#like a really neat little bit of worldbuilding

[irkendogma]

appreciation post for whatever this fucking thing is that they brought out to fix the massive in backseat drivers

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Magnetic Joe

Debut: Magnetic Joe

Well, what do you Magnetic Know! This is my friend Joe. He is magnetic.

Usually, I post about things here that I love so much, some of my favorite creatures in the pretend computer world! Joe... is not one of those. I do like Joe! I'm just not all that passionate about him. I played his game a bit like over ten years ago and that's it. But that's not a bad thing! I still think Magnetic Joe is a neat little fellow. And I will talk about him!

Magnetic Joe is like, sort of a platformer? There are platforms and blocks to navigate around, but Joe cannot jump. Instead he must activate his magnetism to attract himself toward metal plates in the environment, which will affect his direction of movement. These metal plates are everywhere, and I guess it is worldbuilding! They make this world accessible to Magnetic Orbs who can only navigate in this fashion. So I guess it's not a platformer, since you are not platforming. Just sort of Going through the level. Magnetic Joe is a Goer.

Would you do it? Would you magnetize Joe?

Yeah, I don't have much to say about Magnetic Joe. There's not really anywhere to play it these days, and not much more information about it. It's sad. But uhhh LOOK it's Magnetic Joe 2! He did well enough for himself to get a sequel, and he's brought all sorts of friends! Maybe regular Joe isn't your style. Maybe you would prefer Small Joe, or Girl Joe. If you're a mammal, surely you can relate to Hair Joe! I really like this image's perspective of Joe himself, too. He looks more earnest than ever. I would pick him up!

Joe has a secret. It is that he has secret floaty gloved hands! How whimsical of him! He will reveal them for special occasions, like when a thumbs-up is in order. You've earned it! You've also earned one of Joe's one-of-a-kind winks! They are so unique because he is not very good at winking, but he's trying.

Name: Magnetic Jack

Debut: Magnetic Jack: Save Joe

THIS IS NOT MAGNETIC JOE!!! This is an impostor, and not the fun kind! Do not trust him! I really mean that, for all I know this guy will give your device a virus or something. So sad that Magnetic Joe is now inaccessible, and all we have is Magnetic Jack. Magnetic Joe wants you to pick him up so you can give him a new perspective of the beautiful planet we live on. Magnetic Jack wants you to pick him up so he can bite you. Not the same! I'm not convinced he wants to save Joe at all. I bet it was Jack who put Joe in danger in the first place.

I miss Magnetic Joe. I'd like to play it again. I wish it was one of those weird old games that gets ported to everything, like Putty Squad. Have you played Magnetic Joe? I hope I can reach at least one person to whom Joe is a beloved and special little fellow!

What the hell is this thing

[adobe-outdesign]

Thoughts on the Aisha? It’s been my favorite neopet ever since I got a mcdonalds plushie of it when I was like 8 before I even knew what neopets was

Aisha are great because they're almost somewhat normal cat-like creatures—except they have two pairs of ears, one normal set and one set sticking up like antennae. These ears are the most important part of their design, as they're both visually distinct and very memorable.

Aishas also vaguely implied to have some degree of extra-terrestrial origins due to the existence of alien Aishas, which is a nice bit of worldbuilding and helps explain the weird ears even more (not that they're that unusual by Neopet standards, but still, it's neat).

In addition to the four ears, the other main notable thing about Aishas is their near-constant closed eyes (though some Aisha characters do have theirs open), which are punctuated by a ring around the outside. The ring is nice, as it helps break up their otherwise solid body colors a bit.

I'd also argue that Aishas benefited greatly from customization. First, their old artwork was getting very dated and needed a refresh anyways, and secondly, the only real change is that they're standing now, which doesn't really affect anything.

But the other big benefit the Aisha received is that their collars became a wearable item that can now be removed. I'm not going to lie, I never liked the collars. First, they're weird because in-universe, Neopets are anthropomorphic, and indeed, no Aisha characters sport the collars. Secondly, as a species, where do those collars come from, and why do Aishas wear them? And thirdly, they tend to add unnecessary color to their designs (like how the blue and green Aishas shown above sport red and yellow collars—though this varies depending on paint job). The "A" tag also feels clunky. They're not the worst, but having the choice to remove the collars or keep them is the best of both worlds.

The only big benefit to the collars is that they do sometimes do some really fun things with them depending on the color, as I've spotlighted below.

Favorite colours:

Alien: No Aisha review would be complete with talking about alien Aishas, which are absolutely iconic in their own right. Species-specific colors are always enjoyable, and the fact that the alien Aishas have SIX ears is fantastic. I also like the spacesuit/helmet combo, and the red triangle at least accents the red color a bit if you choose to keep it on. I just wish they had done something fun and futuristic with the collar, instead of sticking to the standard version.

Darigan: The converted version of this pet isn't terrible, but the unconverted version is fantastic. The thin body looks great, almost snake-like, and the pointed tail matches the tall ears, which are given a delightful devil-horn look. The spots help break up the body a bit, as does the addition of an underbelly, and the collar changes shape to a D for darigan, which is fun.

Mutant: Mutant Aishas, my beloved! What a great design. Replacing the second pair of ears with mouths and then accenting the pink lips with floppy, tongue-like spikes on the back is just great, with the pink working great against the blue. Bonus shoutout for the singular eye and the mutated "A" on the collar. My only nitpick is that the collar tag should've been the lighter teal of the stripes on the ears, and the band should've been pink.

BONUS: I'm cheating by including this, but I have to give a shout-out to the baby Aisha for being downright adorable with its little binky collar and soft blue color. I'm not usually big on baby pets, but this one's actually pretty great.

[invested-in-your-future]

What do you think is the most underused idea in RWBY?

As hilarious as that sounds - Semblance and Dust.

Seriously, we know barely anything about those.

The former is literally anything writers want it to be (to the point that it borders on magic when they need it to). The latter supposedly is something an entire civilization runs on, yet we know nothing about it, really.

There's a lot of neat little things that could be done with worldbuilding to expand upon the latter - starting with even simplest things like how cities are powered to the nature of dust and how it interacts with environment, where it's found, how industrial aspects of it shape lifestyles and locations, etc.

We get nothing.

With Semblance, on other hand, less is more - really feel like it should have had hard-limits of what can be done or can't be done with it so the story wouldn't have ridiculous things like portal semblance or "let's give life to robots" Semblance and the like.

Keeping Semblance and Dust limited and bit more grounded would only help with establishing magic as different and dangerous. Meanwhile NOT doing it makes the maidens and relics seem all the less interesting or important, no matter what the show tells us.

[nono-uwu]

Ons chapter 135 thoughts!!

Spoilers duh (also very long post. Lmk if I should add the read more cut)

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- KAGAMI I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD IT IN YOU TO GIVE CHESS AND HORN MORE SCREENTIME BUT THANK YOU ANYWAYS

- I am so glad that the whole digestion thing is more symbolical bc... that inital wording really threw me off lmao

- on that note, the immagery of the dead trees with the bodies sticking out of 'em... very creepy and on point, I think it's neat

- they actually adressed Crowley forgetting them! Wowzers (side note she looks hella adorable. My little skrunkly)

- ouugh the dynamic... where was it earlier? It seems so much more casual than during the Nagoya arc (probably just wishful thinking on my part lmao)... idc how give us more of this

- "you two were my first servants", LORE CRUMBS! I guess.

- wait so, they're still becoming demons? But isn't that a form of reincarnation, the thing Ferid is specifically trying to stop? But he's also devouring them... to absorb their power I guess? Since later on Ferid mentions now being more powerful after devouring Crowley (I'll get to that asspull later)

- Also Horn looks a teensy bit weird with the new artstyle but she's still super pretty 🫶 be my wife pls

- So, 16 year old Ferid is inside himself as his 'true self'? I assume that because he got the idea to stop reincarnation when he was 16 and hasn't changed his mind since (never let 16 year olds make big decisions in this world, it only leads to disaster)

- the skrunkle part 2. Also I doubt being digested like that feels good in any way. And with how slow it's supposed to be, yikes.

- I have a theory (aka major amounts of copium): Yuu will bust in and save Crowley because of 'fAmiLy' and also save Chess and Horn since they're family by association

- No one can reach Ferid, eh? And then Corwley's voice reaches him. Kagami and his queerbaiting amirite

- However Ferid then snags Crowley and ig he's on the priority list of getting devoured. Probably bc he's the strongest vampire Ferid has eaten. Cannibalism as a metaphor for love and devotion or whatever, except it's very literal and I doubt there's any love beyond 'u and interesting critter dude' from both sides

- Ok here's my major nitpick with this chapter: KAGAMI STOP BREAKING AND BENDING YOUR OWN FUCKING WORLDBUILDING AND POWER SYTEMS. Until now it was established that a vampires strenght is dependant on 1. their rank (as in who's blood turned them) and 2. their age. But now appearantly Ferid can eat vampires and absorb their strenght? If this was some universal but very difficult thing for any vampire to do, then I wouldn't be this salty. Also one of my favourite things about Ferid as an antagonist was, that power-wise he was on the weaker side. Despite being 'weak' he was still a major threat. He made up for his lack in actual fighting power with smarts and immaculate planning. But now he's another uber-strong genius. C'mon we already had Shikama and Rigr for that department. Bleh.

- now for the Yuu / Rigr and co confrontation, it's fiiiiine. I guess. At least Shikama is still somewhat of a formidable threat. Not to the major characters obviously but yk, it's something.

- rip Basteya. You showed up, slayed for a little and died.

- Kirsten still looks fugly as hell lmao

- so do Ulrich and Roger

- So, who will be faster: Shinoa in absorbing Shikama or Yuu in saving him? My bet is on Yuu purley bc he's supposed to be the main character but ig we'll see next chapter

- KRUL!!! AND THE BAT THING I FORGOT IT'S NAME

- sadly no Ferid / Krul brawl this chapter but yk what makes me excited for next chapter

- my guess is that now Krul is Ferids next target to be chomped. Hopefully she will beat his ass. Like when she first appeared. Ahhh the good old times

- 'A big fan of yours... M'lady Queen' lmao. What's next Ferid, will you put on a Fedora? Bro that last panel ain't it. Fuckin Sebastian of black butler wannabe 💀

[fruitycasket]

BEHOLD one of my favorite species from my worldbuilding projects, the skug. (AKA: skin bug, except not really because it's a springtail... skringtail?) They hail from an alternate Earth with more fantastical creatures and whatnot. Click the read more to learn a bit more about em!

These little guys are a gigantic (like ~3 feet/1 meter at most) species of springtails which developed another layer of skin over their bones, creating a sort of bone sandwich. Yum! Their diet consists of tubers, bones, rocks, and small animals. Minerals they eat are often incorporated directly into their bones, teeth, and tusks, which is as neat as it can be troublesome!

On their underside, they have slit openings for their tubule limbs to extend out. These noodles, which are used for fine motor movement (like writing your name), have two fingers like an African elephant trunk and work a lot like starfish tube feet. They extend by forcing hemolymph through the center of the limb and retract by pulling it back. Hence, skugs suffering from low blood pressure have trouble using their tube arms.

Skugs languages all have at least three "official" gendered words (male, female, and both/neither basically) but can have a max of five or six depending on how they classify in-between states. This is due to their biology! They've got both male and female reproductive parts in their body at all times, which one is active is a matter of hormones.

And that's all I can think to put in this post. If you want to learn more about them feel free to ask me stuff!

[flightfoot]

So I watched the Barbie movie. It was a lot of fun, very campy, but I'm actually a bit mixed on the messaging. Overall though, I think it's a good movie and I'm betting it'll be a classic.

So something I want to address because I've heard it said before: Barbie is not a kid's movie. It's a movie some kids will enjoy, but it ain't aimed at them, it's aimed at adults in the context of them having been kids in the past. The movie's rated PG-13, it talks about a lot of social issues and has a lot of innuendo which will fly right over children's heads, and the characters you're supposed to relate to are all adults - something which I found very notable, with Gloria in particular.

Gloria's the part of the movie that I enjoyed the most. I'd heard NOTHING about her before watching the movie, despite not really trying to avoid spoilers. The whole patriarchy thing with Ken and its overthrow? Saw a lot about that. But not much about Gloria.

I loved the subversion the movie pulled off, with showing those flashbacks to Barbie of Gloria and her daughter, and making the audience think that it was her DAUGHTER who needed help since well, isn't that normally how these movies go?

Only to have it be Gloria instead, for HER to be the one with anxiety and thoughts of death and whose life wasn't quite working out the way she hoped, who was struggling but still doing her best and felt like, while she was a mom, she was being characterized as MORE than just that.

The campy elements were fun, and I loved how Barbieland functioned like how kids play with the dolls, it was a neat aspect of the worldbuilding.

Just in general the world was really campy and fun, and I think that's what younger children will be able to really enjoy about the movie.

As for the whole patriarchy plotline... eh. That I'm pretty mixed on.

Like, I think it did a nice job laying out the power of representation, how it feels to see people like yourself everywhere in diverse, powerful positions, like seeing Ken's reaction to actually seeing men hold power, be respected, be looked up to. To feel like he was enough, just for who he was.

But the part with the Kens taking over and making everything a patriarchy with all the Barbies being brainwashed and turned into accessories for them... I didn't think that worked as well? Especially with them all just forgetting who they were. It didn't really feel like it was addressing how patriarchy actually worked, it was really shallow.

I did appreciate that the more outcast characters, the ones who never really fit into Barbie Land or Kendom, being immune to the brainwashing, since they were on the outskirts of both.

I also thought the resolution didn't really show how to deal with patriarchy all that well? Like I've seen people on tumblr talking about how the movie showed how patriarchy doesn't even really benefit men, but the Kens honestly appeared to be having a great time until the Barbies purposely pitted them against each other - and even then they ended up coming together. I mean, Ken cries at the end and talks about how he wasn't really interested in Patriarchy that much after finding out that it wasn't about horses and that the fridges were too small and that running things was too much work, but it felt like sour grapes more than anything, there wasn't really lead-up to that. It was very Tell, Don't Show.

That message was ALSO greatly undercut by Barbieland becoming a Matriarchy again with just a little hint of more consideration for the Kens, maybe. So like, is it only supposed to be patriarchy that's harmful to everyone, or is matriarchy just special? Like is matriarchy ALSO something that sucks for the women under it?

I think that while the whole messaging about how patriarchal societies function was muddled, the messaging about being yourself, loving yourself, and you being enough just by virtue of who you are was much stronger. I really liked the whole message about Ken needing to learn who he is without Barbie, that's he's Kenough on his own, that's he doesn't need to be defined by his relationship with her. And Stereotypical Barbie learning that even though she may not be one of the barbies with a particular job, she's still enough, she can still do things, she doesn't need to wait for someone else.

The Ken plotline though is, again, a bit undercut by the ending. Because yeah, the Kens can try to learn who they are, to support each other... but they still just kind of exist in Barbie land. Like, do any of them even have a house? Learning to just be themselves, to support each other, without defining themselves by Barbie is all well and good to say, but when the world is run by Barbies and completely dominated by Barbies' interests and Kens ARE just treated like accessories, it doesn't really help much with the whole "marginalized and disrespected by society" problem.

[lucalicatteart]

Finally finished my weird hanging painting thing (originally a secondhand partially-done 'paint by numbers' kit that I found at a thrift store and kept to repurpose lol)! Imagery somewhat based in my own worldbuilding projects, and text written in my constructed language for one of my fantasy species, but also vaguely inspired by old tapestries and illuminated manuscripts and etc. I've never been great at neat clean patterning or text, but it looks cool from afar, and I always enjoy making "props" or things that are somewhat like real objects that might could exist in my world. :0

(additional pictures/info under the readmore)

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Here's what it was originally! I probably didn't have to actually have a river running down the middle because it further makes the composition of the whole thing weird (various connected yet separate locations and things happening, instead of one unified event being portrayed), but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fully cover up the already existing paint that was there.. and I can also kind of justify it by going with a more "all the imagery is just symbolic so it doesn't have to make exact sense" approach lol.. How is one half of the grass green and the other is suddenly snowy? shhhh.. it's not literal.. shhh...

Made a vague sketch, then painted over it, and then added more distinct lines in black pen. Center image first and border second.

The very last thing was the text, which actually took forever to translate because my conlang is still only like.. partially done, and some of the grammar is not worked out exactly how I would like it to be, so a few sentences I had to think about for a long time before just going "eh, this is probably not how I would do it if I considered it more, but I'll go with it for now" lol . I also am not entirely satisfied with all of the characters for the writing system, but again, it's good enough for a quick project, it doesn't have to be 100% accurate and perfect because it's a fake language that nobody knows anyway lol.

I thought about breaking down the text and translation here like I have for some of the tidbits of Avirrekava (the language) in things I've posted in the past, but I think it would take too long and is not interesting to anyone but me ghghj, so for the sake of getting the post out quickly, I shall not spend an hour typing All That lol.

The general jist of the writing though is that it's just about the Avirre'thel being cast out from the other elves, after abandoning their magic for immortality as a means to truly attain perfection (an important concept in elven culture), the usual, blah blah blah, but how it's Actually A Good Thing, because the gods are wrong and immortality is Cool actually and they like the shitty frozen lands they were sent to, so it's fine that everyone else is being a Hater about it lol

Lastly, here's a few photos outside in the sun to TRY and show the gold detailing actually shimmering or showing up! It really doesn't come through in photos, but there's plenty of little golden spots to highlight light or Importance.

Mostly the fire, the pink sparkle that represents magic, the red drop that represents blood, the light behind Inaashi's hands and head (common symbol for the elven religion/one of their main gods, shout out to anyone who read the ancient elven religion post and recognized that lol), the sun, and the symbol for the Avirre'thel/country of Navyete at the very top. I did a few other gold bits, but they're not highlighted because they're Significant, more just that it looked more symmetrical to have some gold on the border too lol.

Other things of note: The animals are not actually significant to Avirre'thel culture really, I just wanted to put a cat and a bird because I like them lol. (I also wanted to have a few funny looking creatures, as I was slightly trying to go with the 'in some old medieval painting the anatomy and perspective is very weird' vibe, though I think some of the other parts of it look too Normal to pull it off entirely). Same with the four leaf clover, which means nothing in their culture - but these are the only areas where stuff was just added self-indulgently .

Bligabata (giant cabbage that grows along rivers in Navyete) making an appearance! The architecture of the building IS based on actual concepts for ancient elven/older Avirre'thel architecture and metalwork. The Avirre'thel who's turning away from Inaashi/elves/magic and collecting blood, is doing so in a Special Bowl, as is part of their culture (collecting it in the hands, or just in a normal vessel would be disrespectful, they have Specific Bowls which is the only thing blood can be kept in, etc.).

The figure that represents Jhevona (and thus, a closer connection to magic, celestial imagery, etc.) is in weird ugly teal, which is not necessarily a color or design associated with them, as I don't have much common culture (like clothing) worked out for Northern Jhevona (who the avirre'thel would have come into contact with) yet, BUT everyone else is in more Typical colors (a northern elf in green, Inaashi in lavender + white + blue, an Avirre'thel in darker purples and reds).

Some things, like the four figures in the corners, and the two people + fish in the stream, do not currently have a meaning, but in-world they would.. Like, I could make up lore for how they're culturally significant and it would be true because I am god of the world, but I don't have anything currently. But just know.. they DO mean something, I just haven't decided it yet, maybe kind of fill in as I go, come up with a meaning later lol. Probably along the lines of an old myth from the ancient elven religion, a story, etc.

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I don't know, probably other stuff, but that's my Trying To Keep It Short rambling for now lol. I'm just glad I finally finished this! For how vaguely sloppy it is up close (everything being completely freehanded, only used rulers once when doing the initial sketch and lining where the border should be + my hands are shaky + the canvas is bumpy + my handwriting is scratchy and terrible + etc. etc.) it still took a REALLY long time, even when not trying to make it all perfect. Especially if including the text translation + writing, which took like 3+ hours itself.

Maybe all the asymmetry/lack of things being centered is NOT because I was too lazy to measure anything, but is actually because in-universe, it's a practice illustration made by some young apprentice who has to work on little canvases for years before he can be trusted will a full sized mural or tapestry. It's his first week on the job! of course he's uncoordinated! don't laugh at him!!! lol

[laurelnose]

a disorganized pile of ninefox ttrpg thoughts

it is HERE! also it was late in shipping by like, a day? or two? so android press sent me the PDF version also, which was very very nice of them. For this I will forgive them the weird jank in the PDF version’s character encoding. (Maybe like 5% of characters consistently copy-paste as different characters. I think they fucked up the font subsetting somehow. It’s fine, it’s just weird. Makes quoting it a little bit of a hassle. Might be less fine if you use a screenreader.)

So pleased with several little random details which are not at all relevant to like, gameplay or the worldbuilding at large but which I just kind of wanted to know. The calendar months! The full set of Kel rank symbols! Signifiers for Kujen and Tseya! <3 Also, an additional set of symbolism for the factions per the calendar months? If I’m reading this correctly it's Rahal/Wood (!?), Andan/Bells, and Vidona/Knives. [We basically knew the other three, which are Shuos/Eyes, Kel/Pyres, and Nirai/Stars.] As a visual artist I am contractually obliged to be hype about all my little guys getting Symbols, they make my life easy and fun.

This is a slim little volume, so it’s light on lore details that you couldn’t find either a) in the actual series or b) on Lee's dreamwidth. That said, one new bit was that it was not previously clear to me that the nominal arrangement of power in the heptarchate was explicitly unequal between the Liozh and the others — I thought the extant six turned on the Liozh as one of their fellows, not that they deposed the ruling faction. Interesting.

Disappointing: there are no mechanics for the calendar besides the ability to tag the current festival/remembrance. :( I wanted to roll dice about calendrical rituals!! Funnily enough there's a whole little caveat section where he’s like, inevitably someone will want to have space battles, which can be accommodated by keeping them character-focused bc this system is not designed for battle sim crunch. No similar apology for those who might want magic system crunch, if anyone wanted any further evidence that Lee and Jedao are the same guy, lmao.

Other than that I’m not actually that much of a crunchy rules guy myself so I like the system itself fine. I enjoy the concept of every check involving not necessarily skills but character traits. And also the commitment to sixes. You need A LOT of d6s for this game.

If you’re really committed I think it would be fun to play with a set of these (normal d6s except instead of numbers or pips they have clock faces showing hours 1-6):

Jedao’s character sheet is so funny. “Complications: I have abysmal taste in lovers.” BE NICE TO HIM LMAO

It’s not entirely clear to me under which circumstances you wind up the Hexarchate Clock. Is it actually only if Kujen is in play? Does that mean he’s literally required if you want to run a long take-down-the-whole-hxx campaign?

The prewritten scenarios are neat! I don’t have a lot to say about them. They look like they would be fun. I like “The Field of Diplomacy” and the concept of the adjacent polity a lot. Oh also the note at the end of “A Heretical Sacrifice” that is just like “if the ‘human sacrifice’ bit is too vague for you and you want to add more torture, here are some ideas!” is 1) funny and 2) appreciably graphic and wince-inducing. HXX-typical gore: delivered on!

This is a petty note, but excluding servitor PCs on the grounds that this is a game about moral complicity and thus only human faction members can be PCs sure is a Statement. I know servitors are slaves and thus the moral calculus is certainly different, but like, the complicity is the entire point of Hemiola’s arc??? And faction servitors quite obviously often consider themselves to be legitimately part of that faction? The one Shuos servitor we meet is as interested in games as any fox, the assault on Shattered Needles is made possible because the Unspoken Law’s servitors consider themselves Kel, the Aerie interlude with sin 𝑥² is about a servitor who considers itself so deeply Kel it wants to go down with the hivemind. I understand they complicate things mechanically but excluding servitors for thematic reasons is silly.

That said, I feel like a servitor hack wouldn’t be too much more mechanically complex. None of the prewritten scenarios work with an all-servitor group, but I think they could all be run with one or maaybe two servitor PCs. You’d have to do some pregaming to figure out how you’d open communication between human/servitor PCs. Lore-wise, the faction traits are clearly not meant to represent the faction exotics or the Shuos wouldn’t have one; they read more like “specialized skills developed as a consequence of picking this faction” than calendrical stuff, so faction servitors could have standard faction abilities, with the caveat that a lot of interpersonal Edges may be hard for Andan servitors to hit on account of social interaction between servitors & humans being, well, you know. Alternatively, no faction abilities for servitors, but all servitors +2d6 to anything involving grid-diving and/or mechanics. Servitors can have ranks just like human PCs, though these ranks are only relevant to other servitors (and possibly moths). Servitors can probably tag calendar traits like humans, they just can’t participate in formations or affect calendrical gradients (neither of which have explicit mechanics in this system anyways). Heresies are the same for servitors as humans.

This really made me want to dig out that calendrical cryptocurrency heist concept I had to see if I can put together a scenario. And maybe also make some cardboard game spinners for a tactile clock experience...

[brineffxiv]

I can't believe it. I think I'm still in shock. I'm in the past. The ancients' world. The world unsundered.

(accidentally left this picture in the last post when I cut it in half. Pretend I didn't do that please, XD)

Getting some fridge logic that modern peoples probably have the Ascians to thank for Aetherytes. Yes, we reverse-engineered the technology from the Allagans, but the ancients clearly have the same structures. Seems to me the logical middle step is that the Ascians assisted the Allagans in developing the technology.

...Anyway, that's not important right now...

Argos! And...

Venat? It must be. That's the only person I can think she could be. And it makes sense. She looks to have the same appearance as the form Hydaelyn took on the boat. Oh boy. I am filled with nervousness at the prospect of meeting her...

And finally, you must be Hermes. And... I don't have the slightest clue who the little bird person is.

I do not spy any likely candidates for Elidibus in this zone's preview, despite knowing I must meet him at some point. Hmmm...

You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

I don't even know if I want to tell you. I don't even know if I can.

How do I explain what you became? That I killed you? How do I tell you that you will soon lose everything dear to you in the entire world, spend over twelve thousand years fighting to restore a fraction of it, and ultimately fail?

Hythlodaus made me a robe out of butterflies! I am never taking this off. Aaaaa!

Hythlodaeus also advises that, if anyone asks, I tell them I'm Azem's familiar. What, uh, what exactly has ancient me been up to to earn this sort of reputation?

Yes, please, assume I have no common sense. I wish to know ALL the worldbuilding details.

We are searching for Hermes by appearance, which is a novelty! He apparently has short, dark hair. I see I was correct in assuming that's who he was in the preview.

Found him!

Hermes is working by some pools, with creatures that appear to be axolotls?

Oh! Um, hi?

You're adorable. Okay. I'll be your friend. You talk a bit funny, are you intended to be neurodivergent?

Oh neat! You can talk in my mind? That--

Wait. Hang on. I see that "Hear, Feel, Think" in there.

Suddenly you are ominous.

Hythlodaeus and Emet-Selch catch up with me, and the former makes introductions. Hythlodaeus already has a working relationship with Hermes through their jobs, though it has been some time since they have seen each other in person.

Hermes seems... apprehensive upon being introduced to a member of the Convocation.

Meteion's avid interest in me saves me from having to make my own introduction, and to explain why I'm here. I get to learn about her instead! She is a personal project of Hermes' that he hasn't submitted for approval yet. Her aether is really thin. Her name means "shooting star". All very important pieces of information, I am sure. I am watching this blue bird girl like a hawk. Ain't no way she's dropping the "hear, feel, think" line without being Significant.

The lads are here to have a Serious Business meeting with Hermes, but first he must put the ambystomas away. Unfortunately, one is missing.

Hythlodaeus may have found it... up a tree??

I must concur with Emet-Selch's bafflement. These things can climb?

Oh, my mistake, they can fly.

But, just because they can get up does not mean they can get down. Hermes runs off to rescue the creature, followed by Meteion. Followed by me. Hythlodaeus and Emet-Selch stay behind to watch the rest of the ambystomas, which Hermes seems to have forgotten in his haste.

...Hermes, are you okay?

Heh. Hehehe... I didn't. I certainly didn't expect the Fandaniel I know, but... I... This is so wholesome!

Ah... Elpis makes me happy.

Hermes falls out of the tree, but he's okay, and the ambystoma is rescued, so all's well that ends well!

Aww, thank you. I will!

.

.

.

Oh, that's nice.

Wait.

Ktisis?

Ktiseos.

I... Have a bad feeling about this.

[spotsupstuff]

where should i start reading your Rain World stuff about your OCs and such?

i don't really have any order in it so just jumpin into the oc tag n readin thru it would do, i guess?? though yeah,, tumblr isn't nice with the tags i won't lie, so i'mma compile some stuff for ya

there Are something of intro posts for the characters, though they've evolved a lot over time (originally the Anemoi Iterators were just not a thing, the only one i was meant to have was Fish with Zephyr serving only as a little neat backstory for one of the scugs connected to Fish. so Zeph especially has had a lot of evolution done to her character)

here are the posts: • Intro for Fish Inside a Birdcage, the Seafarer, the Tinkerer and the rest of their little family (x) (out of this Fish and Tinktink are most important n developed, with Seafarer bein a char i wanna work on a bit at some point) • Intro for Murder of Crows (she's a bg character for Moon's group, I rarely actually do stuff with her), Abet Zephyr, the Pan Wielder and few of the Scavs living in Fish's facilities (x) (this is also where The Children of Eo group is first mentioned) • Intro for the rest of Anemoi Iterators of The Children of Eo group, voice claims (Zephyr's is outdated) and the first look at world map, which i'm updating for myself as i'm workin on this stuff and will repost at some point so y'all can see the updates too (x) • List of Iterator City names (x) • Voice claim for Three Sparrows and updated one for Zephyr (x) • Spotto™ Ancients design reference post (x) • -sigh- "Who's Beppi?" (x) (here's him as a baby) • quick off the string in Ancient times AU designs for Euros 'n Boreas (x) • Sparrows' quickly put together art ref (proper one pending) (x)

Three Sparrows' lore is scattered basically all over over the place n she doesn't have a proper intro post yet

Some direct links for the convenience: • How the Great Cycle works in the Serotonin Take (a little add-on to it)

• Iterator anatomy lesson (mostly about the puppets) • Iterator anatomy lesson: detailing of the Hivemind that makes them up • Iterator anatomy lesson: personality development • Rambling about worldbuilding, mostly the Folk Gods (quite disorganized, explains The Saint though) • Ancients' hand mutilation in the name of the Global Religion • Ancients' mask culture • Ancients and their feeding face tentacles • Ancients' "hair" • Ancients and water habitats • Ancients, their venom and Also The Cleaning Slugs • Ancients' gills and some stuff with breathing • Three Sparrows character notes • Little drabble thing for Three Sparrows, though some things might not hold up • "Has Sparrows made any connections while in school?" • Three Sparrows and her slugcat reincarnation (lil continuations of it x, x) • "The Eo Iterators get off the string, who dies who thrives?" (not canon, except the Haboob comic at the beginning) • Zephyr and Moon swap as a characterization exercise that got a lil outta hand (not canon, but neat either way) • A continuation of the above, with Looks to the Moon in the Eo group + some talking about Abet Zephyr as a person • Fooling around with the concept of Zephyr knowing Pebbles, but then big explanation of Mission Self-preservation aka the biggest thing happening in the OC lore • "Can Euros run Doom?" • How did Caper of Euros and Three Sparrows get together romantically • Caper of Euros' priorities the lil comic • "What is Euros like during a Hivemind unsync?" + Three Sparrows the treasured component • Euros and Sparrows married?? • Caper of Euros' first case of the Rot • post 1st Rot reconcilation between the lovebirds • "Did Euros' entire Lab have to be rebuilt after the eradication of the 1st Rot?" • Sparrows' deathbed • Sparrows' Memory Crypt beef (x)• "Who's older? Notos or Haboob?" + Euros 'n Haboob's relationship • Gushing about the ending of the playlist for the group (link to the playlist itself here) • some Tinkerer and the Scavs fooling around content • tiny Seafarer post • what happened between Seafarer and Artificer? why were they separated?

(new text block cuz apparently tumblr has a character limit for that) • Iterator anatomy lesson: the antennas • Iterator anatomy lesson: sexuality and desire for pleasure • Ancients' blood • Ancients' skin texture • "How are Ancient's born?" • "Did Ancients' ancestors have even bigger teeth?" • Farmer Ancients weaponry and tools + Sparrows' encounter with a Red Centipede • "How'd Zephyr end up like that?" • "What are some of Zephyr's happiest memories?" • "Did any other continent have a bootleg Iterator situation like Zephyr?" • What was young Boreas like • Boreas, his batflies and what Desaevio was like • "Very beautiful, very powerful." Boreas animatic made by me sister • Angry Boreas? Let's try to fix him with a controlled shock • Filler Iterators stuff, especially introduction of Orion's Pathway • designing filler stuff a lil: NAE, Gem, high circle Sparrows outfit, first look at the Preacher, Expiation and Spore • Orion's helmet and RW constellations • some lore stuff for Orion • Orion's General • more on the Polar War • Fish and Pigeon Drones • Fish Inside a Birdcage Daycare for scav kits • "What is stored on Caper of Euros' puppet chamber pearls?" • How Boreas and Zephyr took Euros' romantic relationship with Sparrows the comic • Sparrows' daily routine • "Has Sparrows ever seen Euros without his faceplate?" • Iterator baby photos and first appearance of Sparrows' mom, Inkling of an Inbound Daybreak • "Does Sparrows hide her tail in her high circle outfit?" • Movement within an Iterator • "How does it feel like to respawn?"/Sparrows' first death described a little • How did that wedding of Euros n Sparrows' looked • "Does the Rot smell bad?" • "How did Boreas bail Sparrows out of getting fired after the 1st Rot case?" • Grandmama Sparrows • some stuff on Euros' 3rd Mechanic • Euros and his relationship to his memories of Sparrows • "Why do Biting Notos' colony worships teeth and the mouth?" • "Did Notos know something was wrong with its puppet?" • "What does Orion think about Notos' puppet design?" • Biting Notos' sins against its own kind • Inhale in Haboob colony (and herself) notes and ideas • some things on the relationship between Euros 'n Haboob • the Anemoi + Fish as slugcats • Fate of Boreas' Blessing in Saint Time • Ascending Biting Notos comic

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: This is a Drill

Never underestimate “old”. Some things are old for a very good reason. They work.

Horseshoe crabs have lived visibly unchanged for over 300 million years. Sharks are an age-old “fish predator” shape. Books have reliably kept and passed down information for over a millennium; we’re still investigating remedies in Bald’s Leechbook.

One of the oldest complex tools we have is the drill. What’s interesting about that is that we’re not sure which function of it as a tool came first. Humans being humans, odds are we did both at once.

The best-known modern function is that of creating a hole through, or partly through, another object. What we do with the hole afterward is up to your imagination. Stringing neat things as jewelry goes back as long as Homo has been sapiens; likely longer, check what anthropologists have dug up lately. Fastening things together, drilling out things we don’t want (knots in wood, bad teeth, etc.) or just putting holes in things for the heck of it are all common uses.

(Never underestimate the human ability to do things Because. We poke things. It’s a species thing.)

But when we drill things, we also create friction. Modern drills employ several methods to try and reduce it, everything from lubricants to timed bursts to heat-resistant gold oxide drill alloys. If all we want is a hole, generally we want as little heat to damage the material as possible.

In some ancient tools, though, making heat was the entire point. I’m talking about the original fire drill.

Now, when it comes to making fire, I am firmly in Camp Matches. I’ve also worked around Bunsen burners enough that I’m okay with flint and steel. But we’ve only had steel for, oh, say around 2500 years, plus or minus depending on where you were on the planet. Matches have only been around a few centuries. And if you’re really in dire straits - cast up on a deserted island formed from a coral atoll, or something - you might not even have flint.

In which case you’d better have ingenuity and patience. Given a bit of materials and time, you can drill fire into existence.

Note, have absolutely all your fire materials and very fine tinder set up in advance, and protect everything from the wind as much as possible. It’s going to take a long time, you’ll only get one ember at a time, and it’ll be a cold night sleeping if you miss.

So. Have everything you can think of set up, sit down, and drill. Be prepared for hours of pulling your bit back and forth.

No, longer than that.

Longer.

Eventually, it works. And if you get it to work once you will understand why ancient hunter-gatherers would set up fire-pouches and horns to carry a hot ember with them at all times. Because augh.

So. That’s a drill. And it will almost definitely be useful in your world, for one reason or another.

Fun fact: one of the first human uses of diamonds was industrial, diamond-tipped drills to make fine holes in pearls! They were imported from India to drill pearls in China in the Yuan Dynasty. Cool!

[inventors-fair]

Together Together: Partner winners!

Our winners this week are @hanavesinauttija, @izzet-always-r-versus-u, and @mudthing!

@hanavesinauttija — Sickly Patrician & Melodious Nightingale

Most people know me as a flavor guy around these parts, and if I had to judge this card based on the flavor text, I'd say that it's delving into the purple language a wee bit heavily and that you can tone down the poetic nature of the dialogue. The inspiration is quite interesting, though, and mechanically, I love the smoothness with which you created this union. The exchange of treasures and life is fine for the bodies and their utility, and if I am going to be down for the flavor, I like the usage of Noble as a type here and the fact that even though you don't have to, it makes sense for the owner of the Nightingale to repay the Patrician.

Really, what I like here is the targeting. 2HG isn't much of an online format as far as I'm aware, so there's no misclicks, and in commander/multiplayer games, the ability to heal someone as a political move is neat to me as well. 2HG seems to be the place where there's going to be the most application, but there's room for either card in casual artifact decks, lifegain decks, etc. without the burden of single-archetype cards. A little ramp on the black side helps the white decks later in the game, and overall, keeping the team alive and strong feels like it's asking a lot strategically without getting crazy complicated.

@izzet-always-r-versus-u — Towashi Casino Dealer & Kami of Reclaimed Coins

Weirdly enough, this one is a pair I'm enjoying MOSTLY for the flavor. A spirit-touched dealer is a crazy addition to the world of Kamigawa (but honestly, gambling is a universal touch I'm more down with than that effing DJ table from NEO) but what a flavorful win they are. Modifications and artifacts play mechanically into the feeling that Kamigawa limited was going for, and yeah, it's still one of the best draft formats period, with this card for sure fitting in. Everyone place your bets!

The one thing I'm wondering mechanically about the spirit is if you could justify having it remove a counter from any creature? Or, wait, it probably should also be artifacts or creatures—but that's small potatoes compared to that awesome flavor text. The image of coins gives me No Face vibes, if that counts or matters at all. But what's the relationship between them? It's fascinating, having this spirit that falls in between a representation of shunting greed and hoarding the tangible, asking what is offered of it, lunging at the opportunity. Luck has no bearing on debt. Man, that's cool. I just love the small spiritual worldbuilding that's also made for a great overall pair of cards.

@mudthing — Fangbound Prowler & Bonded Fangmother

Once more, we have a black and white pair that implies team-based building without explicitly saying it. There's nothing wrong with having cards that talk about the team, and I liked a lot of them that were here, but the bonding works especially well here because of how it forces you to stop and think about the relationship with your fellow player. Plus, in a commander game, you can use this card to stealthily kill someone you don't like. Just to touch on a mechanical portion with the Fangmother, I think you could have made this a 2/3 without too much trouble, but the card's still great.

Here's the awesome flavor portion: the cat is a solo wild predator. You attack, you get the cats. There's nothing team-based about it. But when you have the prowler and one summons the other, the prowler now has the impetus and responsibility to buff these wild creatures. Like, I get a sense of independence from the cats that the Prowler can use once they're bonded together to increase their overall power and gain the life back. Does that make any sense whatsoever? I might be a little loopy but damn if that doesn't hit in a neat place. I wish Ikoria evoked that more honestly.

Runners coming up soon! @abelzumi

[adobe-outdesign]

What are your thoughts on Luvdisc? And Alomomola too if you feel like it, because let’s admit it, those two should’ve definitely been related.

Luvdisc is... well, a disc. No false advertising there. It's probably one of the simplest Pokemon designs out there, literally just a heart shape with eyes, cheeks, and a bit of a mouth.

While the simplicity is nice to some extent, I do find myself wanting more of out it. I think it's just the lack of anything to break up the body—even just a small fin at the top or the side would've helped it look more organic (seriously, how does this thing swim) and would've given it just enough detail as to not feel so plain.

One thing I do like about Luvdisc is that it has some neat worldbuilding associated with it, such as being used as a gift to loved ones and being considered a good romantic omen if spotted. Outside of this, however, Luvdisc is fairly forgettable.

Alomomola is so obviously similar to Luvdisc (heart shaped, pink, water-type, associated with love and kindness) that I'm pretty convinced it was designed to be Luvdisc's evo before they decided that Gen 5 would only feature previous Pokemon in the post game, thus they decided to break it off into its own 'mon. It's a particularly weird choice to have both be separate, as we now have two lines with the same theme that are both single-stagers for no reason.

Looking at Alomomola on its own though, I do like it a bit more than Luvdisc. It's based off of the mola-mola or ocean sunfish, also known as one of God's silliest creatures:

However, despite being based on such an interesting fish, Alomomola is fairly unremarkable. It could've shared the mola-mola's gigantic size, maybe even having Luvdisc feed on its parasites in some regions if they really didn't want to go with the evo route. Instead, Alomomola is characterized as a loving Pokemon, which is fine but already done to death with Pokemon like Chansey and Audino.

Visually, the additional fins help break up the design a bit and work better than Luvdisc's plainness; mostly because it's clearly a (sun)fish that looks like a heart, rather than literally looking exactly like a heart and nothing else. I like how the mouth shape mimics the fin shape and how the black makes the eyes pop, but otherwise it's fairly standard. Nothing bad, just nothing remarkable either.

Seeing as GameFreak is never going to retcon these guys into one line, I think they could both use a little something. I could easily see Alomomola getting a regional—maybe a dark-type based on a broken heart or something obvious like that. Then maybe Luvdisc could get an evo that goes in a different direction, like it starts getting some cupid-like elements or something. That might help make the two lines more distinct, because if they're not gonna be together, might as well push them further apart.

Tl;dr: Both lines are decently designed and do what they need to, but suffer from being unrelated single-stagers for no reason, something that new forms could potentially fix. Between the two, Alomomola is a bit more thought out, but ultimately both are pleasant enough.

[jasper-pagan-witch]

As far as pcp goes, how would you go about creating and worshipping your own deity, if thats possible?

Hello hello!

As requested, I am tagging @alter-altars and @janhasnoplan in this answer. For convenience, I'm breaking this down into three headers - Don't Get Caught In A Cult, DIY Gods, and Religions From A Writing Perspective.

Don't Get Caught In A Cult

Cults are fucking terrible. And the worst part is, the more immune you THINK you are to them, the more likely you'll be to fall for their tricks.

The New Age to Alt-Right pipeline is a big example of this in metaphysical spaces, but many people have also drawn parallels between Jehovah's Witnesses, the Amish, or Mormons and cults - not because the model is wrong, but because groups that are cults often get away with it in many parts of the United States.

You may not be trying to start a cult for your DIY divinity, but it's important to be aware of the warning signs. People much smarter than I (or at least have the PhDs for it) have written many things about how to identify and escape cults, which brings us to:

Important Links

Steven Hassan’s BITE Model of Authoritarian Control on the Freedom Of Mind Resource Center

Mind Control - The BITE Model on the ex-cult Resource Center

The BITE Model of Cult Mind Control Explained by Joseph Sherwood on A Little Bit Human

How to Recognise a Cult; How to Avoid Cults That May Try to Convert You; and How to Leave a Cult on WikiHow

What To Do When You Realize You Accidentally Joined A Cult ​by Carrie Saum on Ravishly

How To Help A Loved One Who Joined A Cult by Stephanie Gomulka on Oxygen: True Crime

@pondering-the-kaiju's entire pinned post

DIY Gods

People have been making up gods for their needs for as long as we've had gods. Aradia (the creation of Charles Leland, fuck that dude) has one book as her source. Cernunnos appears on maybe one cauldron. People make up Greek gods all the time because there were just so many of those guys, what's one more? (Good examples of this are Mesperyian and, arguably, Makaria.) And, of course, we can't get through this without mentioning Robert Graves (fuck Robert Graves) creating the White Goddess as his wife's self-insert.

So yes, creating your own god is possible and has precedent. You could even argue that every god was created by someone at some point, because that's just how humans work. We see an idea (often because we're introduced to it by someone else), we go "Oh, that's neat!", and then we take the bits that work for us and we add new stuff that helps flesh out the divine in question. It's how Aphrodite evolved from Astarte, it's how Dionysus got developed and changed over time, and it's how we have the two Wiccan divines.

I recommend studying other religions and how they came to be, because that will also help you learn about how the gods in question came to be. Who moved where? What gods got brought along and turned into other gods? I particularly recommend looking at the Romans and how they went "Wow, everyone worships our gods but with different names! Neat!"

Important Links

Literally anything by Overly Sarcastic Productions that goes into detail about the origin of various deities (which is mostly on Red's end) - namely these ones about Aphrodite, Dionysus, Hades and Persephone and Demeter, Hermes, and Loki

Anything broadly about deity work and religion, frankly, because in the course of developing your divine figure, you'll have to come up with their offerings and portfolio and what they may help you with

Wolf Of Antimony Occultism - aka @wolfofantimonyoccultism here on Tumblr, they're creating their own religion that's really cool to see

Religions From A Writing Perspective

At heart, I am a worldbuilder. I build worlds. That's what I DO. My Kephea project is a great example of this, though I have others as well. In particular, I love building magic systems and religions.

I will accept any chance to talk about my Kephea project, but this is about building a religion. Generally speaking, religions like to talk about the following three things:

How did the world come to be?

How should we act towards one another?

What happens when we die?

Not every religion (real-world or in media) talks about all of these. Hell, some don't touch on any of them. Here's a fictional example of a religion that has some things to say: the Church of Avacyn (the plane of Innistrad in Magic: The Gathering):

Doesn't discuss how the world came to be.

Says that humans should help and protect each other from the monsters of Innistrad, which include vampires, werewolves, zombies, geists, and even other humans. Later says that humans are inherently sinful during the height of Avacyn's madness and they should be slain to save them from themselves. One archangel and her flight took that second part personally and caused a schism in the church.

Promises a Blessed Sleep that won't be bothered by undeath in either zombie or geist form. This isn't going well now that the archangel and her flight who oversees it are destroyed.

It's important to sit and think about how your religion addresses or doesn't address these questions. Is it more of a henotheistic approach, where any number of gods exist but you only worship some? Is it a monotheistic approach, where there's only a single deity? Is it a polytheistic approach, where there are many deities with a strong connecting thread? Is it an entirely different approach, like archetypes (the Mother, the Child, the Himbo), natural forces (the sun and moon, the forest, the potty pond), or something else? That's up to you.

A lot of my links here will be about polytheistic religions, because those are the ones I build the most. Yes, I have a lot of these links, because this is one of my special interests.

Important Links

On Worldbuilding: Religions [ polytheistic l Avatar TLA l Game of Thrones l Cthulhu ] by Hello Future Me/Timothy Hickson on YouTube (a written version of this video is also Part 12 in his book, On Writing And Worldbuilding volume 1)

So You Want To / Create a Mythopoeia; Fantasy Pantheon; and Stock Gods on TV Tropes

Creating a Religion Guide part 1, part 2, and part 3 on Roll For Fantasy

Common Misconceptions About Old Mythologies & Religions; Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems; How To Create Fictional Structured Religions; and Things That Show Up In Christianity-Inspired Fiction That Aren't In The Bible on Springhole

List of religious ideas in fantasy fiction on Wikipedia

8 Tips for Creating a Pantheon for Your Novel by Jill Williamson on Go Teen Writers

How to Create God Characters for Your Fantasy World by Kathy Edens on ProWritingAid

In Summary

I didn't actually give advice, did I? I just kind of dumped a lot of my resources here. Oh well, hopefully you all get something useful out of this!

~Jasper

[battleonthebigbridge]

Wriothesley's story quest

It's been about a day or so since I did the quest but GOD am I rotating Wriothesley around my brain at lightning speeds.

Gonna put some general thoughts under the cut but wow I didn't expect this quest to be so fucked up and dark, like I really got squeamish during some of the parts. But I mainly want to talk abt Wriothesley himself as a character.

FIRST OF ALL THIS NEW DESK SITTING ANIMATION????????????????? Hi Wriothesley :)

He's just so funny like I love his voice acting as well. He just sounds super casual and like a bro y'know? I feel like it would be really natural to have a conversation with him and his constant little one liners definitely helped to brighten up the quest a bit.

I was questioning my sexuality I don't care I'll admit it I'm NOT BACKING DOWN.

(leans into mic) Would.

THE WAY HE DELIVERED THIS LINE WAS INSANE AND THE ZOOM IN ON HIS FACE I WAS BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS LIKE GO ON WRIOTHESLEY YOU GO!!!

I was genuinely surprised they brought up that part of his story in the quest cos like I knew about it from his profile stories but I didn't actually expect them to reveal it like that in the quest. His whole speech about it was just so good and I'm glad it makes that part of his lore more accessible and obvious cos man it's just really dark, but also a cool direction that they're taking with tackling a lot of more difficult themes. AGAIN not for everyone and I honestly think these quests should start coming with some mild content warnings AT LEAST but it was good, i enjoyed it a lot.

LIKE MAN HE WAS JUST A KID AND HE'D ALREADY COMMITTED MURDER AND WAS SENT TO THE TOP SECURITY UNDERWATER FORTRESS ALL ON HIS OWN LIKE. No matter how you look at it I feel so bad for him like idk it's hard to explain. He just deserved better, he deserved a happy childhood. And also damn with his backstory and the Lyney and Lynette backstory we really gotta look into all these noble people cos there is a pretty worrying pattern here.

It was a good quest, probably one of my fave story quests cos not only did it have a really compelling plotline but like we actually found out a lot more about Wriothesley as a character, both personality and backstory wise which is something i often find lacking in these story quests. The Fontaine story quests have been REALLY good so far like Lyney's and Neuvillette's were really good too and had the perfect balance of character exposition and also still having a focus on the NPCs that help to makeup the worldbuilding.

Also I'm just really normal about that rendered cutscene.

Shoutout to Wriothesley.

Honestly I haven't typed much because there's not too much I wanted to say outside of me just commentating about me going EWWWWW and AH FUCK every 5 minutes during this quest LMAO. I just like Wriothesley I think he's neat.