#managing multiple currencies

[moolamore]

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[vibeswithdivs]

you don’t mess around - OP81

If you had to describe your job in three words, they’d be: pressure, precision, and absolutely no room for mistakes.

You managed the money that kept McLaren running. Not in the sense of counting coins in a dusty room — no, you lived in digital dashboards and currency exposure spreadsheets. On any given day, you could tell someone how much was in the Swiss account, how the yen was affecting the Singapore deal, and whether a facility payment was going to clear before a supplier had a panic attack.

The job was about timing. Liquidity. Predicting the unpredictable and safeguarding the team’s future — all while juggling numbers with razor-sharp accuracy.

Which is why when a race car driver wandered into your high-stakes, number-heavy corner of the building on a calm Wednesday morning, you stared at him like he’d stepped into a Bond film by mistake.

He paused just inside the glass doors — tall, hoodie-clad, faintly windblown from the chilly British air outside — and looked around with a furrowed brow.

Definitely lost.

Your colleagues peeked over their screens, some wide-eyed, others frozen mid-email. In this room, the loudest thing was usually someone’s keyboard when they were panicking before a deadline.

You were about to go back to calculating rolling cash positions when he spotted you.

He smiled.

It wasn’t a polite PR-smile. It was curious. Warm. Maybe a little amused.

“This definitely isn’t Aerodynamics,” he said, glancing around.

You took your hand off your mouse and leaned back slightly in your chair. “Unless they’ve suddenly decided to start hedging foreign currency risk, no — you’re a few wrong turns deep.”

He took a cautious step in. “It’s… quiet in here.”

You tilted your head. “Not when the dollar drops half a percent during a five-million-pound contract negotiation.”

He grinned at that. “Sounds intense.”

You offered a thin smile. “That’s one word for it.”

There was a beat. Then he added, “I’m supposed to be meeting Zak, but I think I took a wrong left somewhere between partnerships and… whatever room had seventeen monitors and no windows.”

You stood, brushing off your skirt. “You’re about four corridors off course and six floors deep into stress.”

He looked around. “Well, if I’m going to get lost, at least I ended up somewhere interesting.”

You blinked at him. “You’re the first person to say that about this room. Ever.”

He gave a half-grin, toeing one foot on the floor like he was trying to kill time. “So what do you actually do in here?”

You pointed to your screen, where a live dashboard showed inflows, outflows, and forecasts across multiple international entities. “See that? That’s how much is available in five different currencies to fund race weekend logistics without breaking any laws or overdraft limits.”

Oscar leaned slightly forward, genuinely intrigued. “And you just… know how to do that?”

“I know how to make sure no one gets a call from legal,” you said, turning your gaze back to him. “Including you.”

He laughed, a genuine, caught-off-guard sound. “Wow. You guys are the quiet enforcers.”

“Quiet, precise, and very well-documented,” you replied smoothly. “We don’t leave fingerprints — just audit trails.”

That earned a low whistle. “You don’t mess around.”

“No, but people sometimes think we do — right up until they want to order a new hospitality suite and we say, ‘not unless you want to explain that to Finance.’”

He looked impressed. “Duly noted.”

Another colleague passed behind you, giving Oscar a side-eye like he was a Martian. You cleared your throat and took a step forward, suddenly feeling aware of just how much of the room was pretending not to eavesdrop.

“You’re Oscar,” you said, a little more grounded now.

“And you are…?”

“Y/N,” you replied. “I work in… let’s call it future-proofing.”

That made him pause. “I like that.”

“It sounds less terrifying than ‘I manage the operational cash forecasts for a multimillion-pound motorsport empire,’” you added with a wink.

He smirked. “A motorsport empire, huh?”

“You guys play chess with tires. I play chess with the economy.”

He laughed again, and the sound of it — relaxed, amused, intrigued — felt like a weird sort of reward after a morning spent reviewing intercompany transfers.

“You actually like this stuff?” he asked, pointing at your screen.

You tilted your head. “You like driving into a corner at 200kph hoping your grip calculations are right?”

“…Fair.”

At that moment, a harried admin appeared behind him. “Oscar! There you are — Zak’s been waiting—”

Oscar turned slightly but didn’t move. “Got a little sidetracked.”

The admin blinked at you, surprised. You offered a tight-lipped smile and a “don’t you dare start” eyebrow raise before turning back to him.

“Back to the track?” you asked lightly.

“Back to pretending I know what my engineer is talking about.”

You smiled, unexpectedly. “Fake it till you podium.”

He chuckled. “Hey, Y/N?”

You raised a brow.

“I’m glad I got lost,” he said. “Most detours don’t come with financial sass and a global cash position overview.”

“Flirting with the girl who can freeze team spending is bold,” you replied, smirking.

He shrugged, taking a few steps toward the door. “I’ve raced in Monaco. I like high-risk strategies.”

Before leaving, he turned back over his shoulder, grin softening into something more sincere. “I’ll come back. But next time, I’ll bring coffee. You seem like you don’t take sugar, but I’ll gamble.”

You blinked, not used to someone reading you that quickly.

“…Black. No sugar,” you said after a beat.

He pointed, victorious. “Knew it.”

And with that, he slipped out of the room — leaving behind a trail of confusion, amusement, and a string of open-mouthed stares from your colleagues.

You sat down, turned back to your screen, and tried — very unsuccessfully — to remember what currency hedge you were working on.

But all your brain could supply was: He got your coffee order right.

And maybe… just maybe… some risks were worth taking.

[meanbossart]

Hi! I’m sorry for bringing up a topic that is not fun at all, but I’d ask you to reconsider using Boosty. It’s a service that was created by essentially Russian state-owned VK, then resold multiple times as a standard money laundering scheme to avoid sanctions. But it’s still controlled by the Russian state (it couldn't operate otherwise in Russia, let’s be real) and the foreign currencies that go through it are refilling the Russian monetary fund that Russia uses to buy weapons to keep killing people. Yes, Boosty and similar services contribute a relatively small amount of money, but you deserve to know what your funds will be used for. Russian artists may not have a choice whether to pay taxes to the regime and what services to use, but people in the west do. You will help your russian followers more by just not giving their government any additional money it could use to prolong the war.

Hi, I appreciate you making me aware of that information. I don't have the time to research this right this second, but - at the risk of sounding really cynical - wouldn't any service that operates within russia in any capacity always be fueling war? Leaving me with basically no option but to use none, and hence not only exclude russians, but anyone in a country in a similar legislative and social situation?

I'm not saying there isn't an argument in favor of doing exactly that - but (and again, this is a VERY uninformed opinion right now and I am more than open to being corrected) isn't it somewhat comparable to asking an individual to cut down on their water use, despite how their personal lifestyle-changes could never hold a candle to industrial water waste?

Again, I could be horrifically wrong. Ideally, I would vastly prefer to have everyone use patreon - I don't enjoy managing multiple social medias and I am not in desperate need of money right now. The only reason I want to give people options is because I have received a lot of requests for it and frankly feel bad that they don't get to participate.

I will look more into this later - but in the meantime, I would definitely apreciate input from those affected by this.

[sambhavami]

Hello! 💕

I wanna say, your mahabharata posts are amazing and very informative!

If you don't mind, can you tell me about how krishna in mb is different from how he is generally perceived by people? (Yk like in a fanon vs canon way)

or any interesting points or facts you noted about him!

No pressure tho!

Thank you<3

Hi Anon, thank you soo much! <3

Okay, this is an expansive question. Researchers have dedicated their entire lives to this! xD

But I will try to note the points I remember off the top of my head, that I have read in one book or the other. :) If you want more, do let me know, I'll do some research and get back to you! <3

Please note, however, again, these are the most dramatic stuff I have read in multiple places, I agree with most of it, but not all, please feel free to check with me on that if you'd like any clarification on any part <3

Krishna’s peacock feather is not usually tucked in upright like it is shown in usual depictions. It is rather braided into his hair. This is a common practice with the gopa kids, who are not permitted to own any metal (hence, no real jewellery). They also make other jewellery out of flowers and anklets out of Kadamba seeds etc.

Flute is a common instrument of the gopas, along with siren-type calling instruments and large drums. Krishna and Balarama were equally good flautists. Once they left Vrindavana, Balarama actually keeps up with the flute, while Krishna more or less gives it up.

Human-Krishna is mostly given preference over God-Krishna in most parts of Mahabharata, making the God-parts kinda awkward in terms of flow and placement.

Krishna is classified by Western researchers as a ‘solar hero’ who, as a group, are usually half- or fully- divine and are characterized by a life-altering threat near the time of their birth and are beloved by many women over their lifetime.

Now, on to Krishna’s childhood. Here, I am mostly quoting what Dr. N P Bhaduri quotes and infers from Harivamsha, Bala-charita, and Gaha-sattasai etc:

The aahira/gopa communities in Mathura’s herding regions were considered ‘slaves’ of Mathura-city. They were tasked with livestock management and agriculture and were usually punished if there was any lapse (hence, the seemingly disproportionate reactions from the gopis when Krishna stole butter; they’d have to pay for it, often through physical punishments because they weren’t permitted to own any currency).

They were usually not permitted to enter or leave the vraja area unless given special leave from the government.

During the Gupta era too (and we are extrapolating this to the MB times), these communities were mandated to wear an identifying ‘uniform’ which consisted of clothes only in the colours yellow/blue (remember Krishna and Balarama/Radha’s defaults…there’s a reason it worked out like that).

This is the reason why Krishna is anxious enough to k*ll Kamsa’s washerman to get ‘other’ clothes, because no one would take him seriously while he wore ‘gopa-coloured-clothing’, and find flowers to put on his wrist and as garlands...to blend in with the city's young, nalayak men essentially. After this we see that for a long time Krishna actually stops wearing yellow clothes even though that’s his favourite colour, preferring white/beige tones. He only resumes wearing yellow some time around his marriage to Rukmini, when he literally no longer cares what people think about him (i.e. he is powerful enough to afford that luxury).

So, half of the reason why Krishna is so revolutionary and frankly anti-veda in his personal philosophy is that he lived through the worst discrimination that his Yadava society had to offer. Also, this forms the reason why he loses faith in the democracy-oligarchy system and chooses to back a ‘benevolent-dictator’ in the form of Yudhishthira instead.

Kubja runs a lady-of-the-night-adjacent thing, is pretty close to Kamsa, and Krishna uses her (with consent) as a rebound to get over [not really, but kind of] Radha before pursuing more political issues. To do this he takes Uddhava with his (no one would believe Udhhava would go to a lady-of-the-night place, and therefore no one would suspect Krishna of that either). Udhhava has one of the worst nights of his life when Krishna disappears with Kubja, and the rest of the women focus their full attention on the sada-single poor Udhhava.

The houses they lived in were also considered government property. Apparently, there’s one scene in some Sanskrit drama which is similar to that movie RRR (note, I have not watched it): where the one officer-type hero is whipping the rebel-type hero…only in this play that scene plays out with Vasudeva and Nanda. Later, when Nanda is trying to say goodbye to his stillborn daughter (not Yogamaya in this version), and Vasudeva is saying sorry for the whipping incident and trying to convince him to take Krishna home instead we have this dialogue from Nanda: “I do not even own the utensils in my so-called house, and you ask this big a favour of me!”

Some versions hint that ‘marriage’ was also not allowed/recognized by the government within this community, so people mostly didn’t bother with mono -gamous/-androus ‘loyalty’ (seems to have become a positive continuation for Krishna with his many wives, and a negative continuation with Balarama who marries Revati and then says no thanks). However, many couples like Nanda-Yashoda still stayed together out of their personal levels of love.

Every full-moon night, the villagers gathered to drink madhhvi, sidhhi and kadambari variants of liquor, and dance away the night around a bonfire (the sanitised version of this becomes the rasa-leela). This used to be called a hallisaka (from where comes the hindi word ‘halla’). Krishna and Balarama, and their parents, girlfriends etc. are all part of these merrymaking sessions.

Krishna, while chased by many women, still chooses to stay somewhat unattached, being goofy, and dancing in the women’s line just to entertain older men who have lost their partners. There are hints of a ‘special woman’, although Radha is never mentioned by name (imagine being a character so strong that you haunt the narrative created before you were introduced).

Balarama in this version is the first and not the seventh child, and he is born almost 7-8 years before Krishna. Rohini had been pregnant when she had fled to Gokula.

Kaliya naga is a man, just a guy from one of the Naga tribes, who Krishna k*lls in a wrestling match, very much on land. After this incident, Krishna and Balarama actually obtain special permission to travel all around the Mathura kingdom, and ensure no one else is defying Yadava authority like Kaliya, and they return home only after several months, right before the Govardhana incident.

After the Govardhana thing, the villagers corner him and pretty much make him confess that he is Vasudeva's kid (despite Krishna begging them not to, since he hadn't yet tied up all the strings to his liking), unfortunately within the earshot of some soldiers of Kamsa who immediately go and report, leading to Kamsa sending Akroora to arrest the boys, one day after the sharad-poornima hallisaka (one night after rasa-leela basically).

Vasudeva and Devaki are not imprisoned but merely under house-arrest, and Kamsa even invites Vasudeva to the first and last parliamentary sabha that he bothers to call.

When he is networking to kill Kamsa, Krishna somehow arranges for Kamsa’s daughter Sutanu to be married to Akroora. This, imo, was a necessary and yet terrible move since Akroora is known to like young (and I mean, really young) girls. We see this in his obsession with Satyabhama later as well. This Sutanu-Ugraseni lady is practically sacrificed at the altar of this coup.

Jarasandha, with whose help Kamsa (who arguably has his own tragic backstory) is able to ascend to the throne, becomes horrified with Kamsa’s baby-k*lling ways and withdraws his army from Mathura at the last moment to give Krishna a wide berth and an easy access to him.

Krishna and Balarama have to run around South India for many years after k*lling Kamsa and before Dwarika is rendered habitable because they do not wish to confront Jarasandha in battle (since most of the parliament of Mathura was against the war and would not cooperate with the brothers, making this a s*icide mission).

During this time, Balarama develops an alcohol problem, which to our knowledge he is not able to shake off for the rest of his life. Somewhere in the Gomantaka hill range, he also meets a local woman, described as the personification of the wine Kadambari (maybe the lady who got him hooked on the stuff for good, not that I am letting him off the hook for not seeking proper help). She gifted him a pair of diamond-stud earrings, one piece of which he lost in a drunken stupor, post which he was never able to find the lady, who seemingly ran away. As a mark of remembrance Balarama wears only that one earring, in his right ear for the rest of his life.

One of the rare times that Krishna loses patience and makes arguably a wrong decision is when he murders Shatadhanva over the syamantaka mess before interrogating him.

This incident leads to a falling out b/w Krishna and Balarama, a rift that never really heals after that since Balarama pretty much moves back to Vrindavana and refuses to talk to Krishna unless scolding him for something. He does visit on and off during festivals and family functions.

Paundraka Vaasudeva had a genuine claim to the title of Vaasudeva, and was willing to work with Krishna for a roughly passing-the-baton kind of ceremony but Krishna gets tired of waiting and k*lls him just to make things easier on himself.

Krishna burnt down the city of Kashi, with all citizens and temples, just to send a message, after getting Jarasandha k*lled.

Krishna is a shishya of Ghora-Angirasa, but that’s more important in a Jain-side story, but he does repeat some philosophical points attributed to that guy.

When Arjuna was around Krishna would literally lose all sense of propriety and personal space. From being overtly touchy-feely, to making Arjuna sit on his lap in public and making off-colour jokes in front of friends and family…we see a glimpse of what Krishna’s true personality is when he lets his guard down. Now, as to Krishna-Arjuna romantic pairing, I personally believe it, but Dr. Bhaduri doesn’t, so please don’t quote him on it.

The touchy-feely thing however, is partially also due to the fact that such kinds of physical contact were normal among the aahir-gopa community, so half the time Krishna genuinely doesn’t realize that he’s doing something that could be interpreted in some other way and Arjuna’s usually off blushing.

Krishna did not curse Samba, he merely pointed out early signs of HIV, which Samba took as a curse and ran with it.

Gandhari never cursed Krishna after Kurukshetra. She tried to. She started with, “Your friends and family will kill one another.” And Krishna just went, “Yeah, I know, they’re embarrassing.” And they moved on.

[kaibutsushidousha]

The Hundred Line special guests interview from Famitsu issue 1895

A game is composed of multiple elements, like "plot", "characters", "world", and "experience". In what order do those get constructed when you make games?

Jirou Ishii: Me first. I can't present a project unless I have all parts sorted. A game only becomes a project when you have a plot, a cast, a world, and your gameplay sorted out. Of course, sometimes I can only come up with fragments of the story and characters, but I need to have some ideas, any ideas, in store for later.

Alright. You next, YOKO.

YOKOTARO: I work mainly with action games, so the process might be different from visual novels. For action games, you need to start from an estimate of the gameplay mechanics, and only then you're allowed to come up with a story, cast, and world that fit with this estimate. By estimate, I do mean a budget. Eventually, you will find some cases where the estimate will pre-establish the number of characters in your cast, and even force you to redistribute who is an ally and who is an enemy to work with that. Wait, this wasn't supposed to be a conversation about money (laughs).

Kazutaka Kodaka: But since you made it about money, I have to mention how The Hundred Line was funded from Too Kyo's own pockets and we had strict budget plans to follow. But as the game kept growing, the initial budget only lasted a few months. Mostly my fault for not knowing when to hit the brakes.

YOKO: And how much did it cost? Saying the price in yen would qualify as gore, so let's use Ronpas as the currency here.

Kodaka: I mean, I could just tell you the price in yen here and now. It's not like the interviewers would be allowed to put the number on the magazine.

YOKO: Still on the topic of money, with how inflated localization costs have been these days, I sometimes get requests to cut scenes shorter. With how colossal The Hundred Line is, how much did that weigh on your budget?

Kodaka: The Hundred Line was a collaboration with Aniplex, meaning the production costs were split between us. All procedures were carried out on agreeable terms. Well, agreeable on our end. I can't say for certain Aniplex felt the same (laughs).

In what order was the world of The Hundred Line constructed?

Kodaka: A major factor in defining the direction of the story and the characters was my age. I felt like this was my last chance to write ensemble casts and believable teenager dialogue. As for the gameplay, we went with a tactical RPG because that's what I assumed would be the cheapest.

YOKO: Oh, you fell for THOSE illusions?

Kodaka: Oh yeah, that was a total illusion alright (pained laughs). Considering this was my collaboration with Uchikoshi, we initially positioned the plot as the main item and the TRPG gameplay as just a bonus to hype up the plot. But the desire to improve the TRPG only grew as development progressed, so we kept tweaking the battles until the last day available for it. With how much we managed to add in terms of story volume, polish, and gameplay, this title is the closest thing I can call to my ideal game. Now I'm ready to die without regrets (laughs).

Ishii: So can we count the game as your will?

All: (laughs)

The Hundred Line has 100 routes and endings. Can we get YOKO's and Ishii's opinions on this length?

Ishii: It's outright amazing. Relatively short visual novels, like PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo or Urban Myth Dissolution Center, have been major successes lately. This game runs contrary to the trend, if anything running closer to the lengthy VNs from our careers.

Kodaka: Our goal was making a VN that the player can keep playing over time. To accomplish that, we made multiple route types, and allowed the player to interpret the ending that satisfied them the most as the true ending. This concept for this new IP came from a wish to create an aspect that would get the people of the current year to question our sanities. The best we had to offer was quality and quantity in terms of text and illustration, and that's why we created 100 routes.

Ishii: The closest thing I can think of in terms of how different the routes get from each other is Banshee's Last Cry. That game as a VN with TRPG elements instead of a pure sound novel is an amusing idea. The elements of continuing the game until you're satisfied is also an aspect I feel competes with Gnosia. All that has me very interested in The Hundred Line.

Kodaka: Making the TRPG match the plot was much harder than we imagined. We needed to fine tune the difficulty to make every battle winnable using only the characters currently featured in the story. Which is made more difficult when you have a huge number of routes with crucial differences on who is and isn't in the roster, something really time-consuming for a simple consistency check. I was often going "wait, it doesn't make sense for this character to be at this moment of this route".

Looking at the story branches, this game has a lot in common with YOKO's work.

YOKO: True. I created my route splits to add replayability to the Drakengard series. Those were times when everyone kept saying short games weren't worth it. But in the current year, making something with 100 different routes and endings is the more dangerous play.

Koutarou Uchikoshi: From a creator's perspective, my reaction to Kodaka's project pitch was "Let's rethink this one" (laughs). I showed him a flowchart with 100 routes to hammer it how rash his idea was, but that only got him more motivated…

Kodaka: I got so excited about our game (laughs).

So the document written to make him quit backfired?

Uchikoshi: Honestly, from a player perspective, I saw The Hundred Line as something that appeals both to the crowd that wants to rush it and the crowd that wants to take their time. If we actually managed to make the whole thing (laughs).

Kodaka: I remember the people at Too Kyo being really split on the volume. Due to that, I asked my close friends about their opinions on the game's length. Most Japanese friends were put off by the amount of text, but the American friends explained that only the really hardcore crowd plays Japanese games in the US, so this length would be like Christmas in July.

YOKO: Eh, I feel like the Japanese crowd is also huge on the "I want to see every ending, I want the full experience".

Kodaka: Absolutely. I certainly prefer people experiencing everything, but it's perfectly fine to walk away whenever you feel satisfied.

Uchikoshi: This might work somewhat like RPG side quests. You don't have to clear all of them, but each one you experience deepens your understanding of the game.

The Hundred Line is split into visual novel sections and tactical RPG sections. What do you believe a visual novel needs to be in this age of such rich genre diversity?

Kodaka: The most memorable title I played recently is Until Then. It felt like one of the old ones, going on extensively while still following the principles of "everything matters". We did have games that were unproductive with their high length, but nowadays, I believe the norm is keeping it short. Shorter stories mean more time-efficiency, bringing their narrative formats closer to manga chapters, TV episodes, or movies. Although I can't conclusively say one method is better than the other.

Can we consider The Hundred Line to be your personal answer to this dilemma?

Kodaka: No, not an answer to the VN genre, just an answer to the question of what VN would the current me make. Saying I hold the answer to such an indie-dominated niche would be in bad taste. I personally want large titles to be produced more often, and would love to see my game revitalizing the genre upon release.

Your thoughts, Ishii?

Ishii: I believe we could soon be getting a roguelike-style title, like the Gnosia I mentioned before. The number of games that can pull off the right balance of storytelling and roguelike gameplay is still close to zero, but I expect a high-level title to appear and codify the genre in the near future. Also, writing a visual novel has always been a battle against flowcharts and loading multiple save files. I believe in game design innovations that can create stories that eliminate the need for flowcharts and save files. I'm very excited both to discover and to create story formats never seen before.

What do you have to say, YOKO?

YOKO: I believed the advancement of technology would blur the lines between action, RPG, and visual novel. My prediction didn't come true. The genres are still as distinct as they always were. But the definition of visual novel changed. Back in the days of hardware limitations, what we currently call sound novels were the only possible style of visual novel. But now that any form of presentation is possible, the labels changed meaning. The story sections in Uncharted and Detroit: Become Human are very similar, so I imagine the only reason why only the latter gets called a visual novel is because it doesn't have action gameplay.

Uchikoshi: Good point, Detroit and Uncharted share the same base 3D character adventure controls. The only difference really is the emphasizes on their movement.

Kodaka: Visual novel and adventure game are labels used interchangeably in Japanese, but in my opinion, the English-speakers stick only with the former because it's the one that makes sense.

Ishii: Calling it a novel really draws emphasis to the writing. At the risk of going off-topic, a key similarity between novel games and basic literature is the added attention to the story text through the absence of any other element. But classic literature cares too much about being narrated in first person, and with that being the only POV option, the worlds of novels feel biased at best and barren at worst.

YOKO: Ishii, do you think you could make money with pure literature?

Ishii: Sounds doable, I already made Bungo and Alchemist a hit (laughs).

All: (laughs)

And Uchikoshi's thoughts on visual novels?

Uchikoshi: I believe Detroit: Become Human to be the ultimate form of VNs as we currently know them. Wonderful visuals, too. But if you asked me if the ideal visual novel is a live-action movie with route splits, my answer would be no. Being able to control movement is important. One project I want to create later down the line is what would Detroit: Become Human would look like if it came from the mind of a Japanese man.

Oh, I'd love to play that.

Uchikoshi: I still have a lot I want to create, but at the rate AI is evolving, I'm afraid the market will soon be dominated by AI-generated VNs.

YOKO: I'm also pretty concerned about AI running all game creators out of their jobs. In 50 years from now, people might think of us the same way we think of wandering bards nowadays.

You think AI would be able to create the outlandish worlds and stories you come up with?

YOKO: Yes.

Ishii: Same opinion (laughs).

Kodaka: I think it can copy an author's technique, but not their personality. For example, it could create a game script that resembles a David Lynch movie, but if the real David Lynch were to write for game, he wouldn't write it in the same style he uses for writing movies.

YOKO: I think a high-end AI would go beyond that and be capable of perfectly replicating the man's behavior. Its output would be based on the intention rather than the instructions.

Kodaka: The idea of an AI that fails deadlines tickles me (laughs).

YOKO: I believe we're slowly leaving the era of asking it to copy the style of our favorite creators and entering the era of asking it to create scripts catered to our tastes. The AI determines what the player likes and generates the route they would want to read. Just an idea based on how quickly the area is developing in the user recommendations department.

Kodaka: That would reduce the amount of experience people can share with one another, slowly fading away the concept of a bestseller from public consciousness worldwide.

The Hundred Line will be the first IP directly owned by Too Kyo Games. What do you believe to be the significance of owning franchises instead of only creating them?

YOKO: I don't own any of my series. I own partial rights to a manga, but for the games, I generally give everything to the client. Being real with you, owning a game franchise is not, by itself, something that makes money. But if you don't care about the money, then owning your series has one merit in the form of easier creative control. But I can control my franchises by having a relationship of mutual trust with the producers that hire me, which includes being able to tell them when I don't want a product to be made, so in my case specifically, I'd say I don't need to own anything.

Kodaka: Same here, I don't find IP ownership that significant. I may own The Hundred Line but it's not like Too Kyo Games can leverage that to make anime or stage play adaptations in our studio. We still need partner companies and production staff, and that makes the process not much different from how it would have been if the franchise rights were elsewhere. The only reason why I was so insistent in making The Hundred Line our first IP was because one of the foundation goals of Too Kyo Games was to own one franchise, didn't matter which. But with how huge of a project The Hundred Line was, it was maybe my last guess for which series we would get to keep.

Ishii: The Hundred Line really feels made with the intention of becoming a series. Kodaka already made a successful franchise out of Danganronpa, so I've been noticing the subtle details enabling the series expansion of The Hundred Line.

Kodaka: Whatever I did there was mostly unintentional. But my past successes were a basis for the creation of this new plot, cast, and world, so I could see it naturally coming out with franchise potential.

YOKO: It doesn't need to be conscious or intentional. Kodaka and Uchikoshi have a propensity for sequel hooks. A fetish, even. The games they make carry the seeds for sequels at their deepest core. I can see the sleeper agents in them.

Kodaka: I don't know about that (nervous laughs).

YOKO: You two can't help yourselves trapping characters in enclosed environments, to suffer until they reach their cruel demise. This inexplicable impact is something both of you share. It's honestly impressive how your games are so similar in plot but so different in flavor.

I agree (laughs). Onto a different subject now, tell us what makes a game built at your studio, or as a freelancer, uniquely good or uniquely difficult.

Kodaka: You think YOKOTARO still remembers anything from your employee days?

YOKO: I do. It felt really limiting, having to commute to work every day and work together with people who didn't vibe with me. The freelance life is a comfort to me. I have the freedom to choose when I go to the office and who I work with. Even when the client pitches a weak project my way, I can change it into something fun as long as I respect the important points of the budget estimate.

You're allowed to alter the client's base concept for the game?

YOKO: They get pissed because I only report that to them after the point of no return, but, y'know… negotiation skills can take you anywhere (laughs).

Ishii: I actually feel like I had more creative freedom in my employee days. I was fiercely determined to create something new, motivated by my need to charisma check the corporation in order to get my projects approved and secure a better budget. I looked really assured, since I thought casually giving them permission to fire me if it flopped was normal. That's also a reason why I wanted to be a director who supports creators after I went independent. But in reality, it's really hard to come across a director willing to quit the company for their mistakes whenever. When I say "If you're willing to put your job on the line, I'll provide you with everything you need", the default answer is "Sir, I have a family to feed". This conflict in worldview was the biggest obstacle of my early independent career.

Uchikoshi: Could it be a generational gap thing?

Ishii: No, a lot of people from my generation are strongly stability-minded, so I think I'm the only one built different.

What compromises have you been through in your freelance career?

Ishii: Once I was no longer capable of making super niche games, my first feelings were conflict and despair. I wasn't sure I'd be able to accept the person I'd become after many so many concessions to my identity, even knowing I had to do it to earn my daily bread. Nonetheless, most jobs I worked with after going solo were commercial successes. And my journey of self-search, analyzing what made them big hits, is still not over.

Kodaka and Uchikoshi went independent with the creation of Too Kyo Games. Did you notice any differences?

Kodaka: In my "salaryman era", when I had something I wanted to do, it was harder to assemble the necessary parts. Nowadays, if I ever feel like making a game for a manga or anime franchise, I can give it a shot. Being able to adjust mine and Uchikoshi's workloads at my discretion also makes life a lot easier. I can tell that trying to direct and write two or more games at the same time is too much for me, but where I have more minor roles, I have the option to move things forward by working on the weekends.

Uchikoshi : By becoming a commissioner rather than a commissionee, I learned that hierarchies were never real. When I relied on the company's salary, I assumed I was supposed to obey their request no matter how impracticable and the people being paid have no right to refuse. Then, at my first job as the one asking for things, I made my first impracticable request and heard a "No, that will not be possible. Not an option." (laughs). Turns out money and labor are items traded at the same rate. One side is not above the other. I want to be able to more confidently say no to impossible jobs.

Now we'll be moving away from the topic of work and talk about the real-life events and pieces of media that resonated with you in the past few years.

Kodaka: I've been too busy for games and movies these past couple of years. The only form of media I've been enjoying lately is wrestling. Each match ends on the same day it starts, and that's enough time to spend not thinking about my job. Things finally calmed down lately, and I took the chance to beat Metaphor: ReFantazio and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth back-to-back so I won't get stuck behind the times. As for movies, I watched Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Beginning and Conclave.

YOKO: The movies I recommend are The Wild Robot and Petals and Memories.

Huh, not a lineup I'd have expected.

YOKO: I rarely go to the theaters on my own, so whenever I'm invited to a private screening of a movie, I always try to take the opportunity. The Wild Robot impressed with how much content it could pack in only 2 hours, and I spent the whole second hour crying. I genuinely had to fight not to make any noises in the theater room. Petals and Memories is another emotional piece. When I watch something that plays out too similar to what I write, my head goes into work mode and I can't focus again, but those kinds of titles that have nothing to do with my inner world are incredibly effective at pulling my heartstrings. I heavily recommend both of these titles. Please let me use the magazine's space to deliver lengthy sinopses of them.

What about you, Ishii?

Ishii: Shanghai's immersive theater is impactful. The viewers go to a theater styled like a 5-6 room apartment and walk around the residence, following the plot unfold in real time where the actors go. It's so high quality that it made me feel something I haven't since the first time I played Dragon Quest on the NES.

Kodaka: Were the actors speaking Chinese?

Ishii: I went in accompanied by Chinese-Japanese bilinguals. I had 3 people interpreting it for me, but depending on what was happening on the scene, all three would get too panicked to translate. That part only added to the amazing immersiveness. The theater also has plays that don't rely on spoken dialogue, so I could go along for the ride and get the most out of the interactive experience.

What about you, Uchikoshi?

Uchikoshi : The most recent game that really got me was Nier: Automata.

Kodaka: From, like, 2017?

YOKO: Are you just saying stuff to be funny?

Uchikoshi : I mean it! I don't believe any game has surpassed Nier: Automata yet. It really consumed my brain and I'm not just saying this because you're sitting right here. The story is just so deep and philosophical.

YOKO: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I will never make another that lives up to your standards!

Uchikoshi : Can you elaborate?

YOKO: I've grown too old to have skills (laughs).

Be serious (laughs)

Uchikoshi : Also, I don't know if this counts as entertainment media, but I was on a promotional trip to the United States and something happened at the bar I was in. The American friend who took me to the bar suddenly walked to a huge black man and started a rap battle against him.

YOKO: Ok, NOW you're just saying things to be funny!

Uchikoshi : It happened! (laughs)

Ishii: You should have joined them.

Kodaka: Convince them to play Nier: Automata with your rap.

All: (laughs)

Uchikoshi : I couldn't parse what they were saying, and most of all, I was scared… I pretended I didn't know him until the rap battle was over. As Ishii mentioned just now, nothing compares to the immersiveness of a real life experience.

YOKO: So, in summary, what you're is saying people are better off dropping The Hundred Line and going outside?

Uchikoshi : No, I'm saying you should live real life experiences AFTER beating The Hundred Line.

Lastly, tell us your next plans and ideas.

Kodaka: I've been exceedingly busy for the last few years, working on multiple projects, with The Hundred Line at the center of it all, but now I finally settled down for the first time since forever. I gotta take a break from creative work and focus on promoting The Hundred Line until April 24th. Besides The Hundred Line, I also have another game already fully produced, so I will be announcing this one any day now.

YOKO: I do have an ongoing project, but nothing I can discuss at the moment… What kind of answer does the magazine even expect with this kind of question?

Hah, throwing the question back at the interviewer! Well, it's about the obvious, I'm fishing for info on the future of your known titles. An ideal answer would be something like "I want to make a new Nier sequel."

YOKO: Ok, so that's the answer I'm going with. I want to make a new sequel for whichever series you, the reader, personally wants the most.

Now we're talking (laughs).

All: (laughs)

Uchikoshi : Same answer as him.

Kodaka: Didn't you say you wanted to make a game like Detroit: Become Human?

Uchikoshi : That's the one I'm talking about.

What about you, Ishii?

Ishii: I got the perfect content for you. I'm ready to throw a bomb at my fans on April 28th. It's my personal passion project at the moment, but I started already expecting certain people to want to contribute once I have something to show them for it. Let's see how well that goes. Don't miss it.

Uchikoshi : April 28th? That's four… two…

Kodaka: I was trying not to say it.

All: (laughs)

YOKO: That Uchikoshi, doing the job of the Famitsu editors for them!

Uchikoshi : I knew that none of you were going to say it, so I had to… (nervous laughs)

"April 28th" coming from Ishii's mouth is a pretty solid hint.

Ishii: Yes, the 4/28 date matters. I hope my impact in the VN scene doesn't fall behind The Hundred Line.

—————————————————————————–

Links:

Writing team interview

Design team interview

Music team interview

[tagamantra]

On Posture In Gubat Banwa

So the sixth version of Gubat Banwa's First Edition "returns" to the ideal that HP as a pacing mechanic, an Action Economy limiter, and a resource pressure. As always, in Tactical Combat games, resource management is a major aspect of the gameplay. Management of action economy, management of distance, management of other currency (such as Class-specific Resources). Most of a Tactical Combat Grid game revolves around the manipulation of these mechanics: reducing, regaining, adding, changing, force multiplication/division of these resources, and more. In Tomian Design (that is, Tom of LANCER RPG and ICON RPG), costing.

For the first 5 versions of Gubat Banwa's design, we worked with lower HP values (across the board) and with Dice Pools. The idea was that each dice in a dice pool was an attack launched, or a moment of concentration. Every die in the defense pool was a parry or evasion attempted. While the fantasy of that worked pretty great, the maths on the other hand did not. It worked almost counter-intuitively against the high-flying martial arts x deliberate tactical combat that I was trying to strike a balance for. My white elephant, my Shambhala, was to strike a good balance between that.

The Change

In 1.6, while the Dice Pool didn't entirely go away--much of the game is built around getting tactically advantageous positions so that you can get more dice and a higher chance of dealing greater damage on the target--it went for a more linearly scaling game with the result on the die reducing the target's Health.

It was a hit, mostly, among the inner circle (that is to say, my friends that I run the newer version for). There was an immediate sense of "we know how this game works" now.

On Tactical Video Games

It was more transparent--this information was crucial to making a tactical game work and sing. This is why in video games, almost every tactical game has the "Combat Forecast", like in Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, that showcased the expected Hit Rate and the Damage Output.

This is absolutely integral: tactical games are decision point games. Without the proper information (doesn't need to be complete information), no decision can be done satisfyingly. This isn't to say that dice pools can't be used for a tactical game of course--I've done it. But it requires a different kind of design principle and design goal that Gubat Banwa wasn't going for. That sense of martial progression, of spiritual strength and eventual enlightenment.

From HP to POS

During the initial playtests, we were still working with HP. Hit Pearls. The idea was that every hit "shattered" a Hit Pearl. This worked with the Dice Pools, because the fiction was that every attack could be parried with Defense Dice.

What was the problem with this? Firstly, the math of this was inherently fraught, unfortunately: on higher levels, Defense Dice were either horribly impenetrable or did absolutely nothing to defend you. It became a binary thing. That was not the goal: for the martial fantasy to come to life, much of the decisions should not binary but rather, on a gradient spectrum.

To me, the destroyer of tactical grid games is when there's a single best strategy that shatters the tension of the game. My favorite parts of Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre were early game moments where the output randomness could make every fight go completely different, even if you redid the same stage more than once.

Secondly, when the outcome of an action is that, really, nothing happened, you used an attack (even worse, the attack was buffed by yourself, an ally, and tactical modifiers) and then the target was able to parry all your hits. The fiction is exciting for a second, but then when you return to the battle grid, nothing changed. The mechanics fed into the fiction, but the fiction didn't feed into the mechanics.

With the math change, the fiction of the Hit Pearls wasn't working because HP values were higher to compensate for the changed math. 12 Hit Pearls could feasibly be visualized as Link's Hearts, for example. But at 48 HP, that didn't work anymore.

Hearkening to the Ancients

So I actually went on a trip to older versions of Gubat Banwa, and found I'd solved that particular problem. Older versions of Gubat Banwa had HP as "Mettle", their ability to stay in the fight. Turning to the game's current version, I realized the Physical Defense stat was perfect: POSTURE. The stance, the guard, the ability to keep fighting, the ability to turn mortal wounds into grazing hits, the ability to ignore the effects of bleeding wounds, of burning pyres, of seeping poison.

Every attack was inflicting damage by chipping away at the target's guard, or forcing their stance into more compromised positions so that they would be open to an actual mortally wounding strike. They were still real hits that the defender was actively still guarding against. And with every attack defended, their guard wore down.

This hit me after watching Donnie Yen's SAKRA (2023) the other day. Reaching back into the high-flying wuxia roots, Donnie Yen's character doesn't even take real hits until after he's overwhelmed because he is such a martial superior against the rest of the Beggar Clan. Because his Posture was so high.

Ten Thousand Earth Shattering Blows

It worked great. Not to mention that it's a great reference to Sekiro, another huge inspiration to the games's intended fiction, which also had a Posture break. Now Staggered for half Posture or lower made sense: your guard is brittle! You court death! Now the Wide Open affliction felt more in genre: your guard is wide open, so you're suffering more!

The Physical Defense stat was renamed into PARRY, while the Magical Defense stat was kept as RESILIENCE (itself a reference to Final Fantasy Tactics A2!) The defenses were there to keep the mechanical bite of an Attack vs Defense interaction, to provide an avenue for another mechanical design space, as well as to shoe in the fact that when an attack targets your Parry you're physically blocking while an attack against your Resilience requires your fortitude and concentration to block against: when your Posture is reduced, when you guard is worn down by these attacks, you know how you were defending.

When enemies hit 0 POS, that attack is the one that gets through their Defenses and kills them outright. When a Kadungganan falls to 0 POS they're not dead, but they suffer a WOUND, which only heals on Downtime (as opposed to POS healing on Repose, ie., short rest).

On Defeat and Victory

While you're Defeated, you suffer the same effects of Stun, but you can still act and do things, even make attacks at full power: you're Kadungganan after all. But every attack against you, despite your PARRY or your RESILIENCE is not met with a stance ready to block. Thus, every instance of damage you suffer, no matter how much, inflicts another Wound. When you eat 5 Wounds, you can pull on your Conviction to stay alive. Otherwise, you are tossed back into the cycle of reincarnation, or into the river to Sulad, or to Lunar Heaven, or to whatever next life your Kadungganan has chosen to ascribe to.

Status Effects

Statuses such as Poisoned, Bleeding, or Aflame, don't break you yet because they must eat through your bodily resistance. But they are still real: an aflame Kadungganan fights on even as flames swathe their body.

They can die later, when they feel the effects of the burn when their POS falls to 0. They can die later, when the Poison finally seeps through and enervates them and destroys their defensive capability. They can die later, when the bleeding takes its toll and they can no longer keep their stance up.

Martial Glossolalia

With a simple terminology change, the fiction changed entirely. Now everyone knew it was their defenses wearing down. Swords didn't cut off their fingers, flames didn't burn through their skin. They know that defenses are a holistic thing: your stamina, your constitution, your composure, your reactive ability, your dexterity, your presence of mind, your focus.

"It's not realistic!" The game is not meant to be realistic, and realism is not an inherent ontological good nor is it a goal for most TTRPGs, you will notice. Experiences, feelings. The fiction Gubat Banwa draws upon--SEAsian Folk Epics, Asian Martial Arts Cinema--is filled to the brim with the CLANG CLANG CLANG of sword-on-sword action. Often these clangs happen so quickly that you cannot process them, they are abstracted to you when it resolves in your brain--so is it abstracted by Gubat Banwa. Posture going down is the CLANG CLANG CLANG that resonates across a fight scene. It's not realistic because it's not meant to be, and even then, we must argue what your conception of reality is!

I could be argued that much of Tabletop RPGs (and, I would argue, most of games in general) is an exercise of language. Exploiting its vagaries, its ability to connect. When you go into Gubat Banwa, learning the mechanics of the game is learning a new language. And what is language but the foundation of culture?

[eretzyisrael]

TEHRAN — Any qualified individuals or eager recent college graduates looking for work in the field of nuclear engineering will be happy to know that there are exciting opportunities that have just recently opened up in Iran.

Suddenly and without warning, multiple exciting positions in the field of nuclear energy research became available, creating opportunities for experienced engineers to step in and start working immediately.

"These vacancies just exploded onto the scene," said one job listing. "All experienced nuclear engineers are encouraged to apply."

Some of the job openings posted in the last 48 hours included:

Enriched Uranium Inspector: A fun, hands-on occupation with room for growth, 30,000,000 IRR monthly (to be paid from pallets of U.S. currency). Knowledge of goat-herding required.

Mostly Peaceful Nuclear Applications Project Lead: A versatile position that offers opportunities in both civilian and military uses — create and destroy! Retail management experience is a plus.

Project Disinformation Coordinator: A creative job that will allow individuals to conceal, deceive, deny, and develop cover stories to keep all project information secret. Minimum five years of experience at a mainstream American media outlet preferred.

Depending on outside circumstances, these positions — and the entire department — may not last long, so interested applicants are encouraged to get in touch as soon as possible.

As with other positions, hatred for Israel and the United States is required. Submit those applications today and start work as early as tomorrow!

[sockssketchingshack]

Rant: don't buy gold for the apocalypse you can't eat metal

Okay so since I'm overly paranoid I'm giving you guys some advice I've been preparing for years on

I'm a very paranoid person and a large part of that is prepping

Prepping is basically prepping for the end of the world or the apocalypses or government collapse

It doesn't matter what end times happens you need to be ready for all of it

My most prominent advice is to not invest in gold

No one's going to care about gold when currency becomes useless.

You can't eat gold bars

I highly recommend doing what I am currently doing making sure my household can be fully self sufficient without any help from the city

Which means collecting rain water and investing in solar.

Now technically you can go with some other forms of energy collection but I am personally going with solar due to how much land we have around our house.

Now for rain water collection people mostly use a gutter system with multiple different barrels and tanks to store it in along with heavy filters placed along the gutter systems to keep anything bad out of the water.

But the most important thing above anything else

Is food

Grow a garden. This will give you a great advantage in the end times.

Because if you get to where your garden is self sufficient and can feed you and anyone you decide to be your ride or dies

Then the only thing you have to worry about is health issues and other humans

Now medicine is immediately going to be the most scarce and valued resource. So try to save up on it. Or if you think you can survive without it try to ween yourself off of it. It will be awful. But better than a sudden stop.

And again I cannot stress this enough. grow a garden or more if able, grow all the plants that can produce food. Any and all of them. You will need food. So get you a rainwater collection system and a garden. That will be the best chance at survival.

But if you manage to get these two things what I recommend next is power and electricity. And also investing into hunting and tools.

Hunting will help with meat and tools will help you make some more complicated things that you will need if your going beyond just water and plants.

Tools will help you collect wood and help you get enough firm foliage for makeshift rope. Also non electric powered machines can be very useful if your electricity plan isn't known yet.

Stone mills for example can grind wheat into flour

Stone or wood can also help you make a makeshift oven/cooker.

But if you're worried about cooking I recommend a grill. You can easily fill with wood and light on fire.

Speaking of fire do not stock up on lighters or match sticks. These will run out. You need to find a renewable or a reliable way to make fire.

That's why I recommend fire starter blocks. They're small. Not fluid based. And really easy to use. And most importantly reusable. And long lasting depending on the type of material or metal it's made of. Plus with how much money you'd be spending on stocking up on lighters or matches fire starter blocks will cost around the same and will last longer than any of them.

[yuqsdug]

I have a question regarding your forsaken AU. Are the skins for survivors canon? If so, then why and how were they created?

I haven't really thought about this but they are most canon.

Ironically, it kinda works like the actual forsaken shop. They get currency for fixing generators and doing tricks which they can spent on food and costumes. (They don't need food here, but the survivors would rather have it)

A lot of costumes also have just become other survivers.

Maybe the staff have to also produce the survivor skin clothing.

(Edit: Drew some)

So anyway...

Time to list which ones are canon and not

Noob:

Costumes:

Inverted

trapped

Ennakon

Spiders

Retro

Elf

Other people:

Cadi

Certified Combat Dummy

Nooby (from GASA)

GASA4 Player (from GASA duh)

Noob cosplay (A random robloxian who really likes noob)

Elliot:

Costumes:

Supplier

Milkman

Pizza man

Casual

Manager

Retro

Rudolf

Other people:

Cashier (from GASA)

Alien (Do not question how an alien got forsaken)

Tom

Eunoia

Two time:

Costumes:

Bald time

Boss

Jock

Phoenix

Spiral

Snow time

Kitty cat

Celeste (Two time actually made this by hand. He likes Celeste.)

Other person:

Yorick (You wouldn't kill Yorick on his resting grounds, would you?)

Shedletsky:

Costumes:

Modern

Classic

Chicken

Shadow ninja

Light ninja

Fire ninja

Santa

Sunderland (cosplay, but the Halloween store variety)

Pirate

Telamon (he is Telamon)

Other people:

John Forsaken (just happened to look like Shedletsky.)

Nashatra Bealdhild

Figures (Red?)

Crafter

Vagabond

Builderman:

Costumes:

Modern

Festive

Skeletal

Fixer upper

Agent

Highschool

Retro (not hatred 😞)

Engineer (cosplay again)

Other people:

Construction worker

Bob

BSOD

Oh noes

Guest 1336:

(i have not watched last guest

Costumes:

Modern

Camo

Agent

Gingerbread

Retro (Noob has confused him for 666 while in poor lighting conditions multiple times)

Modern matt is a skin for matt

Bouncer guest

Nacho libre (cosplay)

Tommy Jarvis (cosplay)

Little brother

Gene (cosplay)

Dragon guest

Other people:

Matt (Has to go do round at the times 1336 is at the lobby and opposite.)

Boy guest

Girl Guest

Bobby

Ally that only kills zombies and not u

So many skins...

007n7:

Costumes:

Disaster

C00l

Pizza delivery

Dad

Mailman

Burger king

Agent

Burger

Reindeer

Disco

Onesie

Spy (cosplay)

Other people:

Anonymous (no, not anon.)

Windows (absolute besties with BSOD)

Decoy

Dummy (from GASA series)

Chance:

Costumes:

Homeless (99 of gamblers stop before they win big)

Agent

Pink day

Fast food

Cowboy

Ultrakill (Cosplay)

Mirror

Other people:

Workclock

LMaD

Godfather

Alien (another one got forsaken D= )

Chanceton

That. Is. Everyone.

Real footage of the anon sending me the ask while standing less than 2 meters away from me after I just complained about not knowing what to do with the survivor skins.

[rhymeswithchronic]

Finally managed to make it to the tumblr!

But ok! I have so many thoughts and need to pick your brain because I love your world building!

If the fighter layer used to hold parties and festivals for the other levels, does this mean there was an express elevator? Like we know there are hidden passages to let the masters get around more easily but I feel like it’s probably best to not reveal those to the general public because you know, cheating. An express elevator would make it easier for pros to send food to the other layers. Like something that was closed most of the time except when it was needed.

Do you think the boots serve solely as an identifier or are they like a key card and let you into specific places? Because Seawatt is still wearing chainmail, I don’t think he’s ever going to take them off again, but he’s still going wherever he likes. With that being said.

What kind of boots does Boey have?

And what if, in a moment of Evbo hubris, Boey got overzealous and fell into the void. What would happen? Other than this dads and mom freaking the fuck out and Boey having a panic attack because of the respawn. Because Evbo already set the precedence that if you fall in the void or die, you just safely respawn at the beginning or having dropped down a level. So where would Boey go? The beginning with no boots or the fighter level with chainmail? Or would Evbo’s heart just explode as he dove to catch his son

WEEE I love all of these questions!

I like to imagine that, in the early days, there were multiple passageways to the other layers. There was, naturally, the rank-up courses for those who wanted to move up in rankings, which were specifically designed to test the skills you should know at your current rank rather than being active death traps as they are in the Evil Champion’s days. Then, there were basically just regular paths that traveled up and down that were just made to match the regular difficulty of the layer. From Noobs to Pro would be a regular staircase, Pro to Fighter would be one block vertical, Fighter to Master two block vertical. This meant it was fairly easy for everyone to make it up to the Fighters but it was still kind of difficult to get to the Master Layer. There was something like dumbwaiters in the temples to transport materials and food and probably small children that couldn’t make the jumps on their own as well.

Essentially, there was free movement between the layers but still courses if you wanted to rank up. Even though each layer had its own specialty there was definitely still class bias. Noobs were typically new families with small children that didn’t want to risk going any higher or people comfortable with basic jumps even at the expense of their pride. The higher up you got the more respect you received and the Masters still held most of the prestigious jobs, so there was certainly incentives to ranking up. It also still gave access to more difficult blocks and totems of undying once you reached the higher layers, still used as currency alongside actual jumps themselves. It was just a bit more of a universal currency than just the Masters using blocks.

For boots, they partially act as key cards as well as symbols. There’s more acceptance of traveling between layers again, though it’s still not super easy and the best way is still through the way the Masters travelled, so you don’t have to have specific boots to go to specific layers. Someone with leather could feasibly travel freely on the Master layer though it would probably not end well for them considering… you know. The jumps. The places where you need to have certain boots to access are places that are more specific to a layer like the Pros’ training grounds or the Masters’ water bucket area. It’s to discourage staying outside of your layer even though travel is permitted. You can go anywhere but you won’t be able to access any of their amenities. The only exception is the Champion Challenge arena which is only accessible during challenges but available for everyone to enter when it is open. When there isn’t a challenge, the only ones that can enter it are Evbo, EMF, Seawatt, and Boey. Even the Champion level is open for anyone to access to prevent communication loss between layers. The secret passageway is still there and visible to Evbo and EMF, but it’s obsolete. The more common way up is a glass pane parkour spiral staircase.

Seawatt essentially has a Fighter’s key card running on a Master’s software. Programmed to work like one while looking like another. So he still gets the comfort of wearing his old boots while having the freedom to go where he pleases. :3

I’m actually super happy you asked about Boey’s boots! Or, more particularly, his lack of thereof! He could wear boots but they are essentially useless to him. See, he’s basically a ghost code in the world. Even if he wore boots, they wouldn’t register as actually being on anyone so they wouldn’t give him any benefits. Instead, because of his “ghost” status, he’s also not affected by natural barriers since they literally don’t register his existence. He is fully present, alive, functional, but his code is the same as Evbo’s, basically marking him as a ghost duplicate. If there was anything that could process his existence, he would literally just be considered Evbo and given access anyway. It’s a fun concept I really want to do something with one day because I think it could make for some super interesting scenarios!!

Funnily enough this probably has the same function if Boey fell into the void. The world literally does not acknowledge his respawn point anymore after the initial glitch (since when he died THAT time, he had a code it could pull from since he actually existed in a world in some way) but it also wouldn’t hurt him since… the world thinks he’s its god. So he’d literally just end up vibing in the void until he was pulled out by Evbo. There would definitely be some freaking out on all sides but he would ultimately be fine, just shaken. The issue would really appear if he fell from a level and hit a block. He definitely is fully capable of experiencing fall damage and if he wasn’t saved at the last minute the impact would *definitely* kill him. Given the specific types of fics I’ve been posting I’ve really not had the ability to explore the sheer *glitchiness* of Boey’s presence in Parkour Civilization but rest assured his code is a buggy mess.

(This probably means he could not be revived if he did die. Boey went from being the one person in the world who could respawn to the one person in the world who couldn’t, unless shenanigans happened that caused him to physically manifest a brand new code, but the jury is still out on that)

The same does not go for Parrot since there is no copy of him. He has a similar ghost code so he would have the same “doesn’t exist” properties that Boey has but not the confusing buggy mess of a ghost code that Boey has. The places that don’t register him he could enter and exit freely, the places that do would block him off since he has no rank. It’s a complete 50/50 shot with no real rhyme or reason behind what allows him in and what doesn’t. I’m not sure honestly if he could respawn or not.

A lot of this I already kind of had in my mind but it’s a freaking blast to put it all together like this. You have no idea how much fun I’m having thinking about this stuff and putting the vague world building ideas to words. This whole post probably looks mega confusing so I hope I was at least able to articulate some of it lol. Thank you sm for the opportunity to:3

[crossedwithblue]

Balance and fair exchange in the Scholomance

I'm fresh out of my first Schlomance reread, and, besides thoroughly enjoying the foreshadowing, I have Thoughts about the ideas of balance and fair exchange in the series. I'm a scientist by training and Indian by origin, and both of those come into it.

Let's start with mass in and out of the school (because that was the start of this post). The seniors grow over the course of their four years - a lot. Between 14-18, most boys are going to have several growth spurts, and many girls might have reached their adult height but they're still gonna fill out into their adult body types*. We also know that the freshers get a very strict weight allowance. My hunch is that the collective allowance is the difference between the incoming freshers' and the outgoing seniors' bodyweight. This would preserve the mass balance within the school such that no mana is wasted on importing or exporting excess mass (more on that in a minute!). Presumably, the collective allowance is equally distributed, since if the enclavers had managed to skew it in their favour, it would most definitely be mentioned, plus this also fits well the the Scholomance's impersonal fairness**.

N.B. the collective weight difference is probably less than you'd think. Personally, I (cis woman) was already pretty much my adult height and weight at 14, it just redistributed itself a lot, from my tummy to my hips and breasts. The boys would definitely mostly pick up in height, but given that they were all fed up before initiation, even they'd probably have less of an overall weight difference than you'd think - which is why the weight allowance is so strict. Then again, any equipment they're taking out with them helps push it back the other way.

*(the malnutrition they face in the Scholomance would admittedly hamper their growth, but given that the boys manage to shoot up in height and the girls get their periods, and that they're able to keep up with the gruelling study and graduation-prep schedules, and that multiple people including El are described as putting on muscle, it does seem like the school is at least able to feed most of the kids well enough that they're reasonably physically healthy)

**(slightly but not entirely jossed by the short story in Buried Deep - it could still work in the framework of my theorising, if this was changed after the events of canon).

I typed all that out and then questioned how it makes the magical ingredients work. Food and water take care of themselves via excreting about the same, as do gases. My extremely morbid answer to this is, uh, dead bodies. And the mana generated by the schoolwork and the suffering and the deaths, I guess. IIRC people can very easily lose stuff or have it turn 'bad', so perhaps that helps with the balance of mass too.

Back to my point about importing/exporting mana - mana is a lot of things in this universe. It's bargaining power, it's currency, and it's energy. My headcanon is that the mana is actually the energy that should be wasted through heat when you do anything at all, but wizards have the ability to recapture and store it somehow - which is why everyone has a finite capacity. They're just, IDK, as close to a perpetual motion machine as you can get? Obviously far from perfect, since they have the aforementioned finite capacities and still need to eat and sleep etc. But the way mana is talked about is pretty similar to the way energy behaves in the real world, IMO. The Scholomance isn't terribly hard-rules with its magic but this is one that's pretty consistent. You can't create or destroy energy. You can't get something from nothing, that's not how the world works. Someone, somewhere, will pay the price, even if you don't know who or how or when.

This ties in extremely effectively with the idea of balance and fair exchange that's central to the Scholomance series. The enclaves can't stabilise space out of nothing, they have to borrow it from somewhere (plus the whol deal with enclaves in the first place - I won't spoiler it, but iykyk!). You have to do the work to build up mana, and malia use has its own terrible costs. Aadhya and El's friendship starts with Aadhya brokering deals; El respects and likes her because she does so fairly. The universe is a horribly, wonderfully fair creditor and debtor: it will always, always collect, but equally, it will always fulfil your sacrifices, even if you could never predict how any of it comes due.

For me, El and Orion being drawn to each other fits in with this. As far as I know, karma doesn't work in a 'sins of the fathers' way - why would it, when you're going to be reborn into your own consequences anyway - but El was born to be Orion's counterweight and balance, the golden child illuminating the dark void. I'm sure it's been said before it's very obvious symbology, but still worth including in the list of points. (Side fun fact: 'Deepthi' means 'light' in Sanskrit - it's a very popular name, and of course is El's prophetic ancestress's name. Coincidence? Maybe, but I doubt it very much).

I've talked quite a bit in my previous post about how it seems like Indian philosophy is very deeply baked into the worldbuilding of the series, and I think this is another case of that. Everyone's heard of the concept of karma, of course, but the Western notions of it aren't Thee most accurate. Karma in Indian philosophy and religion is a more long-term thing, there's no 'instant karma'. Most of the time, the karmic consequences won't manifest until your next life at the earliest - and, of course, your karma determines what your rebirth will be. Good karma means you end up as a noble animal, bad karma means you'll be an earthworm, just as examples. This also fits in pretty well with the mana/malia stuff, which I talk about a bit more in the first post.

So that turned into a bit of a ramble of science and culture in the worldbuilding, less coherent than I originally planned, but I hope someone finds this interesting and/or food for thought! Novik does such a masterful job of weaving allegory and philosophy into this series, I love it.

[lalcayl]

How to afk farm at grandma again?

This photo tells you everything, but I will expand more below

Some people complained about players using shared spaces to afk farm at grandma, so TGC got rid of shared spaces around this area (You know, people complaining that other people have lives outside the game.)

First of all, TGC is working on something in beta. In future updates we will only need to get closer to these clumps (and the geyser ones too) to burn them. No need to struggle to light them up.

Still, a lot of us have been trying to afk farm again and we managed to do so, somehow.

You'll need items that provide fire to light the buns. Here's a list of the items that work and how much they cost if you want to spend on them.

Props that work and I'm 100% certain

Square Brazier. From Troupe Juggler, a Rhythm spirit. It costs 14 hearts.

Cauldron. From Prophet of Fire, a Prophecy spirit. It costs 13 hearts.

Assembly Brazier. From the Assembly guide. It's a permanent prop. It costs 12 hearts.

Torch. From Marching Adventurer, an Assembly spirit. It costs 55 candles (💀)

Mischief Cauldron. From Days of Mischief. It cost 36 event currency.

[EDIT] Stone Candle Light. From the Nesting Workshop. Permanent item from a random rotation. It costs 16 ascended candles.

Props that might work, but I haven't tried

Belonging Ultimate Bonfire. An Ultimate from the season of belonging. There are multiple spells for this prop. I don't recommend it since it's really big and might push the buns away.

Remembrance Kettle. From the Remembrance guide. It's a permanent prop. It costs 50 candles. I do think this one might work since the mischief cauldron works. It seems like the same type of prop.

Chandelier. From Comfort of Kindness, from the season of Moomin. It is season pass exclusive and costs 42 seasonal candles. I saw this one work in Geyser, so it might work.

Props that don't work, and I've tried

Stone Wood-Fired Oven. From the Nesting Workshop. Permanent prop that you might find during a rotation. It costs 35 ascended candles. I tried using it from different angles. Didn't work.

Stone Wall Sconce. From the Nesting Workshop. Permanent prop that you might find during a rotation. It costs 8 ascended candles. Didn't work.

You can also sit down, or use a pose that leaves your hands close to the table and pull a white candle. Sometimes it works, other times the buns roll away.

To get a white candle out, you either need a friend or to just light up someone. Click/tap on a friendship upgrade and deny when it asks you if you want to buy it. The white candle stays in your hand.

[jodeliejodelie]

My utterly correct and well-researched predictions for The Sims 5

no research has actually be done by me at all

EA will make the game a monthly subscription "service" which always needs to be online. There will of course be multiple subscription tiers with the higher tiers receiving some utterly mediocre clothes, hairs, furniture, Sims, you name it, paying lipservice to causes like diversity to make them seem important and un-missable (farm that FOMO). Lower tiers will have ads, a limited number of allowed mods/cc, and reduced graphics or some shit.

And of course there will be expansion packs, a staple of The Sims franchise, but you will need to pay for those too. Unless you subscribe to the platinum+ package, which includes a season pass. Of course there will always be certain cc packs that everybody will have to pay for, such as collaborations with big brands like D*sney, big fashion houses or IK*A. Occasionally there will be a freebie, but it will be a shitty print on a basegame T-shirt nobody cares for.

But that's not all! Not only will there be subscriptions, o no, there will be an ever bigger affiliate system. Basically an inbuilt multi-level management system (pyramid scheme) where people can sell their own mods/cc and recruit other people into their downline and make money of the mods they sell. They will give it a cutesy name, like Mod Families, Creator Visionaries, or Simgineers. There will be so many *shitty* mods, but since EA sits at the very top of the pyramid, there is absolutely no desire for quality control. You will see the same hair, with some added strands/removed strands/shorted/streaked/etc. edits over and over again. Of course there will be major fights and drama when the two biggest teams asset flip/convert create the same thing (some uninspired Second Life high poly blouse or something).

Anyway, I'm having a business meeting with EA next week and I'm very excited to share this plan with them.

P.S. Other features:

Extra in game currency like diamonds that people can use to buy even more junk for the game

Limit mods/cc to the Hub, you can't just put things in folders, it won't work

Sponsored events in the game, like a Simlish concert of K*ty P*rry or a Ad*das pop-up store in the mall

More social media integrations

An additional app for mobile devices where you play with your sims in a very limited way, but most importantly earn in game currency by doing stupid tasks, like playing games or watching ads

No pools in the basegame, that was a A+ decision in The Sims 4, so we're keeping that

[beyonsatan]

Money in astrology can be much better understood by observing the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th house, so let's talk about it (look below for more info)

I won't go into detail about what the planets mean in each of these houses just yet because I want everyone to have a run-down first of what the houses MEAN for that planet, what can that house do for that planet? The house can support the planet just as well as the planet can support that house

2nd - in ancient astrology this house does not get its meaning from taurus or Venus, that was a lie that westerners ran with. Despite very popular claims this house doesn't talk about wealth, it talks about survival, it talks about things that you need to manage your livelihood, possessions like jewelry, clothes, etc. You can have alot of these things but it does not mean you are wealthy, it just means you are a hoarder or otherwise able to manage and stay just above water with your finances, have a stable income. Money in this house is meant to support you and yourself only because it follows after the 1st house(self), it is not necessarily the money you redistribute among other people, it is the money that you spend at your own expense, ex: venus here does not necessarily mean you or your spouse are rich like an 8th or 11th house venus would but you have a spouse or a lover who provides all the things you need to survive or maybe you don't have to work hard to keep your livelihood, for a woman this can mean being a stay at home wife

5th - this house is the joy of venus and talks about money made from risk, gambling, contests, lotteries and your talent . It is generally recommended to have either a strong 5th house ruler or planets such as venus, jupiter, the ruler of your 1st house, the POF or the NN in this house to make generous profit from your hobbies. Beyoncé has her 5th house ruler (saturn) exalted in libra and conjunct jupiter, her family would describe that from a kid she'd charge people for a performance by her and had won multiple talent contests before fame found her. Any planets here can be a good thing for winning big, even the malefics.

8th - the 8th house comes after the 7th house so this house doesn't actually talk about your money, it talks about the money of others or in this case your spouse cause the 8th house comes after the 7th house which talks about others. This money doesn't truly belong to you until seperation from a spouse like death, it's really the business side of marriage, joined assets etc. When the ruler of this house is in a bad house or receiving some harsh aspects it is recommended to sign a prenup in case of a divorce

11th - this house is the joy of jupiter the greater benefic and actually talks about wealth in liquid money and currency, any planets in this house or an exalted ruler is a very positive sign for enjoying riches in life. With 11th house wealth it is much easier to manage things like generational wealth and massive influence, this house talks about having more than enough to support you and others, its a succedant house that comes after the 10th house, it talks about the fruit of your work, that's why it is often very rare that some of your favorite celebrities won't have planets in this house, the 5th one or a strong ruler attached to these houses. Any planets here will prove their benefits within time. Venus, jupiter, planet that rules the ascendant and ruler of the 2nd or 10th house in the 11th house, all amazing and wealthy combinations

Hope this helps xx

[lackablazeical]

🩵🌙Usagi Miyamoto🌙🩵

General info -

Usagi's birthday is March 4th. He is a Pisces ♓️

Usagi is demisexual Vincian.

Usagi has PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Usagi has MDD (Major Depressive Disorder).

Usagi has Agoraphobia.

Personality traits -

Usagi is quiet, withdrawn, shy, self-sacrificing, depressed, logical, responsible, pessimistic, and routine oriented.

Usagi is very quiet and withdrawn. Many of his co-workers assumed he was mute because of this. He never attends social gatherings and prefers to stay home.

Usagi is self-sacrificing, and will do anything for those he loves, even if it means sacrificing his own life or happiness.

Usagi has depression, and often feels completely empty or numb. He is not very 'active' in terms of his depression, and would rather just stay in dull routine.

Usagi is logical, able to critically think about problems and find solutions on the fly.

Usagi is incredibly responsible, wanting to fawn everyone around him and fix their problems and mistakes.

Usagi is pessimistic, never expecting the best. This can make him a bit of a pain to be around sometimes.

Important details -

His beliefs -

Usagi's element is water.

He feels connected to any type of water, but specifically rain, ponds, lakes, oceans, and puddles.

Usagi does not flavor his drinking water because of this. He also does not drink out of straws.

Usagi loves sitting in rain, and he loves being able to relax by bodies of water.

Usagi will prefer baths to showers, so he can soak in water.

Usagi prays over the first water he drinks of the day. He manages to stay well hydrated.

His dynamic with Leo -

Usagi is a victim of Leo's abuse.

Usagi hates Leo, but has been manipulated into being dependent on him. Usagi feels like he is nothing without Leo.

Usagi was originally extremely against ever being around Leo, but as time progressed, started feeling the opposite way. Usagi often doesn't know what to do with himself when Leo is not around.

Usagi often screams at, kicks, and punches Leo, often in an attempt to get him to stop what he is doing and leave Usagi alone.

Usagi needs Leo's permission for everything he does, and is terrified of somehow making Leo mad.

Usagi would never leave Leo, as he knows that would never work, and likely risk the safety of his family.

Usagi barters affection or makes up 'games' in order to get Leo to do what he wants. It's often in a desperate attempt to get Leo to actually listen to him. This only works about half the time.

When around Usagi's family, Usagi will put on a mask and fake interest (and even enjoyment) of Leo's actions as to not concern his family and risk them finding out about Leo's abuse.

Usagi will often just listen to what Leo tells him to do, as the fight is often worse. Sometimes, though, he may press back, and he gets swiftly reminded of why that is a bad idea.

His life in the Hidden City -

Usagi often worked many odd jobs at once, sometimes working up to 70-80 hour weeks. He would lie about his age to be hired, and often worked below or just barely at minimum wage.

Usagi ran into debt multiple times, because he wasn't aware of how loan sharks (or American currency) functioned. He was often tracked down because of this, but always managed to weasel out of it or evade then.

Usagi had no friends, and was known as very anti-social to anyone that even knew of his existence. Some even believed he was mute.

Usagi had lived in one cheap, dingy apartment the whole five years he lived there. He couldn't afford to move.

Fun facts -

Usagi's favorite food is any type of produce with salt, and his favorite drink is plain water.

Usagi self-harms on his arms and upper legs/hips.

Usagi prefers having long sleeves he can roll up, to having short sleeves.

Usagi hates being pinned on his stomach.

Usagi is a ritual cleaner, and deep cleans everything he owns fairly often.

Usagi is a good cook.

Usagi hates all sweet foods but mooncakes.

Usagi hates being touched.

Voice claim [Steven Yeun] -

[m0thlegs]

Y'know, for a short while I thought that my Arcane s2 crashout was irrational and embarrassing and I was humiliating myself on the internet with my 15-year-old emotional nature, but, looking back on it now? I think surprisingly enough, I actually learned a lot about media analysis that I didn't know before.

I mean, yeah, my arguments were very much emotionally charged most of the time, and at times it felt like I was so caught up in it that I may have clung to arguments that weren't in the best faith or that I'd personally disagree with now, because it made me feel sane and grounded in my logic. However, my emotions managed to breed out some genuinely valid points and lessons that I still keep in mind today when interacting with fandom and media.

Like, for example, I now know to keep in mind the fine line between reading and acknowledging the existence of subtext and straight up just making shit up to supplement canon. I now know to keep a balance between being media literate and not taking everything at face value and thinking that "doesn't explicitly state it = not canon !!!", and letting your intense positive biases towards something completely warp a media to be better than it actually is in your head via headcanons and emotional biases. I'm now more aware of the political biases and levels of bigotry that may be rooted in both canon works and fandom discussions, and what to watch out for when engaging with both. I know how media can be viewed through multiple lenses at a time, but to not let those lenses become glued to your irises of literacy. I now know to be more aware of the biases and beliefs I may be projecting when I analyse media overall and how that can majorly affect how we view works as a whole.

Overall, I know far more about media analysis and the phenomenon of fandom than I used to, and while it did feel kind of rough and uncertain to get through at times, I think it was REALLY valuable for my learning and knowledge on these topics. Am I completely there yet? No, obviously not, I'm still a teenager on the internet and I'm still bound to make mistakes and embarrass myself here and there, that's just an integral part of the human experience and I'm aware that I still have much to learn.

I think we have a certain tendency to equate strong emotions with a lack of logic or soundness (Which... might be why they're seen as cringe in our current society, and why nonchalance is held above all else as some kind of social currency, because we've falsely equated apathy with intelligence. That's another discussion though.), but I think my emotions here actually may have improved my logic and beliefs MORE than they would've been had I been more apathetic to these discussions. While it's important to take care of yourself and not let your emotions be the sole driving factor behind your actions or logic, it's also important to know that these emotions sometimes CAN be very informative, and you shouldn't shut something down just because it's emotionally charged.

Honestly, I don't know how to end this post, this is kind of just a retrospective sappy post yapping my head off about my arcane s2 era and what I've learned from it.😭 Erm. Yeah I still think season 2 is ass and I'm glad I don't have to interact with the larger fandom anymore I'M FREE FROM HYPERFIXATION HELL THANK GOD !!!!!!!!!!!