#custom cast app

[mayspicer]

Ok, the boss is no more! There were some super stressful moments but surprisingly we all survived o:

My animal companion got hit with disintegrate, but we had hero points to make him avoid it. I would cry actually, because disintegrate means no resurrection x_x

The war is prevented! At least this one, because Cayden's party is right at the center of a much bigger one just starting. Today we saved the country. Cayden is trying to not even save the whole world, just maybe slow the whole thing down and save as much people as possible...

[atsuko-tenshi]

[shehulksworld]

My Custom avatar i Customized on The Custom Cast app #カスタムキャスト #CUSTOMCAST

[creamecream]

Been making my personal story characters in Custom Cast, and for some reason I want to share them? so I will.

Not exact, but close as I could do.

All made in the Custom Cast app.

Princess Ambrosia Fernheart

(deer, she/her)

Spymaster Callahan Rox

(dragon, he/him)

Ahriah Stonefang

(I don’t remember species, she/her/they/them/dae/daem)

Belongs to @berrisweet-panda

Valkyrie Raidell

(mostly human in appearance, she/her)

Mayweather Aribelle

(fox, she/her)

Bigsby Hover

(dragonfly, he/him)

Kanna Mclaira

(human, she/her)

Myst Aribelle

(dog, they/them)

Abigayle Cornwall

(cat, she/her)

I’m missing a few characters (I’ve posted Barren before, he’s clearly not here) these are just who I’ve made so far, and I like them.

[14dayswithyou]

💖 Day 3.5 is now available! 💖

For the last couple of months, only Server Boosters had access to the 3.5 update... Buuuuut now it's available for everyone to play in the 14DWY Discord — and soon itch.io once I'm happy with the QA and state of the game — so please don't feel pressured to join unless you want to!!

The full devlog + even more screenshots are under the cut ^^

What's been added to the 3.5 version?

📺 Streamer Mode!

I've been told that it's difficult to stream and monetise age-restricted videos on YouTube and Twitch, so I added an option to remove the sexual content and strong language used in the demo.

Now y'all can invite Ren into your bed for cuddles without putting your streamer career on the line /silly /lh

This won't affect the 18+ rating or dark themes/elements of the game, however! Although Streamer Mode will prevent you from seeing any "gruesome" CGs in the future, most of the core elements of the game will still be tied to the choices and decisions you make. So you won't miss out on the overall experience by using streamer mode!!

⚙️ Custom Pronouns!

It only took me one entire year to get around to it, but you can finally choose your own preferred pronouns (or use a set of pronouns instead)... At the cost of being able to change them mid-game ^^;

Since the original pronoun screen wouldn't update until a new scene was displayed, I temporarily disabled the feature. But once I find a workaround, I'll bring it back!

💗 Choose how others perceive you!

You can now choose how the cast and narration perceive you! Originally, the narration was kept strictly gender-neutral (outside of pronouns and genitalia picked by the player), but this will soon change in future updates.

For more clarity: you don't get to choose the words specifically, but you can choose between masculine, feminine, and androgynous terms!

📋 Separate top and bottom genitalia!

You can now choose your tatas and pps separately! >:3

Alongside that, you can also choose your preferred body type!

I removed the "both" genitalia option because a few players still assumed it was an obscure version of "intersex". That wasn't my intention and I don't want to mislead anyone, so I took it out for now ^^;

I also didn't want to include a screenshot of the new genitalia choices in action (because it's NSFW), so y'all get the same character menu screen for the nth time instead lmao

📱 Relationship Screen Overhaul!

You can now change your own status for more immersion, and long-term Server Boosters will eventually be able to submit and use their own icon within the game as well!

Stalking finding your friends has now become easier by using "Buddy Maps"; a new app that allows you to see the location of all the cast members!

I want to offer players more incentive to check the relationship screen since they tend to miss the status updates, so hopefully this might help ;v;

It also says it "updates every few hours" so folks don't go overboard and check every 5 seconds to see where Ren is gdsghf (also keep in mind that he's a hacker lol)

🖤 Additional Scenes Update!

Day 2 received a brand new CG!!!!! Originally, I planned on only adding a few CGs sporadically throughout the game, but it didn't feel right to leave Day 2 so... empty... so I added a brand new CG to (hopefully) make things feel more balanced and natural!

If you decline Teo's offer on Day 3, Leon will now call and try to convince you to reconsider. However, players are still allowed to decline, and if they do, they'll reach a dead end.

After listening to feedback on itch, I changed some of the dialogue during Days 1-3 to make it seem more consistent! They're only small changes though, so it's honestly not worth looking for sdgjssga

🎶 Updated BGM and SFX!

I wanted to try out a different style of music to see if it fits the vibe of 14DWY more! The BGM features more acoustics to suit the "beachy" theme of Corland Bay, though I made a conscious effort to include piano elements as well to stay true to the original!!

I figured it'd be better to give players a live example before I make a poll (to see if they prefer the change or not) and publish it to Itch.

Some new SFX have also been added, though it's very minimal and honestly not that noticeable.

How to download and play the update?

(warning: clicking on the following links will open Discord!!) To download the Day 3.5 update, simply join the 14DWY Discord server, verify your age, and visit the "14dwy-updates" channel!

Alternatively, you can also wait until the update is publicly released on Itch to play it as well!! (It normally gets released shortly after a round of QA testing/getting feedback from the server, though I may release it earlier if I feel like it hehe ^^)

Enjoy!!

[ladytemeraire]

The main thought ringing in my head at the three-quarter mark of Jenny Nicholson's Star Wars Hotel video is how badly Disney missed the mark on not targeting the demographic of LARPers, cosplayers, and RenFest nerds as opposed to... whoever the hell they were actually targeting, with that combination of experience and price point.

Like. Not to further out myself as a massive goddamn dork, but there was a span of nearly ten years where I was going to the Ohio RenFest at least once a season, every season. And even there, the years where I went in some form of costume and played along with the actors as opposed to wearing jeans and a t-shirt, my experience was so much richer. There was such a different level of banter and playfulness and entertainment when I actively leaned into the immersion. I had so much fun interacting with the shopkeeps and cast members as an elf or random Fantasy Medieval Maiden, because they saw the costume and on some level went, "You! You are One Of Us!" and matched that energy, and thus gave me the chance to match it in return.

(One year, early on, when my "costume" was a frilly blouse, leggings, boots, elf ears, and a hastily sewn cloak, I had a random older gentleman run up to our group, press a gold coin into my palms, kiss the back of my hand in a very respectful and courtly manner, and disappear into the crowd. No context, no further story or plot or interaction, but almost fifteen years later I still have that gold coin on a shelf of tchotchkes.)

Watching every time Jenny tried so desperately to lean into the Galactic StarCruiser/overall Star Wars experience, to actively engage with the story and the characters, only to be lowkey ignored or actively rebuffed or scorned, legitimately broke my heart a little. (The bit in the experience finale where she was like "it felt like we were supposed to respond somehow, but I didn't because it was embarrassing, which is its own form of Force torture" was simultaneously hilarious and extremely relatable and incredibly sad.) Setting aside the issues with the app and tech, let alone the refusal to address legitimate complaints until she took to Twitter, not even getting a hint of reciprocal interaction from the actors when your choices supposedly matter in your overall experience would be so incredibly disheartening.

Ohio RenFest tickets were about $20 when I started going in high school, plus whatever food and merchandise you wanted to buy. Nowadays, even with inflation, they're still only $35 for adult tickets, which gets you access to everything, and you can absolutely get a full day's experience out of that with only the additional cost for food and beverages. I cannot fathom spending six thousand fecking dollars for two days ("two dollars per person per minute" will live rent free in my head for a while) on what is supposedly an immersive experience, marketed as living out your Star Wars story, only to get the absolute bare minimum in return. It really feels like such an indicator of how modern-day Disney is willing to cut corners as much as possible while leaning on brand recognition, and especially on nostalgia, in order to milk every last red cent out of their customers, until they run out of both money and goodwill. And that is so, so incredibly sad.

[genshin-impact-updates]

"Summertide Scales and Tales" Version 4.8 Update Details

Dear Traveler,

Below are the details of the Version 4.8 update "Summertide Scales and Tales" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Bug Fix Compensation for the issue whereby Neuvillette could rotate at an unusually high speed when casting his Charged Attack, resulting in an abnormal attack range: Primogems ×100

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/07/17 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 4.8.

Bug Fix Compensation for the issue whereby Neuvillette could rotate at an unusually high speed when casting his Charged Attack, resulting in an abnormal attack range and other issue fix compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/07/17 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2024/07/20 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2024/07/17 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. Limited-Time Area: Simulanka (This area is only available during Version 4.8)

Simulanka

After perusing the book sent as a gift by a mysterious person, you visit a fairytale world named "Simulanka." Like many classic stories, the prophecies of the goddesses were fulfilled one by one with the arrival of visitors from another world. The hero and their companions thus embark on a journey to defeat the evil dragon...

※ As long as you have completed Archon Quest Prologue: Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom" and teleport to the limited-time area "Simulanka" through the Story Quest "Summertide Scales and Tales," a Teleport Waypoint will be automatically unlocked in the "Forest of Blessings" located in this area. You'll also receive the Primogem reward for this Teleport Waypoint when it unlocks automatically.

◇ Area Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 18 or above

• Complete the Archon Quest "Song of the Dragon and Freedom"

◆ Simulanka will no longer be accessible after the end of Version 4.8. You will also no longer be able to open treasure chests, gather materials, or earn quest rewards in Simulanka, so grab the opportunity to explore away!

II. New Character

5-Star Character "A Thousand Scents Traced" Emilie (Dendro)

◇ Vision: Dendro

◇ Weapon: Polearm

◇ A Fontainian perfumer, one who bottles secrets.

◆ Elemental Skill: Fragrance Extraction

◆ Creates a Lumidouce Case that fires Puffs of Puredew at nearby opponents at intervals, dealing Dendro DMG. When nearby opponents are affected by Burning, they will give off Scents. The Lumidouce Case collects nearby Scents and after collecting a certain amount, its level will increase, increasing the quantity and DMG of Puffs of Puredew.

◆ Elemental Burst: Aromatic Explication

◆ Stows existing Lumidouce Cases and creates a Level 3 Lumidouce Case. The Level 3 Lumidouce Case will continuously cause Scented Dew to descend, attacking opponents within range and dealing Dendro DMG. When the duration ends, the Lumidouce Case reverts to Level 1, or it inherits the level and number of collected Scents from the previously stored Lumidouce Case.

III. New Equipment

New Weapon (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

Lumidouce Elegy (5-Star Polearm)

ATK increased by 15%. When the equipping character triggers Burning on an opponent or deals Dendro DMG to Burning opponents, the DMG dealt is increased by 18%. This effect lasts for 8s, max 2 stacks. When 2 stacks are reached or when the duration is refreshed at 2 stacks, restore 12 Energy. Energy can be restored this way once every 12s. The 2 aforementioned effects can be triggered even when the character is off-field.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon Lumidouce Elegy (Polearm) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

IV. New Outfits

Nilou: Breeze of Sabaa

◇ An elegant outfit for Nilou, this featherweight dress is seemingly woven of countless flowers, and with it drifts a light fragrance like the east wind at dawn, carrying beauteous blessings from a fairytale land.

◆ Between the start of the Version 4.8 update and 2024/08/26 03:59, Nilou's outfit "Breeze of Sabaa" will be available for purchase in the Character Outfit Shop at a limited-time discount! During the discount period, the price of the outfit is 1,350 Genesis Crystals. The price will revert to 1,680 Genesis Crystals after the limited-time discount ends. The outfit can only be purchased once.

Kirara: Phantom in Boots

◇ Kirara's outfit. The swashbuckling feline of fairytale fame, the crafty courier of dearly-held dreams... is pleased to make your acquaintance!

◆ In Version 4.8, you will be able to get Kirara's outfit "Phantom in Boots" for free by participating in the limited-time "Summertide Scales and Tales" event.

◆ After Version 4.8 is over, Travelers can buy the outfit in the Character Outfit Shop.

V. New Main Story

New Story Quest

Emilie's Story Quest - Pomum de Ambra Chapter: Act I "Floral Debt, Blood Due"

Permanently available after 2024/08/06 18:00

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act V "Masquerade of the Guilty"

New World Quests

New Limited-Time World Quests

"The Lotus Leaf and the Champion," "The Forest and the Princess," "The Answer of the Lotus Leaves and Forest," "Narration Footnotes," "Text's Coda," and "Towards the Lighthouse, or Far Away"

VI. New Gameplay

New Gameplay: Envisaged Echoes

In this gameplay mode, each challenge corresponds to a designated character and has its own independent challenge mode.

To participate in the challenge stages, this corresponding character must be Lv. 90, and their Friendship Level must be at least 8.

After completing "Envisaged Echoes" challenges, you will gain the corresponding character's Echo cosmetic rewards.

◇ Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 35 or above

• Complete and finalize a combat performance in Act 6 or higher of the Imaginarium Theater

For details on the gameplay rules, please see: "Envisaged Echoes" Permanent High Difficulty Challenge Gameplay Details.

VII. Other Update Details

New Recipe:

○ Hotel Debord, Fontaine: Fricassee de Poulet

New Character Specialty Dish:

○ Emilie's specialty: A Fragrant Feast of Flavors

Adds Set 33 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

Adds some prompts for loading screens.

New Namecards:

"Emilie: Base Note": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Emilie

"Travel Notes: Fanciful Fabrication": Reward obtained via the BP system

New "Hide UI" function: You can enable/disable it in the "Settings > Other" menu (you can also enable/disable it using specific shortcuts on PC). When enabled, the main interface will hide UI elements such as map and party information.

New functions in the Dialogue Screen:

(1) "Dialogue Review": You can open the "Dialogue Review" interface while playing through the story to view the dialogue records for this segment of the story or listen to the voice-overs again.

(2) "Hide Dialogue Screen": You can hide the dialogue screen while playing through the story.

"Genius Invokation TCG" Gameplay Update:

New Character Cards: Chevreuse, Navia, and their corresponding Talent cards. Corresponding invitation duels and guest challenges have been added to the Player List.

New Character Card: Frost Operative and their corresponding Talent card. The Tavern Challenge has also been added.

New Action Cards: "Ultimate Overlord's Mega Magic Sword," "Prospector's Drill," "Gladiator's Triumphus," "Serene," "I'd Rather Lose Money Myself...," and "Tada!" can be purchased from Prince at The Cat's Tail.

The Forge Realm's Temper is once again available. The theme of this edition is "The Forge Realm's Temper: Endless Swarm":

(1) Defeat endless waves of enemies during the rounds in "The Forge Realm's Temper: Endless Swarm" to accrue score.

(2) After you complete the stage battle, you will gain a score and the corresponding rewards based on the highest score you got in the stage.

(3) Different stages will contain different special rules that grant buffs. Use these rules well to fight more effectively.

Imaginarium Theater

After the Version 4.8 update, the new season of "Imaginarium Theater" will be available on 2024/08/01 04:00.

Required Elemental Types: Hydro, Cryo, and Anemo

Opening Characters: Furina, Barbara, Kamisato Ayaka, Diona, Xiao, and Faruzan

When Imaginarium Theater is open, the corresponding Opening Characters will obtain Fantastical Blessings.

Special Guest Stars: Emilie, Dehya, Nahida, and Xiangling

After the new season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the characters Kaeya, Kaveh, Yoimiya, and Yelan will each gain a new "Thespian Trick" that can be exchanged from the NPC Wolfy.

In addition, in order to optimize the experience of obtaining Principal Cast during the gameplay, after the new season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the following adjustments will be made:

(1) Adjusts the initial Fantasia Flowers provided from 100 to 160 when starting a challenge in Hard Mode.

(2) After completing a performance, you can select one of two characters when obtaining a new Principal Cast (prior to the adjustment, the corresponding mechanic will grant a Principal Cast without providing options in the default state without gaining specific performance buffs).

(3) Optimizes the refresh mechanic of Performance Events.

Spiral Abyss

Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• All characters in the party gain a 75% Dendro DMG Bonus.

Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 4.8, the Lunar Phases will be as follows:

Searing Moon

When characters attack Burning opponents, their CRIT Rate is increased by 15% and their CRIT DMG is increased by 30%.

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● Open World

Now, after defeating the boss "Lupus Boreas, Dominator of Wolves," Trounce Blossom rewards not collected will only disappear after he respawns.

Adjusts the respawn time for boss enemies in the open world, with the exception of "Lupus Boreas, Dominator of Wolves," from 5 minutes to 10 seconds (After the respawn timer ends, Travelers need to teleport to another area and return, and the relevant enemies will respawn).

Adjusts the respawn time for certain harvestables from 48 hours to 46 hours.

Adjusts the unlock condition for the "Lower World Level" function from World Level 5 to World Level 3 (you can choose to lower the World Level upon reaching World Level 3).

Adds an option at World Level 3 to 6 to lower the World Level on the relevant prompt interface when all party members are defeated by enemies during exploration in the open world.

● Quests

Reduces the difficulty of the "Anti-Raiden Shogun Training"-related quest objective in the Archon Quest "The Familiar's Path."

Reduces the difficulty of the challenge gameplay related to the Story Quest "License to Glide" and "Mondstadt Glider."

Optimizes the refresh logic for Commission Quests: Commission Quests that have their scenes occupied by other quests will not refresh and appear. However, Commission Quests with unfinished achievements are not affected by this refresh rule and will still appear.

Certain quests that can unlock systems will have a new special icon on the Quest Menu.

● Domains

Adjusts the enemy placements and certain Ley Line Disorders in the Domains "Forsaken Rift," "Cecilia Garden," "Peak of Vindagnyr," "Hidden Palace of Zhou Formula," "Clear Pool and Mountain Cavern," "Hidden Palace of Lianshan Formula," "Domain of Guyun," and "Taishan Mansion" to reduce the challenge difficulty of these domains.

Unlocked Domains can be used as Teleport Waypoints even if Travelers have yet to reach the Adventure Rank required to challenge the Domain.

After Travelers reach Adventure Rank 10 or have completed the quest "Knights of Favonius" of the Archon Quest Prologue: Act I "The Outlander Who Caught the Wind," you can unlock all Domains of Blessing, Domains of Mastery, and Domains of Forgery, with the exception of Midsummer Courtyard (There are no specific unlock criteria for Domain of Blessing "Midsummer Courtyard").

After defeating the "Enemy of Note" in the "Trounce Domain," if Travelers leave without claiming the reward, the game will display a second confirmation pop-up.

● Adventure Encounters

Once you have reached your daily Encounter Point limit, any further Points gained will be converted to Long-Term Encounter Points. Long-Term Encounter Points will not be cleared the next day and can be stored until the next Version x.0.

Travelers can convert accumulated Long-Term Encounter Points into usable Encounter Points through consuming Original Resin.

a. The number of Encounter Points obtained from completing Archon Quests, Character Story Quests, and Hangout Events has been increased.

b The number of Encounter Points obtained from completing World Quests, Story Quests from Limited-Time Events, and collecting event rewards has been decreased.

c. Completing World Quests that begin Limited-Time Events, the Afterword World Quests from Limited-Time Events, and City Reputation: Requests will no longer give Encounter Points.

● System

Adds an interaction using the spacebar on the "Cooking" interface (when using a keyboard and mouse as control devices).

In the "Spiral Abyss" character selection interface, you can now drag characters to adjust their position within the party lineup.

Adds the filter option for "Astral Mark Status" in certain characters' interface.

When you have sufficient offerings to level up offering-related systems (such as the "Statue of The Seven" or "Fountain of Lucine"), clicking on the icon of the relevant system on the map will display an offering prompt.

Adds a new setting in the "General Settings" of the "Artifact Auto-Lock" function. When enabled, for Artifacts with 3 Minor Affixes, the locked plan will consider conditions like "Includes any 2/3/4 of the following Minor Affixes" will be treated as "Includes any 1/2/3 of the following Minor Affixes."

● Genius Invokation TCG

Optimizes the descriptions and previews of related effects for certain cards.

Shortens the display time of some card effects.

Optimizes the description of the Support Card "Kusava": In the description "Discard a maximum of 2 cards with the highest Elemental Dice Cost in your Hand," "cards with the highest Elemental Dice Cost in your Hand" will be adjusted to "cards with the highest original Elemental Dice Cost in your Hand."

Optimizes the Action Phase time calculation logic in Co-Op matches: The Action Phase time limit will no longer be a fixed amount and will be extended depending on how many card effects Travelers trigger.

● Other

Optimizes the text descriptions for certain effects and events in "Imaginarium Theater."

When characters are in the Theater Lobby of "Imaginarium Theater," the Paimon Menu can now be accessed.

After the Version 4.8 update, users who have not used the "Past Quest Resource Management" feature and have mobile devices that have resources that can be deleted will receive a one-time red dot notification.

For some discrete graphics cards that do not support the "Dynamic Character Resolution" visual effect, the "Dynamic Character Resolution" option will no longer appear in the "Settings > Graphics" of the game.

Adds a "Compatibility Mode" option to the "Settings > Graphics" tab on the game login screen.

Adjusts the order of certain quests in "Adventurer Handbook" > "Experience."

Adds a shortcut button to navigate to the Adventurer Handbook on the "Adventure EXP and Adventure Rank" interface.

In the "Battle Pass/Gnostic Hymn" interface, the slider at the bottom of the interface now supports the click-to-position function.

Optimizes the user experience of each list interface:

a. When switching or refreshing lists, the previously selected or scrolled position will be retained.

b. Optimizes the scrolling speed of lists.

c. Optimizes the rules for displaying red dots in lists.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Quests

Fixes an issue whereby Sorush could not be used in certain locations after entering the "Defiled Chamber" in the World Quest "The Hymn of Tir Yazad."

Fixes an issue whereby the position of character portraits displayed may be abnormal in Clorinde's Story Quest when the text in the text boxes are too long.

● Enemies

Fixes an issue whereby damage numbers had a chance of not displaying when certain skills of Ruin Automatons inflicted damage on Ley Line Monoliths.

Fixes an issue whereby Specters could have 0 HP but could not be defeated under specific circumstances.

● Characters

Fixes an issue whereby characters' skills had no CD and skill performance was abnormal under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby some characters' recovery time after being hit was abnormal.

Fixes an issue whereby after Arlecchino casts a Charged Attack and moves rapidly after the button is Held, the character would be down abnormally after falling from a low altitude when her Stamina is expended.

Fixes an issue whereby the Wanderer would remain abnormally in a state of levitation after he expends "Kuugoryoku" under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby Neuvillette could rotate at an unusually high speed when casting his Charged Attack, resulting in an abnormal attack range under specific circumstances.

● Weapons

Fixes an issue whereby there was a chance that the positions of the special effects of the weapon "Uraku Misugiri" would be incorrect after being equipped by different characters.

● Audio

Fixes an issue whereby testing voice-over resources were incorrectly used for some of Sethos's Chinese voice-overs in the cutscene animation of Cyno's Story Quest Lupus Aureus Chapter: Act II "Oathkeeper" (This resource was not recorded by Chinese voice actor Lanling Li).

Fixes an issue whereby there is a chance that the sound effects of character movement would be missing when Clorinde moves in the water.

Fixes an issue whereby the sound effects could be abnormal when Gaming joined the party on the "Party Setup" interface.

Fixes an issue whereby there were errors with the Chinese voice-overs during some quests.

● System

Fixes an image error in the "Raiden Shogun" avatar.

Fixes an issue whereby you are unable to access the corresponding scene if you teleport to the Theater Lobby and select "Leave for Now" during the Spiral Abyss challenge.

Fixes an issue in the Spiral Abyss whereby the skill cooldown of the party in the second half would not reset after selecting "Retry Challenge."

Fixes an issue in Co-Op Mode that caused musical instrument gadgets used by guest characters to disappear abnormally under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby the sorting of Artifacts in the "Inventory > Artifacts" interface would appear incorrectly under certain circumstances after the Version 4.7 update.

Fixes an issue with incorrect Exploration Progress calculation in certain regions. After the version update, Exploration Progress for some Travelers may increase.

Fixes an issue whereby it was possible to use "Thespian Tricks" that had yet to be obtained on the "Photo" interface under certain circumstances.

● Genius Invokation TCG

Fixes an issue whereby the Character Card "Wriothesley" was unable to trigger the effect "If the character has no more than 5 HP" related to the state "Chilling Penalty" during the Action Phase if his HP is 5 or less due to the Combat Status "Burst Scan."

Fixes an issue whereby the Character Cards "Consecrated Scorpion," "Consecrated Flying Serpent," and "Guardian of Apep's Oasis" were unable to use their Talent Cards when frozen.

Fixes an issue with the text description of the Combat Status "Deep Devourer's Domain" of the Character Card "All-Devouring Narwhal" in other languages.

Fixes an issue whereby the Usages of the All-Devouring Narwhal's "Dark Shadow" Summon was incorrectly deducted if your Character Card took damage and was knocked out at the same time.

Fixes an issue whereby the Usages of the Combat Status "Flying Cloud Flag Formation" was not reduced after the Character Card "Neuvillette" casts "Equitable Judgment" to trigger the damage bonus of the Combat Status "Flying Cloud Flag Formation."

● Other

Fixes an issue whereby after completing a performance in the Imaginarium Theater, the finalization screen would only appear after some characters attacked.

Fixes an issue whereby when selecting "Restart Performance" after a successful performance in the "Imaginarium Theater," the selected party lineups will not be recorded.

Fixes an issue whereby a Domain Entrance interaction point would appear abnormally within Mondstadt.

Fixes some text errors in certain languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

◆ Optimizes inconsistencies between certain voice-overs and the corresponding lines.

◆ Optimizes certain English translations.

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Adjusts the effect of Event Card "Bonecruncher's Energy Block" of the Character Card "Consecrated Beast": Removes the effect "If your active character is a Consecrated Beast, then they gain 1 Energy."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "Consecrated Flying Serpent": This effect will be adjusted to "Deal 3 Anemo DMG and draw 1 card."

Adjusts the effect of the Combat Status "Flying Cloud Flag Formation" of the Character Card "Yun Jin": Removes the effect "Deal +1 DMG."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Decorous Harmony" of the Character Card "Yun Jin": The effect "When Yun Jin, who has this card equipped, is on the field, and if you have no cards in your Hand, Flying Cloud Flag Formation will cause your Normal Attack to deal +2 additional DMG." will be adjusted to "When Yun Jin, who has this card equipped, is on the field, and you trigger Flying Cloud Flag Formation: If you have no cards in your Hand, this Skill deals +2 additional DMG."

Adjusts the effect of the Combat Status "Burst Scan" of the Character Card "Kaveh": "After this, deal Dendro DMG equal to the original Elemental Dice Cost of the card you Discard +1" will be adjusted to "After this, deal Dendro DMG equal to the original Elemental Dice Cost of the card you Discard."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "All-Devouring Narwhal": The effect "Deals 1 Hydro DMG. This character deals +1 DMG for every 3 extra max HP provided by Insatiable Appetite (Max +5)" will be adjusted to "(Max +4)."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Burst of the Character Card "Lisa": Adds the effect "attach Conductive to the opponent's active character."

Adjusts the Elemental Burst DMG of the Character Card "Kaedehara Kazuha": Anemo DMG dealt will be adjusted from 3 to 1.

Adjusts the Elemental Skill DMG of the Character Card "Kaedehara Kazuha": Anemo DMG dealt will be adjusted from 3 to 1.

Adjusts the effect of the status "Midare Ranzan" of the Character Card "Kaedehara Kazuha": The effect will be adjusted to "The next time you use Switch Character to switch to the character to which this is attached: This switch is considered a Fast Action rather than a Combat Action. Before you choose an action: If the character to which this is attached is your active character, they immediately use a Normal Attack. The Physical DMG this Normal Attack would deal is converted to Anemo DMG. Once finalized, this effect is removed."

Adjusts the effect of the Summon "Solar Isotoma" of the Character Card "Albedo": The effect "When this Summon is on the field: Your character's Plunging Attack spends 1 less Unaligned Element." will be adjusted to "When you perform "Switch Character" and this Summon is on the field: This switch is considered a Fast Action instead of a Combat Action."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Descent of Divinity" of the Character Card "Albedo": The effect "When there is Albedo on the field who has this card equipped, if your side of the field has Solar Isotoma, then your characters' Plunging Attack deals +1 DMG." has a new effect "then your characters' Plunging Attack costs 1 less Unaligned Element."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Dominance of Earth" of the Character Card "Zhongli": The effect "When your active character is protected by a Shield Character Status or a Shield Combat Status, your Summons deal +1 Geo DMG." will be adjusted to "When your Zhongli, who has this card equipped, has at least 7 HP, the DMG dealt by Zhongli and the Geo DMG from your Summons +1."

Adjusts the effect of the status "Pactsworn Pathclearer" of the Character Card "Cyno": Removes the effect "If equal to or greater than 6: Indwelling Level -4." and adds the effect "If Indwelling Level is at least 8, decrease the Indwelling level by 6."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "Cyno": Adds the effect "Pactsworn Pathclearer's Indwelling Level +1."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Featherfall Judgment" of the Character Card "Cyno": The effect "When your Cyno, who has this card equipped, uses Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer while having an even number of level of Pactsworn Pathclearer's Indwelling effect, deal +1 DMG." will be adjusted to "When your Cyno, who has this card equipped, uses Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer while having at least 2 levels of Pactsworn Pathclearer's Indwelling effect, deal +2 DMG. (Once per Round)."

Adjusts the effect of the status "Refraction" of the Character Card "Mirror Maiden": The effect "The character to which this is attached takes +1 Hydro DMG." will be adjusted to "When the character to which this card is attached switches to another character: Elemental Dice Cost +1."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Mirror Cage" of the Character Card "Mirror Maiden": The effect "will increase the Elemental Dice Cost of switching from a character to which this is attached to another character by 1." will be adjusted to "The character to which this is attached takes +1 Hydro DMG."

Adjusts the effect of the Support Card "Dawn Winery": The effect trigger limit "Once per Round" will be adjusted to "Twice per Round."

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Support Card "Kusava": The Elemental Dice cost will be adjusted from 0 to 1.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Support Card "Lumenstone Adjuvant": The Elemental Dice cost will be adjusted from 2 Dice of the same element to 3 Dice of any element.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Event Card "Falls and Fortune": The Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 1 to 0.

Increases the number of Usages of "Undersea Treasure" generated by the Event Card "Underwater Treasure Hunt": Each character can receive healing from this effect once per Round.

Adjusts the effect of the Event Card "Lyresong": During this Round, the effect that will be triggered the next time you play an Artifact card will be adjusted to "Spend 1 less Elemental Die. If you have not played any other Action Cards before playing this card, spend 2 less Elemental Dice."

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

[syoish-aot]

"I Found You" - EREN/READER - REVERSE ISEKAI (part 5)

reverse isekai, time travel, memory loss

post canon (ish)

reader/eren

word count: 2450

<- PART 4 | PART 6 ->

*****

When Eren was fifteen he didn’t know much about love.

He did know that he had a fierce desire to protect. To save. To help, not just his friends, but all of humanity regain the freedom taken from them by the titans.

He also knew that Mikasa’s hair was very soft.

That her eyes were pretty.

That her skin looked warm.

That her lips, often hidden under the red scarf he had wrapped around her when they were children, distracted him from conversation more times than he could count.

But there was never time. 

The more they learned about the world- and the more Eren learned about himself in turn- the more that their lack of time became obvious to him.

He told himself it was for the better than he never told her how he felt. That he never properly answered her question:

“What am I to you, Eren?” She asked him the night when they stood on the hill just outside of Liberio.  What am I? She was everything to him, is what he wanted to say; but- “you’re family,” is what he said instead.

Because he knew, Eren knew, that in that lifetime they would never have enough time to be together.

So, when he woke up in a new lifetime, his first thought was that maybe-... maybe this was his chance. 

But, when he opened his eyes,

it wasn’t Mikasa that he saw…

…when he opened his eyes,

all he saw was you.

*****

5 Years Ago

“I think I get why these men are on here.” You told your coworker, Mina, as the two of you leaned against the counter, your phone between you as you idly flipped through Hinge casting judgment on every man you saw.

“Why’s that?” Mina asked.

“Well, here’s my theory.” Tired of the mindless scrolling, you slide your phone into your back pocket and grab a marker from the lip of the register. You uncap it and begin doodling on a cup. “Men on dating apps are there because they give off such ick that they can’t meet women in person without setting off alarm bells, so apps are their only option.”

Mina shrugged. “Okay, so why are the women on there?”

“I dunno,” you replied with a snort, “why does anyone go to a zoo?”

“That’s kinda judgmental.” A customer, who appeared seemingly out of thin air, says at the counter.

“Jesus christ-” You jump and the sharpie in your hand goes flying toward him at a perfect angle to run a black streak straight across his shirt.

“Oh my god!” Your hands fly up to cover your mouth as your eyes widen. “I’m so, so, so sorry! Um- uh-” You glance around for a microfiber cloth (which normally makes your skin crawl to touch, but you can’t think about that right now). You quickly run the microfiber (ew) cloth under the sink. “Here!” You reach across the counter to press it to the front of his shirt. “Maybe it’ll um-” It does nothing. “Uh…” You try again. “O-Okay just…” That’s when you finally look up at him.

You figured you looked pretty pathetic, leaning over the counter and uselessly dabbing his shirt to get permanent marker out of polyester (spoiler alert: that doesn’t work and it never will).

So you’re pathetic.

And he’s gorgeous. 

The universe must have it out for you. Seriously have it out for you because- …holy shit. 

The first thing you notice are his eyes. A stunning composition that reminds you of the night sky on a full moon- swirling blues and greens beautifully illuminated with flecks of golden stars. 

And then his messy-on-purpose brown hair, half tied up in a bun with a few tasteful strands falling against his forehead.

His flawless skin.

His sharp cheekbones.

His adorable nose and-

And his smile.

Woah.

It’s a real “knees weak, arms spaghetti” moment for you ((made even more embarrassing by the fact that the first thing you think is “knees weak, arms spaghetti” but that’s where your mind goes and you’ll keep that secret with you until the day you die)).

“I don’t think that’s working.” He tells you as he gently grabs your wrist and guides your hand away. 

“Yeah um-” You clear your throat and drop the cloth to the counter, quickly standing back on the floor as your cheeks burn pink and you nervously look over his ruined shirt. “I really am sorry I could um- I could buy you a new one?”

“Eh,” he shrugs. “It’s old anyway.”

But it doesn’t look old.

Still, you’re too embarrassed to question him.

“Free coffee?” You offer instead.

He smiles again and you refuse to think about knees and spaghetti for the second time.

“Alright, “he laughs, “free coffee sounds good.”

Dammit.

Knees and spaghetti it is.

*****

He’s back the next day.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

You think that maybe he’s new in the area and just happens to be the type of guy who likes a consistent schedule, if anything that makes you respect him; but sometimes you wishfully hope it’s because of… something else.

“If you ruin my shirt again, will this one be free too?” He jokes on the fourth visit as you had him a semi-sweet iced coffee.

“Yeah, but you have to sneak up on me or it’s not authentic.” You tease back.

*****

You learn things about him every time he comes in.

First, it’s his name: Eren.

Eren.

And god, now that you know it you spend a stupid amount of time pausing on those ‘roll for the first letter of your soul mate’s name’ tiktoks. At least you have the decency to not post them (except for that one time you accidentally did).

You find out he’s also attending university. That he’s an English major but school is making him lose motivation to write.

You find out his favourite colour is red.

That he’s never lived anywhere but the city.

That his friends are more important to him than anything, and he’s known them for most of his life. 

And then, a month after you meet, you find out something else…

“So,” you say, five minutes to closing as you wipe down the counter and Eren finishes off a donut you’d given him for free instead of throwing out. He has a habit of showing up when you’re closing. You aren’t sure if it’s because he has a night class or if he just likes the free pastries. Or maybe there’s a completely different reason entirely.

“So…?” He asks, when you don’t finish the thought (you’d gotten distracted by the way he was licking icing off his fingers).

You clear your throat and look down at the counter. “Why was I being judgmental?”

“Oh, because not everyone that’s in a frat is just there for the parties. My friend Reiner says he-”

“No not about that,” although maybe your opinions on frat boys are based on a stereotype and that’s deserving of its own conversation entirely, “I mean about the dating app thing.”

“What dating app thing?” He asks as his eyebrows momentarily tighten together with a scowl. It’s an expression he wears a lot and it always makes you laugh.

“The first thing you said to me!” You exclaim. “Mina and I were talking about dating apps and you said I was being judgmental. Honestly, I feel like it was the worst first impression ever.”

“Nah, the bad impression part was when you were feeling me up like three seconds later.”

“I-” Your cheeks burn bright red. “I was not feeling you up!”

Eren throws his head back and laughs.

You toss your microfiber (ew) towel at him and it lands smack in the middle of his face. 

Eren’s still snickering as he leans down to pick it up from the floor. “I said you were being judgmental because you were.”

“Elaborate, please.”

“Well,” he stands back up, cloth now in hand, “there are some genuine people on dating apps just looking for connections.”

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, but it’s all- it’s so fake. How many times can I repeat the same: ‘Hi, how are you.’ ‘I’m good, how are you’ ‘Good. What do you do for work?’ ‘I work at this shitty café and there’s a regular that’s constantly patronizing me to try to get free food. What about you?’.” You let out a short sigh. “If people actually want to get to know each other, they should-”

Your rant comes to a quick end when Eren stops in front of you.

He’s closer than he normally stands, so you immediately notice the flecks of gold in his eyes. The last time you were this close to him, you’d been frantically rubbing sharpie out of his shirt but now-

Now you’re- you’re just standing there…

Just close.

So close that you might have forgotten how to breathe.

“Some people have to meet that way.” He says, softer than normal, but maybe it’s just because you’re close enough that he doesn’t have to speak loudly to be heard.

“...huh?”

Eren snickers. Your heart hammers. He keeps talking: “Some people,” he elaborates, “have trouble getting dates any other way.”

“Wh-” You clear your throat as it constricts, “Why’s that?”

For the first time, you see him blush.

You notice the confidence he normally wears come crashing down.

He looks away.

“Because some people are… pretty shit at asking people out.”

You jump as the cloth he’d picked up meets your hand.

And this time, it’s not even because of the gross sensation of microfiber.

*****

Eren gets over it, apparently, because 6 days later he shows up at your work right before close.

“No free muffins today, sorry.” You immediately tell him.

“It’s fine.” He replies and you can’t help but notice the way he awkwardly shifts his weight from one foot to the other, completely avoiding your eyes as he does it.

“Um… Eren?”

“Yep?”

You snicker. “Are you ok-”

“Do you wanna go out?”

Your breath catches. “...what?”

“With me. Now. Or- Or in like five minutes when you’re off. Unless you have to stay late tonight because the place is a mess. I can wait around though. Or we can go another day I just-”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

“I-...” Eren sighs, but he finds a way to smile through his embarrassment. “Don’t laugh you’ll-... you’ll hurt my ego.”

So you don’t laugh.

Instead, you say yes.

*****

You have a casual first date, just dinner at a local pub.

Your second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth date (although you start losing count towards the end) pass just as casually.

It’s comfortable. Relaxing. There’s no overly awkward tension between the two of you and you slip into a natural rhythm.

Your first kiss is in the park on campus.

You bring him day-old donuts any chance you get.

You meet his best friends and they quickly become your best friends too.

A year passes, you say “I love you”.

Another year passes, you both graduate.

By the third year you’re dating, you move in together.

By the fourth, you can’t imagine life without him.

And by the fifth year you’re dating, you have a feeling that it’s for life.

“Think he’ll propose?” Mikasa’s staticky voice comes through the speaker of your phone. You press said phone harder against your ear out of the embarrassment that Eren might somehow hear you from the kitchen. 

“I- I dunno. Maybe.” You answer, nervously nibbling your bottom lip as you watch your boyfriend from over the back of the couch. He’s in the kitchen making dinner. Shirtless, because he’s an idiot that doesn’t care about getting hot chicken oil on his chest.

‘Sluts can’t get third-degree burns, babe.’ He always tells you.

‘Then commit to the bit and lose the pants too.’ You always joke back.

He doesn’t, for the record. Apparently, he’s okay with hot oil on his tiddies, but his dick and balls are a different story.

“Would you say yes?” Mikasa’s voice cuts through your thoughts. 

You let out a short laugh. “Obviously.”

“Maybe he’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Pfft, that’d be tacky. Tomorrow is Niccolo’s big day, not ours.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s right.” You can hear Mikasa’s yawn through the phone.

“You sound exhausted,” you tell her, “don’t you have to get up early to catch your flight?”

“Yeah, but my hotel is lonely.”

You laugh. “Wanna talk to Eren before bed?”

“Sure. He’ll get mad if I don’t.”

You pull the phone away from your ear. “Eren!” You hold out the phone to him. “Mikasa wants to say goodnight.”

“Can you come stir?” He asks.

You pull yourself off the couch and step up to him in the kitchen, trading him your phone for the spatula. 

He kisses your cheek before pressing the phone to his ear.

“Okay, so did you see the new episode?” He asks as he walks into the living room. “NO FUCKING WAY YOU DID NOT CALL IT!!”

You roll your eyes as the two of them start their passionate back and forth about the latest episode of whatever show they’re both watching.

*****

That night, after a plate of spaghetti, a shared bottle of wine, and a decent amount of time doing R-rated activities that start in the living room but finish in the bedroom; you end up with your arms around Eren’s waist and your face buried between his bare shoulders.

He likes to be the little spoon, even though he’ll deny it to your friends.

But you don’t mind. It means you can pinch his nipples if he says something sassy before falling asleep.

You smile and nuzzle your face into his back.

He smells like Eren.

Nothing distinct about it that you can put a name to.

It’s just Eren and you love it.

You smile as you think about how perfect your life is. Your career is going well, you have an apartment with an amazing view, and you’re dating the love of your life. 

You wouldn’t change a single thing.

“I love you.” You mumble before placing a kiss on Eren’s shoulder.

“...that’s so fucking gay…” He mumbles back.

He yelps when you pinch his nipple, but afterward, he laughs.

Afterwards, he grabs your hand in his (mostly to keep his nipples safe from continued attacks) and pulls it up to his lips.

He kisses the back of your hand firmly.

Then softly.

Then firmly again.

“Love you too,” Eren tells you.

And the lights don’t need to be on for you to know that he’s smiling. 

You just know he is, because you’re smiling too. 

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

@misses-fukuzawa

🛏️ Katai uses his knowledge on electronic and software to update your and BSD Cast's phones. Now you have a phone with customize antivirus, VPN, Apps, with a lot of free space.

🦝🦝 Karl is extremely intelligent raccoon. He will immediately pick up on important habits of yours and will assist you with them. He would bring you anything you need even before you ask for it. And, if the situation calls for it, he will become an incredible service animal after one training.

🕵🏻 Ranpo tried to bake for you, Fukuzawa and him something one time. It didn't end up in disaster, but it also didn't go well. While the baked part was almost tasteless, the frosting and topping were incredible. After that, you started two traditions. First, every two weeks you, Ranpo and Fukuzawa are going to a café and have some cake and sweets. Second, Ranpo now is the one who arranges dessert plates.

[writingquestionsanswered]

I often come up with ideas or scenes that seem like a perfect fit for my story, but I’m not able to write them down. By the time I am able to write it down, I’ve forgotten it, and what I do remember lacks that spark that had me so excited in the first place.

Do you have any tips for remembering/keeping ideas fresh in your mind?

Keeping Ideas Fresh in Your Mind

This is the age old struggle for writers... you'll always get your best ideas when you're driving, showering, having a cavity filled, or waiting for a funeral to start.

Sadly, there's just really not a lot you can do about it, and how much you can do depends on the situation and what's available to you. If you're able to focus on the idea long enough to repeat it several times in your head, you're going to have a better chance of remembering it later. And there are some memorization techniques I'll share in a minute that can help with that. However, if you're doing something that requires your full attention--like listening to a lecture in class or paying attention to a customer's concerns, you obviously can't do that. And in that case, the best thing you can do is write the idea down as soon as you possibly can. Even if you just write down a snippet every second you can, that's better than nothing.

If you're driving home, cleaning, making dinner, bathing your kids, or something else that allows you to use a phone app while you're doing something else, you might look for an audio note taking app. You could even video yourself talking about the idea if all else failed.

Another option would be to call a trusted friend or family member who might have a few minutes free to jot the idea down for you and e-mail or text it to you.

Some memorization techniques to try if you have the ability to focus on the idea for a few minutes:

-- repeat the idea several times -- break the idea down into key points that are easier to remember -- turn your idea into an "elevator pitch" -- turn the idea into a song -- use a mnemonic -- cast the characters with favorite actors and imagine the scene playing out on TV or in a movie

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

Please allow up to two weeks for a response. ♥

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

I've been thinking about the fandom for The Arcana, and I have come to the conclusion that it's weird as hell. In my 20+ years participating in online fandom spaces, I've never seen a fandom quite like this one. I've seen drama, sure, but the core of most fandoms is a large community of people who love the same media and come together to celebrate it.

The Arcana fandom is not like that. From the very beginning we're more fractured, more factional, more fragile than most. You just have to look around at all the posts lamenting the death of the fandom every 2 weeks to see that something is really wrong here.

And I think a lot of it has to do with the nature of the canon. I am not saying this to criticize The Arcana, the devs, Dorian, or my fellow fans. I have just noticed that, as a piece of media, this game occupies a very unique space that is reflected in the way its fans interact with canon and with each other.

Welcome to the TED talk ain't none of y'all asked for.

Part of what makes this fandom unique is the evolution of fandom as a whole in the face of new types of media. As gaming becomes more mainstream and games themselves become more complex, the way we engage has necessarily changed in response.

Books/ movies/ shows are slightly more static in terms of canon than video games; canon is what it is and how you interact with what is there is largely to do with who you are. Everyone has the same base material to engage with, and that results in a certain amount of constancy. You can't interact with The Princess Bride in a way that changes the movie, only in ways that change your own perception. There isn't a whole lot of room for OCs without rewriting canon, so fans tend to consume OC-based fiction and art with the assumption that it's likely to be self-insert wish fulfillment fantasy time. That isn't always true, but there is a reason the term Mary Sue was coined.

Otome games and other choice-based video games make a very different fan environment, because the way you interact with canon is completely different. You have to build a character in order to interact with the story, and your choices directly impact your experience of canon.

But most western choice-based games are in the context of a larger RPG universe, e.g. Fallout or Dragon Age. There is a lot more to the story than the romance plot and so there's a lot more world to experience, contextualize, and build upon. There's certainly plenty of unhinged ShepxGarrus erotica, but there's also an abundance of fanworks that engage with the plot, the worldbuilding, and the canon characters with relatively little of the player's character needing to be on the page at all.

By contrast, most otome games that make it to English-speaking fandom spaces are Japanese. The romance is the point, but we also start from a place of wariness of our fellow fans. Because there's a huge difference between "harmless weeb" and "orientalist fetishizing creepo," and you know going in that both ends of the spectrum are possible, there is an amount of caution. We curate our space, looking for the creators who align with our expectations and values before we ever begin to interact.

The Arcana falls in a very unique and odd space because it is an otome, but made by Americans, with an attempt at a diverse fantasy cast. It's intended to be for American/ English-speaking audiences and is marketed as such. But making a romance game in America is challenging. Our way of approaching online media, especially smartphone-accessible media, is super fucked up, right? We are constantly trapped between the dichotomies of moral duty (Must Protect The Children) versus appealing to the customer base (Boom Anime Babes with Tig Ol Bitties). Because this is a mobile game, the developers can't make money if the game is removed from the app store, so they want it to be rated teen at the most. But the enticing bit, the thing that captures a potential fan's attention, is the flirtation and sexy implications. So from the jump they're in a weird space purely because they chose to make a mobile game instead of an indie video game released on Steam or similar.

So now you have an inherently split audience: mature adults who know they're getting into a potentially explicit romance game, and young adults/teens who have grown up in a more insulated internet culture where normal words are replaced with Orwellian doublespeak, like "unalive" and "spicy time".

THEN you add in the fact that the developers tried to build a diverse fantasy world, which is a fantastic idea both from an inclusionary standpoint and a broader audience standpoint. But because they didn't employ any actual sensitivity readers (did they think they didn't need them because fantasy can't have racism? Did they justify it as not being in the budget? Would love to know what's going on there) they fell right into a lot of the classic traps. We've been over these time and again, so I won't get into them here. Suffice to say, there has been Discourse. The presence of those issues means that more experienced fans will see those things and call them out, and that criticism causes even more of a split: the zealous apologists versus the critics. And critics can fall into two further categories: those who love the canon and want to see it do better, and the bitches who just love having something to bitch about.

Unfortunately, this combination means that there are inherently factions to this fandom, with staunchly opposed approaches to the media. So even before you enter a fandom space, it's already wildly fractured simply because of the nature of base canon.

THEN add to that the fact that this game is a dating sim. And to engage with a dating sim, you have to build a character and make choices based on that character. Some people will approach this work as storytelling, and some will approach it as an escapist expression of self. Neither of these ways of engaging with canon is wrong. Enjoying a dating sim as Me But Better is fun and completely valid! Engaging with a dating sim as a storyteller collaborating with the developers is fun and completely valid! But the two approaches are opposed in purpose, and that can make it difficult for the two types of fans to engage with one another's work.

Storytellers will well and truly invest in building a character. They may even build out communities, countries, cultures, and languages to make their world all the richer. They are investing hours of blood, sweat, and tears into Their Craft, pouring themselves into an opus of quality fanwork. Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to big feelings. Fan artists and writers may feel underappreciated if all they get out of their hard work is 2 likes and a gif of a wolf making AWOOGA eyes. They may feel that critique of their work is unwarranted, or that there's no point creating if no one will engage.

The romantics will engage with canon and fanwork from the perspective that "this is my fantasy romance time". Their OC isn't so much Original Character as Optimized Characteristics--that is, their perfect self. They are here for wish fulfillment fun times in the relative privacy and anonymity of the internet, and good for them! But that may mean that criticism of canon or their fan work feels excessively personal--it is very hard to detach the ego from the OC when that OC is a projection of your best self. They may view any critique as a personal attack as opposed to a good-faith attempt at engagement or conversation. This can lead to defensiveness, or to leaving the fandom outright if it feels too hostile.

Unfortunately all of these factions cause rifts in the community. This sometimes turns into fandom vigilantism, where people begin to see any fan who doesn't wholeheartedly agree with them as an enemy. I've seen friends experience bullying and cruelty over their OCs and their art. I've seen predators use the isolated nature of the fandom to further isolate and prey upon already vulnerable individuals. I've seen some really shitty stuff.

But I have also seen beautiful community flourish. I've made friends who feel more like family than my actual relatives. I've seen people work through struggles and overcome deliberate attempts to tear us apart, finding forgiveness and friendship along the way. I've seen myself and others grow because of the community and inspiration we found here. And I saw all of that because I found my people. And I hope, Arcana fandom, that the rest of you can find your people too.

[rainbowmothed]

︵︵ MISC. HAZBIN HOTEL HEADCANONS

╰ ⋯ ➢ just some random hcs i thought of off the top of my head!! ♡ as always, reblogs and likes appreciated! includes both main cast and heaven hcs. :3

𝜚 ₎ MAIN CAST HCS

Vaggie says stuff like “rad,” “dude,” etcetera unironically and definitely gets made fun of for it. Mostly by Cherri and Angel– Pentious says it is ‘hashtag trending awesome sauce.’

Vaggie sets 6 alarms in the morning, all with custom minute intervals between the snooze alarms to make SURE she doesn't sleep through it. Charlie doesn't mind, though, mainly because she wakes up at four in the morning to work on projects anyway.

Charlie has made playlists for everyone in the hotel on hell's equivalent of spotify; Vaggie's is the most well thought out, but they all describe them very well. Alastor never listens to it due to his dislike for modern technology/apps, but he appreciates it– or at least acts like he does– nonetheless.

Charlie definitely rides on Alastor's shoulders like a little kid bro IDC WHAT U SAY

Vaggie has cried ONCE in front of the rest of the hotel after being genuinely dogged on repeatedly on one of the worst days of her life, and they all just stared at her in shock. They hate on her so much because it never impacts her– or so they think so, because Vaggie always shrugs it off. They refuse to talk about it.

Vaggie's spice tolerance is unmatched.

Each night, Charlie visits Pentious’ memorial and wraps a weighted blanket around it, saying that maybe it'd remind him of the Egg Bois and the way they snuggled around him in the afterlife.

Vaggie is a huge Hunger Games fan. 90% of her personality derives from Katniss Everdeen.

Adding onto the last one, if Charlie and Vaggie were to have a child, I feel like it'd have the personality of Lucy Gray Baird.

Niffty definitely writes strange fanfiction. Also has BL as her header on the Hell's equivalent of Twitter. She's a little twisted, but we love her.

Cherri is an absolute menace. That is the best word to describe her.

Angel and Cherri did the “screaming in public restrooms” prank once.

Everyone assumed Charlie was mid-20s until she dropped the bomb that she's over 200 years old. They were all flabbergasted (minus Vaggie, who already knew. Angel also called her a “gilf lover.”)

Angel asked Vaggie about her body count once to tick her off, and she answered “around 1,000 or so, roughly estimated,” thinking he meant kill count. Charlie was shook.

Vaggie is a Paramore, Flyleaf, Evanescence, etcetera fan. Proud listener to 2000s emo girl music.

Charlie's guilty pleasure is punk/metal/rock music. She says she only listens to “Taylor Swift and musicals,” but she has a hidden playlist with KORN, PTV, and all of those bands on it.

Angel wakes Husk up by blasting Ayesha Erotica songs into his ear occasionally since Husk is a heavy sleeper and refuses to get up sometimes.

Pentious calls himself a “semi-proud father of the Egg Bois.”

Charlie ran a hate page about Katie Killjoy. She has since moved on from it... probably.

𝜚 ₎ HEAVEN HCS

Vaggie definitely played about 100 sports back in Heaven. Fencing, soccer, and, bare with me here, she definitely did ballet. She refuses to admit so, however.

The exorcists actually aren't brought into the world as adults. Instead, they're raised by volunteer parents of Heaven their entire lives, starting fighting training at age 6 or so. They claim that “children's brains are easier to mold.” Basically, they're taught to be murder weapons from a very, very young age. It's also instinctive, but it's the training that truly brings it out.

Each exterminator is based on a different bird breed, but the most common are eagles, falcons, hawks, and generally predatory avians.

The Exterminators are also very fast flyers, and they establish the quickest flyers through racing. Vaggie was formerly the fastest until she was cast down to Hell. Now, the fastest is Lute.

Adam also referees these races, and instead of a gun or whistle to start them off, he uses his guitar.

[witch--tips]

🪐 WITCH TIP 🪐

(this is one post in a mini-series about witchy apps i use)

In my craft, I like to use planetary hours. Partly because it feels like a nice boost to my spells when I do them in the hour of the planet with corresponding… correspondences, lol, and partly because I have executive dysfunction and putting a time limit on when to start or finish a spell by helps me out a lot!!

Planetaro is the app I’m gonna talk about in this post, because its main function is about what planetary hour we’re in! Now, I could always google it and search for a good website, but there’s a reason I like to use this app instead.

If you’re interested in using planetary hours but don’t know what each planet represents, you can flip a switch in settings so it’ll tell you the planet’s correspondences

It has widgets. Yes, yes, widgets again, I love them a lot. Home screen and lock screen! The widgets I use from this app not only tell me what planetary hour we’re in and when it started and will stop, but also the sun rise and set, the planet that rules the current day, and the order of what planets will rule the next few hours!

AND, listen here guys: you can choose the color of most of the widgets, AND the app itself. I appreciate this so much lol, since I love to keep a certain color scheme on my phone. It offers a custom gradient, but you can also just make both colors the same if you want a solid color.

All the info I listed in the second bullet point is also in-app, ofc.

It tells you the planetary hours of the whole day in-app, and for any other day you choose! You can go in the calendar and pick a day if you want to plan ahead, or if your curious about what it was during a spell you casted already.

You can turn on notifications for when the planetary hour changes/when the hour is ruled by a specific planet. I’ve used this so that I’d get a notif when I should start a spell or blow out a candle or smth

It also gives you tips of good things to do based on the planetary hour, and I don’t just mean magical. I personally don’t use this feature, but it could be fun!!

This app is entirely free aside from a few widgets that you’d have to purchase—but there are other free widgets with the same amount of info on them anyway!

Yeah I can’t think of any downsides for this app. It’s great! I’m very glad I found it!

This is the app on iphone! Again, idk if its on other devices.

Hope this helps out someone else as much as it has me, or inspired someone to try out using planetary hours in their craft!

[anqelblccm]

⊹˳⁺ ⠀⠀⠀ ALBUM INCLUSIONS FOR — DO WE MEET AGAIN IN DREAMS ?  

in each version of HERO's album, DO WE MEET AGAIN IN DREAMS? — NIGHTFALL, ECLIPSE, and AURORA—distinctive elements are incorporated to enrich the listening experience and deepen the thematic exploration of the music.

NIGHTFALL VERSION.

⠀⠀⠀ i.1 — flashlight with special projection

when  activated,  the  flashlight  projects  symbols  and  imagery  from  the  album  onto  surfaces.  the  symbols  projected  by  the  flashlight  are  chosen  to  represent  key  themes,  motifs,  and  imagery  from  the  NIGHTFALL  version.  the  flashlight's  main  points  are  the  woods,  stars,  and  melting  snow.

⠀⠀⠀ i.2 — compass

completely  functional,  the  compass  serves  as  a  powerful  and  symbolic  tool,  guiding  listeners  through  the  dark  and  mysterious  journey  depicted  in  the  album.  featuring  a  crescent  moon  as  the  indicator,  the  compass'  navigations  are  glow-in-the-dark  to  fit  the  NIGHTFALL  version  of  the  album.

⠀⠀⠀ i.3 — glow-in-the-dark pin

a  glow-in-the-dark  pin,  featuring  a  striking  design  of  stars  and  melted  snow  silhouetted  against  a  crescent  moon.  it's  crafted  from  high-quality  metal,  with  portions  of  the  design  coated  in  a  special  glow-in-the-dark  material.  when  exposed  to  light,  these  elements  absorb  energy  and  emit  a  subtle,  ethereal  glow  in  low-light  conditions  reminiscent  of  a  moonlit  night.

ECLIPSE VERSION.

⠀⠀⠀ i.1 — custom-designed necklace

this  necklace  features  a  stunning  pendant  designed  to  resemble  a  solar  eclipse.  it  is  crafted  from  high-quality  stainless  steel  and  is  intricately  detailed.  the  necklace  is  presented  in  a  sleek,  ECLIPSE  VERSION-branded  jewellery  box,  complete  with  a  velvet  lining  and  a  card  explaining  the  significance  of  the  eclipse  symbol  in  relation  to  the  album's  themes.  each  ECLIPSE-themed  necklace  comes  with  a  unique  code  that  grants  access  to  exclusive  content  on  the  DREAMSCAPE  by  HERO  app. by  scanning  the  code,  fans  can  unlock  behind-the-scenes  footage,  interactive  experiences,  and  bonus  tracks  related  to  the  ECLIPSE  VERSION  of  the  album.

⠀⠀⠀ i.2 — collector's tarot cards

the  artwork  for  each  card  is  intricately  detailed,  with  rich  colours  and  textures  that  bring  the  album's  mystical  world  to  life.  the  illustrations  are  rendered  in  a  style  reminiscent  of  classic  tarot  imagery  but  with  a  modern  twist  that  reflects  the  album's  contemporary  themes.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ — THE MAGICIAN : features  HERO's  silhouette  standing  amidst  the  shadows  of  the  forest,  surrounded  by  swirling  mist  and  illuminated  only  by  the  soft  glow  of  moonlight.  he  holds  a  candle  in  one  hand  while  the  other  gestures  towards  the  night  sky.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ — THE MOON : features HERO's silhouette standing at the edge of a dark, reflective pool, his reflection distorted by ripples on the surface. the moon hangs low in the sky, casting an otherworldly glow on the landscape. wolves gather at the water's edge, their eyes glowing with an eerie light.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ — THE SUN : features HERO's silhouette walking towards a sunrise. behind him, the enchanted forest is in full bloom, bathed in golden light. birds soar overhead, and a gentle breeze stirs the leaves.

⠀⠀⠀ i.3 — fold-out map

printed on high-quality paper, it measures approximately 60 cm by 45 cm when fully unfolded, allowing fans to immerse themselves in the fantastical world depicted within the album.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ — THE ANCIENT TREE : positioned prominently at the heart of the forest, THE ANCIENT TREE is depicted with intricate details, its gnarled branches reaching towards the sky. this is where HERO encounters the ORACLE, a pivotal moment in his journey of self-discovery.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ — THE CLIFF'S EDGE : toward the edge of the map, a precipice overlooks a vast expanse of wilderness. this is where HERO stands at the conclusion of his journey, gazing out towards the sunrise and embracing the dawn of a new beginning.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ — THE CLEARING : a serene clearing bathed in golden light, where memories of HERO's past are depicted in spectral images hovering above the ground. this represents a space of introspection and reflection for HERO as he confronts his inner demons.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ — THE DARK FOREST : surrounding the key locations are the dense, shadowy depths of the DARK FOREST, home to the mysterious wolves and the challenges HERO must face along his journey.

scattered throughout the map are subtle clues and hidden messages, inviting fans to explore and uncover additional layers of the story. using HERO's app, DREAMSCAPE, fans can scan specific sections of the map to unlock augmented reality experiences. for example, scanning THE ANCIENT TREE reveals a 3D animation of HERO's encounter with the ORACLE, adding an interactive dimension to the storytelling.

AURORA VERSION.

⠀⠀⠀ i.1 — hope lantern

the HOPE LANTERN included in HERO's AURORA VERSION is a beautifully crafted and symbolic addition to the album experience. designed with intricate details and exquisite craftsmanship, this lantern serves as a tangible representation of hope and new beginnings, echoing the themes present throughout HERO's music. its compact size allows for versatile placement, whether displayed prominently on a shelf or used as a bedside night light to bring a comforting glow to the room.

⠀⠀⠀ i.2 — pop-up photo book

crafted with meticulous attention to detail and artistic flair, the photo book is a multi-dimensional journey through the music and imagery of DO WE MEET AGAIN IN DREAMS?. upon opening the book, fans are greeted with a series of pages adorned with vibrant photographs and illustrations, each meticulously crafted to capture the essence of HERO's music and the themes explored in the album. the pop-up photo book invites fans to immerse themselves in the world of HERO's music, offering a unique and unforgettable experience that deepens their connection to the album and its themes.

⠀⠀⠀ i.3 — ar experience

DREAMSCAPE by HERO is an immersive augmented reality app designed to enhance the experience of HERO's album. utilizing the latest AR technology, the app brings the album's mystical elements to life, allowing fans to explore a virtual night sky, discover hidden messages, and listen to exclusive stories narrated by HERO.

TELL US YOUR FAVOURITE VERSION !

[mephopheles]

yo! The sonic rumble beta is officially out and i want to share some info here about it! (Mostly locker/avatar related for THIS post.)

okay so! Theres afew basic things i wanna get out of the way!

•stuff we get in the beta does NOT transfer over to when the games officially out

•despite this, a battlepass esc system is in the game/will be im the game, which has tiers for skins, emotes, etc.

•The game at the moment has a small cast of characters with afew alt skins! Such as a riders amy skin, rouges tmosth skin…and that very unique zavok (shouldve been mephiles instead/j)

•For some reason blaze got cut from the beta..sorry blaze

•Theres also chao that can be earned! Theyre rather cute!

•Theres emotes, stickers, and etc. even cute trail paths!

•For more minor things; yes we can have custom names. The defult sonic icon next to said names CAN be changed but currently only afew pfp icons exist.

———

And thats it for day ONE of the beta at the moment! Ill post more gameplay related stuff later on as its 9pm for me right now. Note; stuff is presented to change as the beta goes on. Ill be sure to update more on it when im able too, until then i hope this makes people excited for this surprisingly smooth running app hah!

[history-detective]

BlackStar ~Theater Starless translation

Season 1 – Episode 9 (Last Chapter):

Chapter 1 - (A) Side Story = True hope is far away

(Taiga, MC)

Taiga: Wait a minute, this is a lie. It's too serious.

Unei: Even if you say that~! This is the only computer I have.

Taiga: The way it is used is lame, awesome. It doesn't match the specs. Boo, failed-!

Unei: Unnn :(

MC: Um, Taiga, you don't have to say that much.....

Taiga: Ah, soz, it just got heated. It was so crazy that I couldn't contain it, so here it is.

Taiga: As an apology, could I customise to make it easier to use Unei?

Unei: Ye...Yes! Of course!

Taiga: Thx. Geheh.

**Taiga fiddles with the PC off screen**

Taiga: Let's delete the bad apps and change the parts. It's cute, I'll raise it the way I like it....

Unei: Spooky. It's kind of scary.....

MC: (It's hard to comment.....).

Unei: ......Oh, I have a job sorting goods.

MC: Shall I help you?

Unei: Is that okay? Please! I'd like to check on the penlight's inventory.

Unei: Ah, this is the box. Please count the stock.

MC: I understand.

Unei: Actually, I would like to increase the variety of goods, but considering costs and inventory management, that's not possible.

Unei: Well this is the newly ordered one for Zakuro, and that one is for Mizuki....

Unei: .....Ha.

MC: What's wrong? You sighed.

Unei: The other day, Mizuki and Maica got into an argument in the hallway.

Unei: Also, Kokuyou and Rindou seem to be on edge.....

Unei: The cast of Starless are so excited that I'm a little scared.

Taiga: Ah- I saw it too-. Isn't it a failure when the team falls apart?

Unei: I kind of think so too.

Unei: It's true that we've had some trouble before, but I don't think it's been this tense.

Unei: Also, the president has a tendency to get angry and yells all the time......

MC: Unei..........it's tough.

Unei: I'm worried that the customers will see it. Wouldn't it be bad if someone saw us having a serious argument?

Unei: When you come, I feel like everyone will refrain from being so nervous.

MC: (When I'm not around, they get along quite well....).

MC: I hope the customers don't see it. Some people may feel sad.

**Taiga appears again**

Taiga: But- first when you say customers, isn't MC also a customer?

Unei: Ah! .........that's.....I'm sorry.

Unei: Oh. I'm really stupid. I have to do better.

Unei: First of all, I have to make sure I don't show you anything that isn't appealing to you.

MC: But, I know the situation. It's better to complain if you can.

Unei: I was really complaining, but I was able to let it out, which made it easier.

Unei: There are things I can even do to not make you sad.

Unei: MC, I'll do my best!

**claps from Taiga**

Taiga: Wah~ that's what youth is, right-.

Unei: Hey, please stop attacking me like you aren't interested~.

To be continued.....

DISCLAIMER – This is not an accurate translation! Please do not steal. Please let me know of any corrections and what I translated wrong- I may have just written what I think works best, but if you think otherwise, let me know. :)