsight it makes complete sense, but here's the deal: don't begin your journey with this character solely to ship. It won't work that way - shipping needs chemistry first and foremost and female OC muses are already dealing with many users who go in with only the intent to write romance/smut and largely ignore what makes the character so compelling and unique in the first place.]

[Not to give lessons on tumblr etiquette, I'm sure y'all can understand 💜]

[Some other OC blogs of Bug's that I've interacted with a bit less but are nonetheless amazing:]

@bvd11975 That's not a spambot, baby. That's Nes, a special agent of an agency focused on paranormal investigation that plays a key role in Bug's overarching setting. Kickass character, design, story and personality-wise.

@ofmanytxngues A glorious force of chaos lmao. Not *that* Chaos, but uhh.. there's def A Wormy Boi (gender neutral) involved there somewhere. Marie is another character I haven't written with all that much and is on hiatus atm but I simply cannot not give her a shoutout while I'm at it. Marie and Ana riding an ice cream truck when?

Some others that are more WIP atm ^^ you'd have to approach Bug for them. (And their canons! But this is a meme for OCs specifically ;)

[NOW, to take a break from gushing about the best soup to ever soup and give due spotlight to others who 100% deserve it - keep in mind this is based on my interactions with them, as in, I am unlikely to shout out people I haven't written with or otherwise interacted with enough!! This is in no way personal, but rather a natural consequence since there are SO many amazing people and muses on tumblr. 😄]

@halfkuma and @knightshonour . Those two started out as iterations on the same character and evolved into separate people: also feature a healthy dose of secondary OCs and some canons. Rowan is a character I've fallen in love with (figure of speech) very easily since, well, I do happen to enjoy gloomy, doomed by the narrative warriors, and Soulsborne, very much. Halfkuma is a blog based around the Touhou universe with the mains, Roan and Touri, being bear yokai. (Half and full respectively). Furthermore, Slap himself is one of the chillest beans on here and is always a pleasure to talk to and meme with.

@hriobzagelthewanderer !!! Because how could I NOT. Kov is amazing and so is his muse. I was so surprised to see a figure from Polish (and generally Slavic + Germanic) folklore, that I essentially grew up reading about, transformed and adapted into an amazingly crafted muse. Hriob Zagel combines various mythologies + popular media inspirations into one giant (pun intended) goofball who is an absolute delight to see on my dash.

Aaand last but not least (for now!) Though I haven't interacted with her personally just yet, @hexenjagd . Obligatory shoutout to a dark fantasy/Elden Ring-based female OC with some of the most intricate yet well-flowing backstory I've seen on the site. Helena, the Witch-Knight, a person branded by the touch of Death and everything it entails within the setting. Definitely grimdark and macabre in all the right ways and I am here for it. 😎

[therpgconnoisseur]

can we talk a minute about attribute usefulness degradation in dnd? its a change that started in 3rd with the implementation of its skill system but its really dire in 5e.

to put it simply for those not familiar with older editions, your attributes used to be more relevant both when doing things actively and passively. Attributes where much more central to roll resolution (roll a d20 under your attribute to succeed), with the awkwardly named "non weapon proficiencies" (what are now skills) being either more of a slight bonus or a determinant on weather or not you could even roll (mostly for knowledge or profession based skills, you either knew about the subject or didn't) and some "nwp" being more similar to feats, allowing you to do a specific think like blind fighting.

Strength added to damage done by attacks and since it determined how much you can carry in a game where loot=xp that was much more significant, wizards where maybe the only class that didn't benefit all that much from it. In 5e its all but useless to characters that aren't specializing in two handed weapons.

Intelligence determined how many "NWP" you got, so even melee focused character benefited from it, as it gave them access to a variety of extra things they could do. 3rd edition kinda kept this but your class became your main source of skill points so intelligence was more of a slight bonus that was considered very sub optimal to focus on for most classes, 5e basically turned int into the academic knowledge stat, vital for wizards and artificers but otherwise not much use (there are a few subclasses that use int but my point is that it used to be useful for anyone).

Charisma is in a weird spot, it used to be the social skill, which included active social interactions (i roll to persuade) but also determined your ability to attract followers and their loyalty, pretty useful for anyone. In 3rd edition as social skills where introduced your class and even your intelligence had more of a role in how successful your character was at convincing people, with charisma being a bonus that got less significant as you leveld up, it influenced getting followers but only a little bit and that aspect of the game got very optional-y anyway. The designers seem to have noticed so they turned it into the casting spells stat for anyone who wasnt a wizard, cleric or druid. Every new class introduced had a 95% chance of being a charisma caster, this sucked since it was a useless stat that you where forced to take for many interesting classes, making the few intelligence based casters vastly more preferable (since that at least gave you a few more skillpoints). This is why most casters are charisma based in 5e i think, the design correction just carried over even though they made charisma a tad more significant for social interaction.

Constitution and Dexterity have changed little, but as the other skills got less useful constitution and dexterity have shot up in power, currently those two are the only attributes that everyone get a lot of value out of, the two adding a lot of survivability to any character as they make one have more hp and be harder to hit respectively as well as being the two most called for saving throws, even characters that dont use finesse weapons and wear heavy armor get use out of it.

Wisdom sucks and has always sucked, it is a poorly defined mix of perception, willpower and ...faith? that should have been gutted and split into the other two mental stats from day one imho.

This creates very uneven design for classes, and once you notice it it just feels like shit. Its, i think, the reason "minmaxing" got its bad reputation, its because the game encourages it to an insane degree, where as in older editions (and honestly most other ttrpgs) having a "dump stat" is making the choice of being bad at something, rather than be something players do because in most cases the stat in question does fuck all.

conclusion: uhhhh idk play another game and so on and so forth

[seasidewanderers]

intro post time!

times someone at work called us by another name that's neither our chosen name, nor our anagraphical name today [21/08/2024] : back to 1 😔

we've had this blog for... around 3 years now I believe, and never made an intro post, so here it is!

we're the Seaside Wanderers, a plural system. please call us alters or headmates! we go by Aaron, Ae/Ea, or Martin (pick a name, get one free!)

infamous Maternity Blackwood asker

we work in electric power&gas trading! ask us about it! weird ass job that your grandma won't believe it's a real actual job people do

(alter intros are under the cut along with other personal information)

no DNI, feel free to interact. if you'd have to break yours to interact with us, however, isn't the DNI kinda pointless anyway?

the meaning of our system name is nothing special; we all love playing LOTRO (the Lord Of The Rings Online, a MMORPG based on LOTR. highly recommended!) and one of the titles you can get for your character is "Seaside Wanderer". it stuck with us as we love the sea, love walking on the beach, and love how it sounds.

our alter tags are as follow for now, we'll update if someone else wants to participate in this blog:

#of rage and black tidings

#and no other choices

#tinker's curse

#vulpine era

#waterfront

we believe in endogenic plurality. we acknowledge it's a different thing from DID though, and also endogenic DID is NOT the same as endogenic plurality with DID.

CDDs [Complex Dissociative Disorders, a term that encapsulate all traumagenic and dissociative disorders such as DID, OSDD-1, P-DID, and those cases of UDD that cause systemhood] are trauma-based

we believe you can be plural without trauma, and you can be plural without a CDD, and that plurality isn't in itself a symptom of any mental disorder

we support informed and researched self-diagnosis

we support ALL plurals and ALL headmates! traumagenic, endogenic, mixed, median, empty systems, disordered, non-disordered, created, spontaneous, adaptive... I can't list all but I love and support YOU 🫵🏻 and I hope you're safe and having a good day, week, month, year and always! YOU deserve to feel good! yes, you! yes, you, person who might not agree with me, and who I might not agree with

personal, non-syscourse info here:

warning: flashing lights for a blinkie under the cut!

adult (turned 24!)

we work full time. we have a job in electric power&gas trading. we may talk shit about stock prices now and then

we're collectively gendervoid, trans/non binary neumasc-leaning, use they/them, it/its, and ae/aer pronouns, and are omni gay and queer

we are also physically disabled and neurodivergent. we have chronic pain and chronic migraines, schizotypal personality disorder, and psychotic depression, so you might see us posting about it now and then

individual introductions for us alters (divided by layer)

this won't be all of us, just those more likely to participate in this blog. due to our system's nature as polyfragmented we wouldn't know all alters, either. updating this a few at a time so we don't get overwhelmed

Jackdaws

James, 18ish, he/him; fictive. annoys Edward for a living. very opinionated. caretaker 🤎

Edward, 23+, he/him; fictive. likes blabbering about his source and sing. pirate enjoyer, annoyed with the fact we don't own a sword yet. role anarchist/does whatever he feels like 🩶

Waterfront

Oscar, 300+, he/they + ae/aer; OCtive (homebrew Pathfinder 1e campaign), half-elf, sylph alchemist, vivisectionist/wasteland blighter archetype. I may talk about it sometimes and I like answering questions about it. I like my source a lot. married to Celain. trauma-related role, protector/persecutor 🩵

Celain (pronounced as Colin), immortal, he/they; OCtive (homebrew Pathfinder 1e campaign, same as Oscar), elf angel (planetar agathion to be specific), cleric angelfire apostle archetype. I follow Pathfinder's fictional pantheon, but I'm making it work with our religions and spiritualities. married to Oscar. trauma-related role, protector/caretaker 🧡

Finnegan/Tristan, 19, he/they/it; OCtive (homebrew Pathfinder 1e campaign teehee), kitsune, bard fey prankster archetype. I love talking about Pathfinder please ask me about Pathfinder like right now thank youuu. token extrovert. my role is to stay silly in these trying times 💖

[summitclan-chronicles]

I'm curious about the one character rule, is there any specific reason for that?

Oooh, you just opened a 12-ft bag of Excited Nattering.

• Your knowledge is your character's knowledge. I'm gonna be transparent here, I have a massive pet peeve against metagaming (giving a character knowledge they don't have). With multiple characters it's insanely easy to accidentally give one character the knowledge of another, by accident or on purpose to give them the upper hand. If you and your character have the same amount of information, you can't transfer unknowable knowledge.

• Population Control. one thing I noticed about the roleplays of my youth was how big the Clans got, how fast they grew and how often the allegiances were mostly inactive characters. When you combine in-character births with "poof" characters and outsiders joining without rhyme or reason, it causes a Clan to explosively grow in size. There was very little opportunity to gather the entire Clan together, either due to inactivity or sheer volume, and much of the time I felt as if characters in all roles got lost in the shuffle. With fewer cats, the spotlight broadens and everyone can have their time.

• It makes being a parent or mentor special. With everyone having one cat, I can make roles to prevent certain players from seeing the lore. This makes them dependant on more experienced members to teach them, and everything they learn will be a true and genuine revelation associated with that more experienced member that brought it to them.

• It makes it easier to keep secrets. Some plots may be kept quiet for a certain period of time to preserve the shock factor! If everyone had multiple characters we'd have fewer replies written out of genuine emotion ;)

• It requires less time & brainpower. Remembering all the social ties and historical bullet points of multiple characters can prove overwhelming for some, and it can lead to crossed wires too! With only one character you only have to remember things as they associate to your memory - because this reflects your character's memory. Additionally, when you pop into Summitclan for replies, there's no steep expectation or pressure to be in multiple threads with multiple characters at once. You can rest easy knowing you'll only ever have to reply to one interaction at a time, so you'll never have "threads stacking up uncontrollably in the background while i cry on my desk." (<- me.)

• It means I can put your character in your nickname. That way everyone can figure out who is played by who simply by swiping left on Discord and viewing the member list. Easy correspondance!

• It's neat! It makes Summitclan stand out a bit, I think!

But those are (major) secondary reasons. The big reason has its own name I gave it:

The Joy of Immersion.

This is a little difficult for me to explain so bear with me!

Essentially, I first learned about & joined a wcrp when I was 12 (i know! i know! i was a toddler!) and I had one single cat now lost to time. I was so intimidated by the community at hand and volume of the lore (... relative to 2012, anyway) that I decided to keep one cat for now and I would learn as I read others' posts. I didn't have them for long, as petty tween drama burned the place to the ground. But the experience of seeing the fanClan from the perspective of a single cat was formative.

It felt like the difference between, like, The Sims and Facade.

When you play The Sims, you have everyone's thoughts and opinions and intentions directly at your fingertips. Sure, there's some significant autonomy, but if a housemate suddenly gets up mid-convo you can check and literally observe their intent to go eat yucky Mac and Cheese cus their hunger bar is at a cool 25%. There's no guessing when it comes to the people you live with, and in conversations with neighbors you can still see how they feel about you in clear text and color-codes.

In Facade it is a god damn minefield. At nearly every turn these weird gliding people are verbally sucker punching you. To this day I learn about new strings of dialogue that blow me down. In the moment, typing out your little statements, you have no way of knowing whether your statement will unlock the next step of the game or if Trip is going to ferry you directly out of his house like an unwanted Amazon package.

In short... Facade doesn't tell you anything it just victimizes you, and that was what it felt like.

I was only in control of one tiny piece of a great big bicycle, and everyone else whirled around me with their own lives, their own events, their own perspectives - there was no way for me to read them all, and no way one single character could appreciatively tour them all. I had an opinion about some characters that were not shared by anyone else, because we had two different experiences of that character. And because I only had one cat, one set of eyes, I never found an opportunity to see the character another way: impressions had already been set down, the characters already had history, and there was no re-doing it for a different reaction. Plus, every plot point I put into the air was mostly controlled by other players: I couldn't use older or higher ranked characters to help me along, I had to depend on the interest and cooperation of others.

A consequence of that was a serious, genuine sense of pride when my cat progressed. I managed to get her from 6 moons to about 2 years old (which was probably like, 3 months irl, you know how it goes) before the place fizzled away. Because I had spent much of my time learning the lore directly from my mentor and Clanmates both on purpose and through osmosis, and because I generally had only one lens to learn it through, I felt like I had actually accomplished something when the Clan leader messaged me about her warrior name. It felt like I had actually proven myself in a tangible way, which I could go back and point to - "That was the thread where I learned X thing about Y landmark," "[Name] told me about this rp's Warrior Code in this thread."

I have been chasing that precise feeling forever in order to share it with others. It was such a unique and fascinating experience that overcame my entire body during her warrior ceremony, something I had only ever felt when accomplishing things in my real, actual life! What a wonderful feeling to cultivate in others!

My greatest sadness is that, unavoidably, the first generation of members on SCC won't be able to feel that kit-to-elder accomplishment for their first exposure to the lore. But I hope that in the future, when former members come back and see a painting their character made on a rock 6 real-world years ago was retouched in a thread yesterday, that feeling will make up for it.

[zorlok-if]

I'm graduating soon (yay!) and that's very exciting but I'm looking ahead and thinking about how much more time I'm going to have and how it'd be amazing to dedicate most of that time to writing. So, I was thinking about potentially (and eventually, not anytime soon) launching a patreon. Wanted to get people's reactions to that and share some of the exciting ideas I had for different tier perks.

First, there are some that I think are pretty standard: early/beta access to all my projects, exclusive shorts/art, lore posts, thorough frequent updates, tutorials, patron-only discord channels and roles, Q&As (as myself or as the cast), maybe some steamy scenes, we'll see.

But the main idea I've thought of—and which I actually have a bunch of ideas for already—is to do interactive D&D games with members of the Zorlok cast. For example, play through a supernatural regency one-shot with Danny, Lucía, and Rose, or a horror sci-fi game with EJ, Tommy, and Ciel, or a spicy fey drama with Dev, the Celestial, and Adam/Eve, or something else (as I said, I have a lot of ideas for this already, hehe). Maybe with special characters joining the table from time to time—characters like Adonis, Jovy, Cecil, Max, Hero, Laðe, etc.? Who knows? Could be anything!

Additionally, maybe with one of the tiers you'll be able to vote on which cast members or which one-shot idea you want to have in the next installment. Or maybe there's a longer campaign that is published every other month with shorter one-shots in between? Either way, I think this could be really fun to write and create as a group. If you have any thoughts on this, I'd love to hear 'em!

Some other ideas for patron rewards include custom templates made for all patrons or specific commissions for individual patrons, short stories for people of their MCs/OCs, the same kind of individualized scenes but as add-ons you can unlock with a passcode or secret word or something and play with personalized stuff in the D&D episode, interactive short stories set in the universe (about topics like characters backstories, side-characters exploring niche aspects of the world's lore, or non-canon adventures), etc. There are more ideas, but this block of text is already getting too long, so if you'd like to hear about those or if you have an idea/suggestion, let me know!

So, yeah! Just some ideas I'm playing with. Again, a patreon would be a while off, but wanted to see people's reactions to that idea now so I can plan accordingly moving forward. Thanks for reading all this and hope you have a good day!

[odessasilver]

All about yokai: Tanuki

Tanuki are one of the most well known yokai, and these tricksters are fun loving and can even bring good luck. There is so much more to them, however, and just like other shapehifting yokai, can be friendly or deadly. Being a very common yokai, there is a lot of information on them, as well as many legends and folk tales about their antics, and I loved researching them for my story Tanuki Troubles.

They also have a second name, which refers only to their yokai counterpart, the bakedanuki, however the name tanuki can mean both the animal and the yokai version. I stuck with tanuki as it’s the more well known name.

Tanuki/Bakedanuki

狸 - たぬき / 化け狸 - ばけだぬき

Original picture and credit can be found here.

Tanuki are common throughout Japan, living in forests in the in between worlds of human settlements and mountainous areas. Many lived alongside humans too, even with other yokai such as kitsune. And even in some places, tanuki were revered for their many special abilities and they even became a subject of rituals. Because of this, tanuki are held in the highest regard in those specific areas, such as the Sado Islands in Niigata Prefecture, compared to the rest in Japan.

At first, tanuki played a bigger role in Japanese culture, until Buddhism became more popular. This saw the tanuki move to a similar role to kitsune and other magical animals, and they took the roles of being messengers to gods and guardians. Even with this role, they kept their same mischievous streak of tricking people or having fun, or even snatching humans away for the gods. Many don’t fear the tanuki and believe that each one is unique, just like humans.

This is something that I have been trying to convey in my stories too, how some yokai are different because they have their own thoughts and feelings. In Tanuki Troubles I wrote how a father tanuki acts while trying to care for his daughter, and he showed many human-like emotions. Kitsune are also very intelligent and it also makes sense for them to have many thoughts and feelings of their own. I think about each yokai and how they interact with the world, to work out if they would think and feel as we do. There are some that don’t, for example onibi. I see them as feeling only, like a basic instinct for their desires.

There is also a strange phenomenon to do with tanuki, named Tanuki-bayashi (狸囃子) where in the middle of the night out of nowhere comes musical sounds from the forest, like flutes and drums. The sounds onomatopoeia is "pom poko" or "ponpon".

Shapeshifting

The tanuki’s most powerful ability is that of shapeshifting. They love changing into many forms and will place leaves on their head before doing so. And it isn’t just themselves too, they can also transform leaves and pebbles to look like money to trick unsuspecting humans. It’s also how they manage to interact with others humans, by adopting their ways. Some tanuki even adopt human names and integrate by doing jobs or gambling and drinking their money away. There are tanuki who manage to live their whole life without anyone noticing. However, much like humans, they are known to have a bad reputation too with some thieving, lying, and cheating. Others even transform into oni or other scary yokai to terrorise or scare humans for fun.

There are also tanuki who do the opposite and impersonate Buddhist monks, even teaching Buddhism to others. It has been done so often there is a name for it, tanuki-bōzu (狸坊主), where a tanuki is disguised as a round monk, and they lived in burrows beneath temples.

A Tanuki Fortuneteller (Tanuki no uranai 狸のうらない) and Tanuki Shop Signs (Tanuki no kanban 狸のかんばん). From 1843–44 by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

Tanuki and testicles

A rather surprising ability from the tanuki comes from an unlikely place, their testicles. Tanuki are able to change their body to many forms, and they often use their transforming testicles for many uses, including in their disguises. Testicles can become weapons, drums, fans, umbrellas or nets, and for more elaborate disguises they can be incorporated to become a whole shop or even a boat. Their magical testicles can be adapted for whatever they need.

But where did such a legend come from? Tanuki pelts were used by goldsmiths in the process of hammering gold nuggets into gold leaf. It is said their skin was so good that by wrapping it around the gold it could be hammered out to the size of eight tatami mats. And from there it evolved, and became a symbol of good luck and wealth.

There is even a nursery rhyme about them, learnt by children.

Japanese:

Tan-tan-tanuki no kintama wa, Kaze mo nai no ni, Bu-ra bura

English translation:

Tan-tan-tanuki's bollocks, Even without wind, They swiiing-swing!

Tanuki Fishing in the River (Tanuki no kawagari 狸の川が) and Tanuki in a Shower (Tanuki no yûdachi狸の夕立).

I found all the legends and folk tales about tanuki fun, even the ones about their testicles, however I couldn’t find a way to include it in my story. Maybe next time!

---

Want to read my story about tanuki? You can read it for free now on Ream by becoming a follower.

[chemdisaster]

fandom asks ✨ 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 23, 24 (if it's too many, just choose the ones you wanna do!)

hi, thanks for the ask!! and no, it's not too many at all, i love answering questions

3. a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

any woman characters in anything tbh. this is in part due to how underrepresented women are in media, and i will also freely admit to being slightly influenced by the misogyny in our society and in fandom spaces, but i never really paid that much attention to female characters until i started actively participating in fandom. i do hope that i've gotten over that flaw in my perception, and will keep getting over it as my understanding of people and my characterisation in my own writing improves and develops

5. something you see in fics a lot and love

for hamilton - the very popular idea that ham is afraid of storms. i don't care that it's overdone or whatever, i love me some good anxiety and ptsd and i love me some good ham angst. for mcyt - i haven't actually read mcyt fics in a while, but i love the idea that all the life people remember every game across servers. it has soo much potential for angst in my opinion

7. your favourite tropes to read/write/draw

ohh man. hurt/comfort is everything to me, specifically the kind where one character cries in front of the other. hurt no comfort is also great, and there's also a specific one that i'll try to sum up in a concise way - character suffering in silence while everyone around them slowly begins to notice that something's wrong, all eventually culminating in them having some kind of breakdown in front of all these people in which the extent of their misery is revealed. this one's all i need in my life tbh, i wish there were more fics with this scenario

10. a blog (mutual or one you follow) that has made your fandom experience brighter

well. i confess that you came to mind first. like, your fics? i've been afraid to read some of them because i know that i'll get destroyed (/pos). the founding fucks? i have so much fun there. i'll admit that i'm rather lonely and coming off a messy friend-divorce, so having people to talk to and have fun with and be inspired by has been quite great. also you're just so nice? and you introduced me to 1776? and whump: the musical has done wonders for my creativity, i've had so much fun coming up with all the prompts and writing them, and it's kind of made me realise - i can write whatever i want. like, it doesn't have to be a long multiple k words fic, or have a whole story - i can literally write one specific scene. i can write for fun, fully, without worrying about my perfectionism kicking me in the ass. which, my perfectionism does tend to lead to masterpieces, but not everything has to be a masterpiece, and whump: the musical has played a big role in me realising that. so, uh, yeah!! thank you so much for brightening my fandom experience!

15. the character that always makes you smile

well, to be honest, this changes - whoever i'm hyperfixating on at the time makes me smile. but some of my favourite characters are 1776 adams, ham, hewlett in turn, and also watching a mcyt's new video never fails to make me smile

23. the fandom you're curious about because of a mutual

all the musicals in whump: the musical tbh. i've added them to my List™ (that thing is sooo long help /lh)

24. how has fandom positively impacted your life?

it's provided me an outlet for my creativity and a place i can go when real life gets to be too much. additionally, my special interest is humans and their emotions, personalities, particularly their misery - so fandom plays right into that. and also some experiences i've had with certain people while part of fandom have taught me a lot about friendship, people pleasing, trusting people and learning how to interact with people in general. and while those experiences did hurt, i'm ultimately grateful for the stronger and better person i've become as a result

ask game

[crescentfool]

hi! do you perhaps have more thoughts on your p3 actor au? cause I cannot for the life of me stop thinking about it

i hope you're having a wonderful day!! 💖

hi anon, i hope you didn't mind the wait for me to answer this ask! wanted to put some thought into it 🙏

for the p3 actor au i think these could be some fun thoughts. mostly blooper/cut-content oriented because i'm that kind of person:

elizabeth's actress is one of those people who literally lives their role (nearly identical to it), even when the cameras aren't rolling. i love thinking about SEES hanging out and they're like "you know we aren't filming, right?" (but they appreciate her quirky nature)

minato's actor sometimes brings his switch to set and may play it during his break times. i like to think that at some point his headphones accidentally unplug while he's playing and then whatever scene going on needs to be refilmed because there was a "WOOMY" noise in the background.

i think that aigis and ryoji's actors should be best friends, actually. as a treat. this is self-indulgent of me, really. unfortunately i can't elaborate.

re: aigis's costume design, i think that there won't be much green-screening needed (since cosplayers have managed to make the design before! which is really impressive!). compared to everyone else though, i think she'd have the longest make-up routine/prep-time... sorry to aigis's actress 😔

pharos would be played by a child actor and i think he should be friend's with ken's actor. i don't know how that would work but ken should have some more people his age on set tbh 🤧

ryoji's actor definitely got his scarf snagged on something during filming... maybe the escalator at port island station...? in a similar vein, i would not be surprised if chidori's headband or aigis's shoulder part fell off mid-filming and they had to take a temporary break afterwards.

on the show's social media, for halloween, the cast took a special featherman-inspired photo! but also i think it'd be cute if the actors went to a haunted house together and filmed their interactions.... not that it'd be much scarier than tartarus, LOL. i can see yukari just being fed up with junpei's attempt to make the visit even scarier than it needs to be.

i think if anything about the show/set would be leaked online... it would be through junpei's instagram live or something like that 😔 i am very sorry about this but also i think that junpei would be very happy and proud of the cast's work. he'd just be so happy and be like "HEY GUYS check out what the director sent-" and all the comments is everyone else telling him "NO"

i think shinjiro, fuuka, and hamuko would occasionally cook group meals for the set! nothing beats a good ol' home-made meal! 🥺 and really, i think shinjiro would make nice gestures and just help the others on cast a lot, even after october 4th is filmed.

also something that has vaguely crossed my mind: "the cast of persona 3 reads your tweets / posts." specifically akihiko and mitsuru... i just think that they'd both be fun yknow 🥴

this is silly but i think that during december 3rd when ryoji comes and gives his lil' info-dump on what SEES has to do- he should sneeze in the middle of it. ruin the immersion y'know 😎

also in general i think it's cute whenever there's cast interviews or "see how well the cast members know each other" (and those kind of things..?). other than the full-cast, i think i can see there being group interviews with the senpai trio™ (mitsuru, akihiko, shinjiro), ryominaigis + hamuko, the second years (fuuka + junpei + yukari), etc. etc. any grouping could make for some fun questions!

and lastly.. obligatory ryomina because this is me we're talking about... ryoji has absolutely gone off script during some scenes. i could see him either referencing that one evangelion thing (i was born to meet you) or just turning it into a confession scene... LMAO.

okay that was. a LOT more thoughts than i thought i had, oops!! admittedly i have not thought about this au in FOREVER so it was nice to think about it again!!! i tried to make it a bit more balanced in terms of giving more than one character spotlight

thank you for the nice wishes anon- and i hope you enjoy the thoughts on p3 actor au! have a lovely day and take care 💗

[usefulfictions]

What is Digital Humanities? [Week 1/Introduction]

Writing from:

September 2023

The first week of my MA program (Philosophy, specialization in Digital Humanities)

A particular interest in digital storytelling and the role it plays in our understanding of life's meaning

As an introduction post, it is worthwhile to clarify what the purpose of this is: to fulfill a requirement for a course I have to take for the completion of my degree. That said, I also aim for this to be a resource for myself (and potentially others who might stumble across it) to reflect and recall the way my understanding of Digital Humanities and the issues contained within it has changed, developed, and become more complicated as my familiarity with the discipline and my interaction with others within it increases.

This - like all of the other blog posts for this course - is being posted at the end of my term. As someone who tends to be more tactile than technical, which is perhaps a not ideal tendency for someone interested in Digital Humanities. Nonetheless, that tendency led me to write these reflections in a physical journal and the business of school and the several jobs I have to pay for it led to me putting off actually typing up these posts. But, here we are! Several of my other courses have ended, and I am writing between work hours.

The first week of this course, called 'Issues in Digital Humanities' introduced us to Digital Humanities as a whole as well as to a specific question to help centre the course (and one that I carry with me beyond this single course): What is Digital Humanities?

Through discussion and referral to other sources and ideas of individuals beyond those in the class, it became very clear that even a technical definition of the discipline is hard to achieve in a way that seems faithful to Digital Humanities' aims and methods (which are in themselves hard to define or even determine). This was especially evident in a website that the instructor introduced us to, aptly called What Is Digital Humanities? This site generates responses to that question provided by participants in 'Day of DH' events (a date dedicated to examining the state of digital humanities as relayed by those who do work within the discipline) from 2009 to 2014. These responses range from paragraphs to short sentences, illuminating the expansiveness of just DH's definition, without saying anything about the expansiveness of DH itself. One answer I appreciated that came up in the random generation that I did when encountering the site was one from Daniel Hooper: "The stuff humanities people do when they get a computer."

In the syllabus for the course I am writing this post for, we are encouraged to specifically engage with what we find weird, wonderful, and worrying in each post. In future reflections, I imagine it might be easiest to split the post into three sections, each dedicated to one of these 'W's, but this week I think this central question 'What is Digital Humanities?' is all three in a way that would be diminished by my dividing it into three sections. So, instead, I think I'll highlight one main takeaway I have from this question which is weird, wonderful, and worrying: Digital Humanities seems to be relatively boundless. This is weird, especially from the context of Academia from which I write, as even the shape it takes as a quasi-department in which students can specialize is made up entirely of cross-appointed faculty. DH doesn't (and perhaps can't) stand on its own, which is something I think is wonderful and aptly counters the siloing which occurs in discussions of academic disciplines or expertise, if DH is based on its relation to other topics, whether humanities or technology, then it is interdisciplinary in a way that cannot be ignored like other disciplines might. My worry from this is perhaps much more pragmatic than it is theory/conceptually based, but the problem of legitimacy is one that DH faces off against in a multitude of ways. In DH's tendency to admit its own interdisciplinary expansiveness, I wonder if it risks delegitimizing itself. This is not something I think is inherently concerning, but I do think it is concerning in the context of academia, where things like individual grants and departmental funding pay great mind to the legitimacy of what is being funded, and that funding is essential to the survival of research and disciplines in academic spaces.

[the-chosen-fanfiction]

Who is your favourite character on the Chosen, what made this person that choice, do you have specific scenes that make it indisputable?

[Feel free to cite passages to support/contrast]

Perhaps I don't have the most original answer, but Jesus is being portrayed so well and is thus my favourite. Of course, discernment is always important since it's an actor on a show and not really Jesus, but this show really helps me grow in my faith.

Because of the way Jesus is portrayed in the show, the Bible comes to life even more. To see Him go through the same mundane things in life just like anyone else. Jesus needing food, sleep, baths, etc, Him not being skilled at certain things like sports, watching Him joke around with friends, it makes Him so much more human than many other films sometimes portray Him to be.

Something that is also interesting to me are the reactions both positive and negative to Jesus' teachings. It gives an idea of what political unrest it might have caused back then.

John 15:18 is a verse that means more to me now than it did before.“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you."

It's nothing new to be belittled because of your faith in Jesus. It happened to the Apostles and His other followers already. But the promise therein compared to the way it is portrayed in the show gives me so much rest. It doesn't matter what the world thinks, as long as you keep your eyes on Jesus, everything will be fine in the end, for your identity is found in Him, not in the world. As Simon walked on the water whilst the storm raged around him, all he had to do was keep his eye on Jesus, and we know how difficult that can be when we try to do the same in our own lives. And that's okay, because He will stretch out His hand and pull us up to the surface.

The way he interacts with women is also very special to me. Living in a culture that puts pressure on women to look or act a certain way, it is sometimes difficult to find your way in Christ in the middle of a world worshipping sin. Women play a very important role in Jesus' ministry, so that is something I think is very powerful and gives me rest to know that God can use me for His Kingdom, too, even if I don't always feel it in this world.

I was just talking to my friend @hermenoodle about a very special passage. Not from the Gospels, but from Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Something we see in the show a lot is that many come to Jesus with all of their sorrow, laying bare everything they are including their weakness, and He acts so kindly towards them. He does not dismiss those who are vulnerable but lifts them up in Gods grace. All the glory should be given to God, not to man. We must allow God to break us in order to build us up and shape us in the way He needs us to be. Only when we realise that we need a year of the Lord's favour, that we cannot save ourselves, Jesus can save us. Which was another very powerful moment in the show for me, when He preached the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue.

I love how personal the show is and that everyone can take away something to build their own faith and relate to someone in a different way. It is very diverse and makes one think about their own spiritual walk with Jesus. Of course it has its flaws, but it brings so many people to Christ.

To summarise, and I hope I haven't been all over the place, Jesus is my favourite character on the show, because seeing it portrayed gives the Bible an extra dimension and builds my faith. It makes me realise certain things that I have never really considered or simply glossed over before.

There are many great portrayals of characters on The Chosen, but Jesus is by far my favourite.

Thank you so much for this question, it was a nice way to reflect on it!

[cosmosrebellion]

So, I was thinking about RWBY and Mega Man again, specifically about how Penny would interact with the characters form the X and Zero series. And I realized that even that she has a ton in common with X, a lot of their themes overlap - I want to go on about that some other time - but one of the most interesting dynamics would be her and Zero because of how different they are.

Penny is Dr. Polendina's love and desire to make the word made manifest. Her journey is about seeking her own sense of identity while exploring a world she considers beautiful and full of people she believes can be wonderful. Her heart is full of love and wonder and she always lived her life to the fullest.

Zero is Dr. Willy's revenge given form. His journey is about constantly having his identity stripped from him while fighting for a world that might move away from him at any moment. His heart is jaded and hurt, he only fights and keeps living for those he believes in.

They both had a idealistic hero who supported them and helped them see their journeys through in Ruby and X, but their dynamics also very different. Ruby helped Penny with understanding her own feelings, and did the most to validate her sense of self, specially once so many start to see her as a tool. Where Zero played a mentor role for X a lot more, helping him through his moments of doubt and reminding him they have to keep fighting even if the world rejects them.

I'm not really going anywhere with this. Is just that my brain all these fun thematic connections between a series I really like with a character I love, and a series I am now getting into with a character who I'm learning to love.

I guess I'll finish this silly ramble with saying play Mega Man X and Zero and watch RWBY so you can also catch my brainrot.