#geminating

[hjartasalt]

Two cats I met while strolling through Tallin, thought you might appreciate them :)

I do!! I do appreciate them!!!! The tuxedo one even looks a bit like my Gríma :')

[shprimpstersthesecond]

New hyperfixation s just dropped 🗣️

[safiredreams]

🌻 Astro Notes X 🌻

People with Venus conjunct the Midheaven can get a lot of other people coming to them for beauty advice

There can sometimes be an overload of optimism in Jupiter or Sagittarius heavy people, an unwillingness to suffer in the moment and see a vision for a bright and amazing future is ever present, but an inability to live life in the moment can also hinder the individual

Gemini IC people often move around a lot in their lives, settling down into one place is not usual for these souls, in childhood there could have been many places that they called home or moving frequently was common

Lilith in the 3rd house person can experience the feeling of being demonized whenever they express their ideas or truths

Aries Ascendant people are colored by a willful and assertive nature, they live according to their own desires and instincts, rarely stopping to listen to what another person has to say about their pursuits

People with the Sun in the 2nd house can often achieve a sense of self-worth through having a secure and perhaps vast material security

Often I see women with a 9th house Mars be attracted to foreign men

Saturn in the 8th house people can have a serious and somber outlook on sex, they can also feel insecure and have a sense of inadequacy when it comes to the expression of their sexuality

Uranus in the 1st house and Aquarius Ascendant people may lose and gain weight quite fast. The Uranian energy is swift when it comes to change.

When the Ascendant moves from one sign to another in the Progressed Chart often our worldview takes on a different tone and so does our approach to it. If the Ascendant moves from Aries to Taurus we may become more sensual, our movements might even slow down, we might start taking more pleasure through our five senses

[drakkensystem]

My take on the interview advertised on the cover of @tangledinink 's 5kdtiys

I had an opportunity to sit down with Battle Nexus reigning champs, Gemini. Undefeated for the past 4 years, with easily over a thousand victories under their belt, Gemini are the twin kappa sons of Big Mama herself.

We start the interview with all of the usual niceties, and then I get down to brass tacks

Hidden City Beat: So, to make this easier for our readers, is there something I can call each of you as I'm writing up this interview?

Gemini: Blue and Purple respectively is fine.

HCB: Like the colors you wear in the arena?

Purple: gives me a flat stare

Blue: Yes, exactly! He chuckles

HCB: So can we assume that blue and purple are your favorite colors?

B: Yep, that's why we always wear them. That, and, well, we like to match. He winks

HCB: I chuckle politely

HCB: So, I gotta ask, the question everyone wants to know: how does one become a Battle Nexus Champion?

P: looks at me evenly Practice and hard work

B: Blue smirks at me charmingly Good genetics, and good looks don't hurt either. He leans back coyly, hands behind his head and one eye half closed

HCB: And of course, I gotta ask this one for all of the love-sick fellas and ladies at home: anyone special in your life? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Other?

P: gives me a blank flat stare

B: chuckles nonchalantly Nah, my bro and I are too busy focused on being the most badass yokai in the Hidden City. Besides, he looks over to Purple affectionately We're all the other needs.

P: his face softens a little and he nods confirmation

B: looks back to me with a sly grin Though, I wouldn't say no to some no strings attached fun every now and again.

HCB:Do you mind if I ask- what is your sex life like? Do you prefer the men or the ladies….?

B: winks at me playfully A true gentleman doesn't kiss and tell, but I will say this: I've never been great at making decisions.

HCB: So does that mean you swing both ways?

B: winks playfully with a finger on his lips

HCB: I chuckle Alright, I'll leave that line of questioning alone.

HCB: My next question is for Purple specifically.

HCB: Sometimes you have some kind of armor. What's that about?

Blue stiffens momentarily but Purple sits up straighter and looks excitedly in my direction.

P: You'd like to know about my battle shell?

HCB: I incline my head in his direction Is that what it's called?

P: Purple fists his hands in his lap, but his eyes are dancing with delight. Yes! The Battle Shell, current version 3.2.0 is a lightweight, technologically advanced body armor of my own design.

HCB: You made it yourself?

Purple beams while Blue looks faintly bored of this conversation

P: Yes! Everything from the design to the fabrication of the materials and assembly was done by yours truly. Purple puts a hand on his chest proudly

HCB: You said it is technologically advanced. Would you care to elaborate?

P: I thought you'd never ask! I used an enchanted titanium alloy to make it as durable and lightweight as possible, not to mention easy to clean blood off, of course.

HCB: I chuckle Of course! Does it have any special little features or goodies?

P:It has a lot of features! For example, I can use it to-

He's interrupted by his brother yawning loudly

B: Yeah, yeah, we get it Purple, you're a world class super genius, yada yada yada. Save some surprises for the ring, hmm?

P: Purple looks faintly annoyed but nods Right!

B: winks slyly If your readers want to know more about Purple's battleshell, they'll have to come watch us in the Arena!

HCB: Oh, speaking of, when is your next match?

B: Two days from now, on Tuesday September 5th, we open the day's entertainment with an exhibition match, then there is a mini tournament, the winners of whom we'll fight at the end of the day!

HCB: You heard it here, folks! Make sure to grab your tickets now, if you haven't already because I hear seats are going fast!

B: winks slyly I might even choose someone from the audience to celebrate our victory with afterwards…

HCB: You're so sure you'll win?

P: Purple snorts Please. As if anyone competing in the upcoming tournament stands a chance against us.

HCB: Well, I suppose we all will have to wait and see, though with your phenomenal record, I don't doubt it.

B: Unbroken record Blue gently corrects me

HCB: I chuckle good naturedly Of course, my mistake. Good luck out there, not that you two need it.

They both shake my hands and take their leave

Tickets to all Grand Battle Nexus Events, including the aforementioned matches with Gemini, can be purchased from Big Mama at her Grand Nexus Hotel.

[1dzodiac]

The signs as Louis Tomlinson and a pool table

Aries:

Taurus:

Gemini:

Cancer:

Leo:

Virgo:

Libra:

Scorpio:

Sagittarius:

Capricorn:

Aquarius:

Pisces:

[segretecose]

the english word pistachio is so funny they were like yeah we’ll borrow the entire word from italian but we draw the line at it having two Cs

[moistreicher]

Lies of P | Sleepy P

[kyomunosaki]

Geminism Trial, thoughts and observations

I just noticed Geminism's trial is out, so this will be a short post on my thoughts regarding it. I've been eagerly waiting for this game for a few years now, especially since I'm a massive fan of Sayonara wo Oshiete, and this brings back a ton of the staff from that era.

I've tagged some other games that are related / probably inspirations, so take that as you will if you're seeing this post randomly lol

Overall Thoughts: An amazing introduction to a game that I've been excited for, for a while now. The writing style in Japanese is absolutely amazing, unique and got me absolutely hooked, and the visual and sound direction are just phenomenal. I want to also note it has the best direction of presentation I've ever seen from a visual novel to date, with tons of cool cut-ins and effects. I cannot wait to experience the full version of this game.

There will be at least some minor spoilers with OOC screenshots and whatnot in the rest of this post, so keep that in mind if you read!

First thing I noticed was that the game is in Unity, so I wonder if it'll take advantage of effects and stuff at all? It makes sense for the CRAFTWORK staff that I know of to work in an engine like this though, since they have some wizards there.

I like that they open their eyes when you hover over the game button, this sort of presentation in VNs adds a lot since it's like the cover to a book or album, it gives something to the rest of the atmosphere that's hard to describe.

The settings screen is super neat, but also the "戦局" screen being there is super interesting. I think it's something like a TIPS page that some older ADVs have, so it serves as a reference as you read. I'm guessing who has what body part is going to be important throughout the work.

I also find it funny that Awasumi's voice is at 100% by default while the rest are like 60%, and I really wonder if that's because a certain famous someone voices him, who's using the pen name 杯瑠万花 (literally read as: Pile Bunker, I'm not joking)

The visual style reminds me a LOT of Ciconia, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a direct inspiration. The widescreen NVL format with the film grain + blurred backgrounds just screams that was an influence on this game.

The OP being called "twyndyllyngs ~Fuguai no Alice~" is kinda funny in mind with the last point too, since Ciconia draws a lot from TRianThology in turn as well.

The visual direction is indeed amazing, I haven't seen anything like this since going through some of Shumon Yuu's stuff ages ago. Should also be noted this game has proper scene jump as well, which is damn impressive to implement into Unity of all engines.

The writing style is actually really excellent overall, I love lines line this in particular. It's harder to read than say, SayoOshi though. It should be noted that it's getting an English release on the same day as the Japanese one too, so it's cool that it's going to be so accessible and something actually done by a first-party and not some underpaid localizer.

I just realized it's somewhat like Muramasa with the sprites, which is pretty funny when her main one looks so relaxed here.

And yeah, the writing is really damn good and funny so far. I've also realized the game is just mixed weirdly, which is why Sugita's character is 100% volume lol. He's doing a damn amazing job too, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was him if not for his voice PV which pointed out how obvious it was him with the lines they used.

The other 3 voice actors as well, Nakaya Shiho, Nakaya Naho and Sumeragi Mikado all do amazing jobs as well. I really like that the Nakayas chose their pen names to seem like siblings. Also it should be brought up that they do vocals for the OP, which I think is amazing.

It should probably also be stated that it's still 100% a CRAFTWORK game, so expect some extremely graphic and definitely triggering psychosexual content if you read this.

I can't get a pic that's as out of context as these, but the visual effects are pretty crazy. They definitely take advantage of having a more traditional game engine, which is pretty amazing since Unity is somewhat infamous in terms of VNs.

Another no pic thing but the choices are like Fallout 4, where it's just a truncated form of what you actually say, and I think that's kinda funny.

Excellent! I don't have much more to add at the end here, but if you got this far thanks for reading! I'm always looking for new JVN mutuals, especially anyone who reads stuff in Japanese, so please hit me up!

[epicdogymoment]

remembers a reddit comment thread where someone said that っ basically works as a glottal stop. and sighs.

[dailycharacteroption]

Geminate Invoker (Barbarian Archetype)

(art by PaleLonginus on DeviantArt)

The barbarian class has had an element of the supernatural in it as far back as Advanced Player’s Guide, with these warriors channeling their rage into the elements and invoking the shamanistic power of totem spirits.

Today, we’re going to look into an archetype that taps into that spiritualist side a bit more.

Tied to the Rivethun tradition of using one’s own transitional aspects to help bridge the gap between material and spiritual, the geminate invokers do not rage the way other barbarians do, instead entering a more tranquil trance and inviting spirits into their bodies, enhancing their reactions and deadening pain to avoid and endure much, as well as tapping into the power of those spirits in other, interesting ways.

Much like other Rivethun practitioners, these warriors are all in a state of between-ness. Some might be transgender or nonbinary. Others might be halfway between two worlds such as half-elves, half-orcs, any geniekin or planar scions, and other such states. However, while shamans use Rivethun practices in their magic, the power of these warriors ties more into the totems we are already familiar with in the barbarian class.

That’s right, this archetype plays with the totem rage powers in a way that the totem warrior “archetype” never did. (For those that are unaware, the totem warrior barbarian was an “archetype from APG back when the concept was introduced, and literally granted no different abilities whatsoever. It was just something you could tack on if you chose to take a totem rage power). So you can imagine my excitement in getting to delve into this topic today!

These invokers are a bit more cerebral than other barbarians, learning more skills. What’s more, their battle fury is focused less on the harm they can do, and more upon enduring and avoiding harm. They can even still use their cerebral skills in this state. However, they notably will not commit to a totem.

Additionally, these warriors can accept a haunt spirit into themselves to attempt to quell some or all of it’s fury, though this is not as efficient as when a medium does it.

The real meat of this path, however, comes when they begin to channel totem spirits when they enter their trance, effectively gaining a lesser totem power of their choice. However, they have trouble channeling spirits that are morally opposed to them, or those that would not be present in an area for whatever reason. Over time and mastery, they gain access to the greater abilities of the totem as well.

Being able to pick a totem each time you rage, treating those sets of rage powers like power suites is everything I wish the totem warrior archetype was back in the day, so I highly recommend this archetype if you wanna play around with those. However, the rage of these invokers grants no bonus to strength, so you’ll likely want to build for defense and tanking instead, and tailor you totem choice when you trance to the situation.

The geminate invoker is a perfect opportunity to explore the spirits associated with the various totems. What sort of beings are they? How does the warrior’s personality change when they invite them inside? The interactions they might have with the spirits can add a lot to the character.

Like all mustelidals, Blue Stripe is a tenacious warrior of an agathion that strikes hard against evil wherever they find it. However, what is interesting is that they do not wield their fists, but rather a large greatsword, and have a knack for speaking to nature spirits, perhaps a relic of their previous life, when they were a spiritual warrior.

Kazhao of the Tranquil Waters is a famed champion among merfolk, her skill with a trident unmatched. She even calls upon the spirits worshipped by her people to aid her, becoming ferocious and powerful in such a state.

Oten, a sun spirit, and Mani, a moon spirit, have a long history together, and they bicker constantly, much to the chagrin of Kuva, the invoker warrior who got saddled with both of them as their patron. Getting them to put aside their differences and work together is their constant struggle.

[hoshimiya]

[geminicblue]

So after much fighting with "is this worth it or not" and technical wrangling, Geminic Blue is open for submissions:

https://geminicblue.com/

Basically, if you have your own independent website for your creative works, and would like to do a link exchange (except I will also post updates about your work on my end if you'd like) come on over!

[fakeps5]

only like a month til geminism release who's ready to develop a brand new mental illness

[therunwayarchive]

Jesajah Gemin at Hermes, Spring 2022 Menswear

[nc-vb]

If Kaveh's star sign isn't Gemini or Cancer, I am going to be startled

[verraformer]

goofy little spectatik skin i made earlier today