#is located in which state?

[serpentface]

This was going to be a panel of a little comic but I got too invested in drawing minute background details so, here.

[vulpinesaint]

kind of unfortunate that so many fantasy epics are also war novels because i will be honest i just do not like war novels that much... the grand clashing of forces is compelling obviously but it requires characters to talk about so much practical battle strategy and while i can get my brain to comprehend all these fantasy maps and kingdoms and borders and battalions and front lines and army movements it takes up. so much space in the book. feels like i'm fighting a war of my own trying to get through it sometimes

[woodchipp]

I think there's a solid case to be made that what Sunny did actually constitutes murder as opposed to manslaughter.

First of all, it is essential to establish that Mari doesn't appear to have used any sort of physical force on him during their argument. Photo of a Fight itself is too blurry to see anything, but the caption, which would most likely note a detail as important, only says she blocked his way (by standing in front of him) and yelled at him. Therefore, the notion he acted in self-defense is invalid - unless Mari had a history of being abusive towards Sunny (which is not textually supported by the game), there is no reason for him to interpret her as a threat big enough to retaliate with physical force.

Secondly, the first point means there was nothing preventing Sunny from hiding in his room. This implies that his decision to get violent with Mari was conscious; moreover, Photo of an Argument implies said decision stemmed from him blaming Mari for his own pain and a petty desire to hurt her, as if doing so would alleviate it.

Finally, Photo of a Murder implies that Sunny seems to have been... unusually cognizant of the staircase behind Mari when he shoved her.

There is no "break" in the narration to convey Sunny shoved her in the heat of the moment without perceiving the stairs, like

Photo 1's caption: All of this is her fault! You shove her- Photo 2's caption: ...down the staircase.

and while this could be chalked up to the Doylist "Omocat is a shitty writer", it doesn't do Sunny any favors from a Watsonian perspective.

(with this in mind, "You lose all sense" almost feels like an excuse, both from Sunny and from the game itself. see, he totally didn't know what came over him, honest!)

The general definition of second-degree murder is "murder with malicious intent, but not premeditated." The mens rea (criminal intent) of the accused is "intent to kill, intent to cause serious bodily harm, or act with [...] reckless conduct lacking concern for human life." Since Sunny consciously chose to shove Mari down the stairs when another option was available to him and seems to have been entirely aware of what he was doing, he could be said to have acted with mailcious intent - specifically, intent to cause serious bodily harm. Alternatively, he could be said to have acted with reckless conduct lacking concern for Mari's life.

By definition, Sunny is a murderer. Guess there's a good reason Photo of a Murder is named as such, eh?

[made-my-peace-with-all-the-bad]

Wawa my beloved

[velvetjune]

the nursery rhyme puzzles might be one of my favorite parts of game. They’re one of the aspects of Saga’s storyline that early on introduce the FBC and the theme of fiction with reality that would be an entire case for her, and later a major source of conflict. All the whimsical poems and dolls that are soon revealed to have direct correlation to Saga and her worries. Is it all a coincidence? Was the act of making this art already affected by Saga’s role and that’s why some of the rhymes are personal? It adds to the mystery that’ll likely never be fully answered, and makes Saga and the player uneasy.

Then, the final doll!—the father that looks like a certain talk show host in the dark place, holding his child. Specifically contained away from any other dolls and the witchfinder’s station, but never given a reason why. Of course, there’s a creepy poem repeated over the station paralleling Saga’s life, but I love that it speaks of the father, Door, keeping an eye on and trying to protect the hero, Saga.

Naturally, Campbell, the annoying FBC researcher, was listening in and wanted to see Saga face the consequences of opening a threshold and seeing what comes through the “doorway.” Only for him to die (?) instead. Such a classic mad scientist ending; It’s comically funny after the haunting mystery of the station. While it could simply be him being sent or consumed by the Dark Place, the chance that it could be Mr. Door watching Campbell try to sabotage his daughter and opening a door for Campbell to face whatever Horrors of the dark place is. so good. What a conclusion to what seemed like a fairly nonsensical puzzle side quest.

[ar-reality360]

Oh no. Hoopa is filling the battle villa with doughnuts of unknown origin.

[sinkthoseshipspoll]

Would you believe, this was my first time ever seeing the Pacific Ocean?

I got the opportunity to go aboard this beauty on one of my days in California and honestly between the hype of rollercoasters (one of my hyper fixations, with me constantly talking about Arrow Dynamics like an old lover) and the delight I had doing laps around The Queen Mary? I’ve never had a more perfect and delightful experience ever in my life.

[bellstrung]

the bloodbathed battlefront of kremnos will forever be my favorite location in hsr

[serpentface]

Ok I have been repeatedly asked about maps and I cannot provide any that are anywhere NEAR up to date enough but I can provide this (still WIP and missing most of its lesser cities and virtually all of its towns LOL) map of the Wardi Empire.

(Note- don't take the exact paths of rivers and coastlines too seriously. The broad details are accurate but I'm mostly drawing squiggles here)

Key:

Red area: lands nominally claimed by Wardi imperial rule. It is less territorially contiguous than this map would suggest, but this is broadly accurate. Lavender area: lands of major tributary states/other conquered entities/contested areas (many all at once). Lands that are either self-governing but tributary to the surrounding empire, or heavily contested and in conflict against imperial land-grabbing. Light blue (within red/lavender boundary)- nominally claimed as Imperial Wardi land, but either largely wilderness or otherwise effectively self governing. Most of central Wardin is sparsely populated grassland and savannah, with dry scrubland to the south. Star: A central city-state Dot: A major city.

Key city-states:

Godsmouth - Religious center of Wardin, center of commerce and capital in all but name. Given its proximity to the entrance of the inner sea, it is the most critical port and center of trade.

Wardin- the original city-state from which the Wardi empire emerged. 'Wardin' is used interchangeably for this specific city-state and the empire itself, context depending. Home of the imperial family. Fed by agricultural lands around the Brilla river.

Jazait - city on the White Sea, important river trade route.

Erubinnos- city on the eastern White Sea, another important trade route. Close historical ties to Lobera via the Kannethod river.

Lobera- city-state at the head of the Kannethod River, eastern extent of the Wardi empire.

Erub- City-state along the Yellowtail river. It is currently experiencing a localized collapse due to catastrophically falling water levels.  Named for the same historical figure as Erubinnos and the Erubin river.

Ephennos- the breadbasket of the Wardi empire, key agricultural land.

Tiberrich- Bears a name of an ancient royal Dain king, one of the most culturally diverse city-states with populations hailing from around the Viper.

Finnerich - recently conquered tributary state that fell into civil war, its new leadership is hostile to the Wardi Empire and is currently engaged in a protracted war for independence.

Some points of interest:

The White Sea- large sea to the south

The Viper- narrow inner sea to the north. its ends connect to the Inner Seas and the White Sea, its western tip ends about 55 miles from the ocean. Many have attempted and failed to bridge this gap with a canal, to the point that 'digging out the viper's tail' is a common expression that communicates an exercise in futility.

Sons of Creation - a strange, circular mountain range with a lake at its center and an island at the center of that. Believed to be the site of God’s sacrifice and the world’s creation. It is a prehistoric impact crater.

Jaquin’s Boot - a peninsula, claimed territory of the Wardi empire but functionally independent. The location of the sole native elowey population of the region. 

Yellowtail river: originates from two separate rivers in Greathill, and dies out in the central savannah. Seasonal and periodic flooding extends its length dramatically.

Kannethod river: the largest river in the region and the most sacred, defines most of the eastern borders. Key trade route.

Erubin river: the largest river in the Greathill region

Black river: large and densely populated river mostly fed by the Erubin

Cholemdi - ‘the salt wastes’, a great dry lake and surrounding salt flats. Some condemned criminals are sent here, and the whole land is believed to be haunted. 'Saltlanders' live on its borders. Very, very rarely, seasonal rains and flooding of the Yellowtail river refills the lake. 

Oaklands - largely undeveloped oak forests, source of a few major rivers.

Odatoche- The highest peak in the region, a long dormant volcano

Greathill - montane region. Source of several great rivers. Land of the Hill Tribes. 

The tooth - a peninsula in the waters of The Mouth. Contains a port city Od-Koto.

The Tongue- lower Godsmouth. 

[an--artistic--autistic]

my hard drive is defective and I was really stressed out for like 20 minutes but the company is able to replace it and try to recover everything and even covering the shipping costs to do it.

[that-darn-clown]

so. thought about something.

i know i've already got a Rewrite for Fnaf (that i adore), but...i thought of another way Fnaf could be rewritten that, in my opinion, would make it scarier and/or more dread inducing.

well...technically it's two things put together:

what if, instead of playing as a nightguard, you played as a child caught in the building after closing?

what if instead of the pizzerias all looking like they're still pretty decent (specifically looking at Fnaf 1 with this comment, considering that we know Somewhat Canonically it probably wasn't doing too great financially...like it's the smallest pizzeria and yet it still looks like a pretty popular place to take your kids. even though it doesn't seem like it would've been at that point), Fnaf 2 has the only pizzeria that still seems to be in its prime? the rest just look like liminal space looking places. think the way that the building looks in Fnaf 1 is similar to how it looks in that one fangame: the Graveyard Shift. like those vibes are what i'm going for.

like. let me set the scene for Fnaf 1, because i have the clearest image of the vibes for that game:

you are a child, likely no older than nine. for whatever unknown reason, you are left behind in an empty animatronic pizzeria place. it's clear that the animatronics are the most expensive thing here. the tables clearly reused from somewhere else, with their wear and tear being covered by confetti-patterned tablecloths. the chairs plastic, but colorful, with the fact that any adults can fit in them being a miracle. balloons decorate the place, but it's clear that they'll have to be replaced soon, given that some are sinking to the floor. confetti and streamers, as well as cups, puddles of soda and other various drinks, and even dropped pizza and cupcakes, litter the ground. the pizza is relatively decent. but it's the only place for kids to have fun that is affordable to your family.

there is an arcade, and it's the only place that feels relatively safe to you right now as you continue waiting, hoping that someone will come pick you up. the problem is that to get there, you'll have to pass by the Owner's Office....and you don't want to get in trouble for being here after closing; it's one of the rules, after all. but the place is still decently lit, and you've heard that people work here afterhours...you just need to wait for the nightguard, and then you can get out of here and head back home. you know the way, after all.

but as you explore around at night, you notice the animatronics moving. they don't hurt you...but once you get close enough to one of them, it makes an odd noise, almost seeming concerned that you're still here. then you hear something chilling, and something that seems to agitate the animatronic in front of you.

footsteps. shoes clicking against the tiled floor.

the animatronic stands defensively before you, and it gives you a clear indication that you need to hide. NOW.

and then you realize that this is what you've gotta do each night as you're here. hide. make sure you stay as undetectable as possible. the second you make a loud enough noise, you're in trouble, and will be the rest of the night. you hear someone approaching, and you've gotta constantly keep moving. as the nights go on, the "trigger sounds" become lesser and lesser. on the first two nights, the "trigger sound" has to be big, noticeable. slamming doors shut and knocking things over will get you noticed on night two. by night three, the sound of using doors, not even slamming them, will get you noticed. by night four, running will get you noticed. by night five, you better have learned how to sneak, and sneak well. regardless of the night, getting noticed by an animatronic is also counted as a "trigger sound," and the fact that the animatronics get more active, and thus are now easier to run into, does not help.

once a "trigger sound" has been made, you need to keep moving, and hide once you've gotten a good distance away from Him. hiding under tables, in dark rooms, in the bathrooms, even in the kitchen. but be warned, the more often you hide in a particular place, the more likely it is that He will check there first when you start hiding. don't screw yourself over.

darkness becomes more of a comfort to you than the light, though you do have the option of having a flashlight and turning on the lights in dark rooms. because even though it is easier to see things like hiding places and secrets in the dark, the presence of light makes it easier for you to be seen as well. so do you risk it? turning on a flashlight to see what lies in the shadowy corners of the building? turning on the lights in a dark room? knowing that you are also shining a beacon for your location?

the game includes a fear mechanic. the more fearful you are, the more your character shakes and trembles. it can cause you to trip, to drop whatever you're currently holding (which, depending on what you were holding, could make a loud noise), and to, seemingly, "hallucinate" things in the shadows. it is the only reason for light to be of use to you, to comfort your character.

you never see Him, the man pursuing you. you know it's the Owner, the only other person who would be in here before the Nightguard would be. but He is always in the shadows. whenever he is chasing the player, it's almost like they refuse to turn back to see him. if caught, all the player sees is the blur of where they have been grabbed and pulled back, and then a shrill, terrified scream. the "Game Over" screen just shows a missing poster, presumably of the protagonist. whether the child got killed or simply kidnapped is not clear. (but, considering it's Fnaf...i think the player could guess)

but, along with all of this, you discover secrets, mostly hidden in the shadows and rooms with cracks in the doors. missing posters with pictures of children, dated in the 80s. drawn pictures of crying children. newspaper clippings of events in the past of horrific circumstances surround Freddy's. the words "IT'S ME" scrawled on the walls as the desperate cries of the lost souls roaming the halls of Freddy's. in the shadows, animatronics appear to have blood covering their faces in the shadows, only for the blood to mysteriously disappear when light is shined on them.

the player has to survive all of this from 9:00 PM to midnight, waiting for the Nightguard to get there.

but those hours are gonna feel long to a young child. especially when they're scared for their life.

(tl;dr- Avoid Getting Caught By William Afton For Three Hours SImulator)

(like...think about it; part of the horror of Fnaf is the knowledge that there have been children murdered and shoved into suits, now haunting the halls of the pizzeria, looking for vengeance and freedom. wouldn't it technically be more terrifying to play as a young child, an outsider looking in, just trying to avoid Afton?? and if Freddy's looked more like an actual Chuck E. Cheese rip-off place? down to having cheap decorations and furniture?? Do You See My Vision???)

Holy shit why can I fucking hear this game in my head this is wild as shit

No kidding: this reminds me of this old place we used to go when I was little that I can barely find any mentions of online. It had two attractions: knock-offs of chuck e cheese skytubes and a rock climbing wall. I was too young for rock climbing, so I did the sky skytubes thing. I ADORED that place. It got shut down pretty quickly because, in retrospect, it was very unsafe.

But I was a very anxious child, and everywhere I would go, I would come up with a plan for if I got left behind after the place closed. So this concept feels like home to me <3

Note: upon further research of the place there is one in ohio?? Which I am not from???? And no mentions of a place where I'm from/near. Huh.

[outeremissary]

Happy to announce that due to Michigan posting Tumblr has decided to get rid of all the obnoxious ads and only show me ads for getting a job in Michigan. Thanks Tumblr I'll get right on that

[angeltism]

irl friends talking about roadtrips to the US for silly reasons but the thought of "haha. wouldn't it be so silly if we did that but took a stop to a very specific house in a very specific town/city in a very specific state. just for me for Reasons. wouldn't that be nice." would not leave my brain

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[onrainynights]

I'm about to be so annoying btw

[aropride]

ordered an uber today and his fun fact was that he’s a good driver and he showed up and there was a dent in the side of the car. Obsessed