#maybe some directions on how to not overwrite everything???

[shinymist]

Who the fuck designs an editing program who’s default is to overwrite the original file instead of creating a new one???

[artbyblastweave]

An aesthetic decision I really like about the Mad Max setting- focusing on Fury Road in particular here- is that the timeline and the setting deliberately defy coherence. Countless elements of our world have carried over- the guns, the vehicles, the musical instruments, the religious concepts, and nominally some of the actual people- but the world is geographically impossible, you don't see much contemporary architecture even in a ruined state, and there's no version of the timeline where this can be the same Max Rockatansky as the original films. But it is. The incongruities are deliberate. The setting is mythic, these are campfire tales told about Max, the King Arthur or the Omnipresent Jack figure of the new age. The world that was is swallowed in myth, the world that exists is borrowing some of the old world toys, and being up-front and bombastic with signifiers of the mythic and abstracted nature of the setting absolves you of the need to make the worldbuilding make sense- or rather, to make it make sense in the way you'd have to take a stab at if you had a year-by-year internal worldbuilding timeline of How Everything Went Down.

Fallout 1 is not exactly like this. It can't be, because you could kill a man with an overhead swing of the setting bible. But it's tapping into a similar impulse. People in the first game are using old world tech, but they don't really live in the old world; they live in settlements using materials scavenged from the old world, or in old world towns that were unimportant enough back then that their current identity totally overwrites whatever came before. They don't live in LA: They live in the Boneyard, which gives you a pretty good idea of how much of what we think of as "LA" would be recognizable as such if we were exploring the space in first-person perspective. When you encounter an area that has a direct, well-documented, and unambiguous connection to the old world, it's a Big Deal, and they're hard places to get to- places that the average person living their life in the wastes would die trying to access. Of particular note in this dynamic is The Brotherhood of Steel- for all their technical understanding of the knowledge they hoard, they've clearly seems to have undergone a few rounds of Canticle-style cultural telephone, mutating from Recognizably The American Military into a knightly order. Fallout 2 does this to a lesser extent- it has more settlements directly named after their pre-war counterparts- but it's also a game about a society that's starting to pull back together and form into something resembling the old world, for better or for worse. And it reproduces the trend of stuff with a direct, legible connection to the old world being inscrutable and dangerous to outsiders- specifically with the reveal that the Enclave consider themselves to be the direct continuation of the pre-war government, that they've just kept electing presidents out on that stupid little oil rig. I haven't really made up my mind on whether the timeframes of the games- 84 years followed by 164 years- actually work for the vibe they're going for, in particular it doesn't work with Arroyo- but on the whole, the vibe coheres.

You get into the 3d games, and it becomes much harder to continue to pull this off. One major tool that Fallouts 1 and 2 used to maintain that sense of abstraction was the overland travel map; you were visiting island of society in a vast sea of Nothing. You had encounter cells that consisted of burnt-out, looted shells of cities, maybe good for a camp site but not as anything else. Another important tool towards this end was the isometric camera angle. In a topdown worldspace you can scrub out a lot of environmental details that would be immediately recognizable to the player as artifacts of our present society if you were exploring the space in 1st person. The examine button can feed you vague, uncertain descriptions that convey enough detail to make the item recognizable while also conveying that there's been a level of information decay. Once you move into a 3d worldspace you lose both of these elements- the worldspace is what it is, I can walk across it in eleven minutes stripping it for loot as I go. I can read every sign on every still-standing building, and I've got eyeballs on every old-world bit-and-bobble with a handy interface description of what I'm looking at. And you hit random encounters in the 3d games at basically the same rate, in real-world time, that you did in the isometrics- but the isometrics could successfully abstract it out to represent that you were hitting something noteworthy every couple of weeks, while in the 3d games it's kinda inescapable that you keep getting jumped every single day walking back and forth up the same stretch of road. Not only is it recognizable, it's cramped.

I think that Fallout 3, to its credit, did a decent job of navigating this and trying to maintain the islands-in-a-sea-of-nothing vibe from the isometrics- most of the settlements are built slapdash in places that were obviously never intended for long-term human habitation (bomb craters, overpasses, suburbs), the landmark-heavy city proper is textually a difficult-to-navigate deathtrap, and the poison-sky green filter, memeworthy as it is, does help shore up the impression that you're inviting death by trying to move through the space. Fallout: New Vegas I think addresses this by going in the total opposite direction; It's set in an area of the country where the infrastructure was abnormally well preserved, and the pre-war culture was revived artificially, and from a thematic standpoint it's really interested in digging into the implications of those two things. The fact that the lonely-empty-decontextualized-void aesthetic isn't long for this world dovetails well with the cowboy themes. They have a fair number of future-imperfect context-collapse gags but they don't overdo it by any stretch of the imagination.

Fallout 4, from many directions, is sort of catching the worst of the heat here. The world is recognizable, aggressively so. In fairly-authentically recreating the suburban sprawl of the Northeast, Bethesda simply surrounded the inhabitants of the commonwealth with too much Boston for a sense of true distance from our world to be possible. Everyone still has the accents. They still know the names of all the old neighborhoods. They're still doing the "Park your car" bit. It's still Boston. And it's a busy Boston, too- you can't throw a rock without hitting a farming settlement that's doing well enough to attract tribute-seeking bandits. It's densely packed with points of interest, and those points of interest are packed to the brim with salvageable materials that, going off of the new crafting system, should be in enormous demand to the people who've been living in this area for 210 years. The game doesn't really advance a satisfying explanation, even an aesthetic explanation like fallout 3's poison sky, for why everything around you hasn't been stripped clean before you even came off the ice, why all these environmental storytelling tableaus are just waiting for you to find. It doesn't spend nearly enough time hammering out what the 200-year chronology of the most-livable area seen in a Fallout game looks like- Why don't you see something comparable to the NCR emerging? Something something CPG massacre (which is mentioned twice in the whole game, AFAICT.) And what's being lost here, right, is the ability to use the sands of time to smooth over rough spots in the worldbuilding, in the chronology. You can't hide behind the idea that the world you're experiencing is mythologized. It's presented as real, and it doesn't make much sense if it's real!

And to top it off- Fallout 4 probably has the highest density of characters who were actually there, by some means or another. The Vault Tec rep, Daisy, The Triggermen, Nick Valentine, Eddie Winter, the vault 118 inhabitants, Arlen Glass, Oswald, Kent Connolly, The whole of Cabot House, Captain Zao, The kid in the goddamn fridge and his goddamn parents, and uh. The big one. You. You, the player. Which is such a goddamn splinter under my skin, from a storytelling perspective. You were present in the before-times- but only nominally, only to the exact degree necessary to establish that that was the case. The ugly shit is alluded to, but not incorporated into the character's day-to-day in a way that's obvious to the player, you're there for like six minutes and it's pretty nifty if you overlook that bit at the end where everyone got nuked. Your ability to talk about the world before is always vague, vacuous, superficial. The dirty laundry you dig up on terminals around Boston never seems to meaningfully impact your character's worldview, their impressions of the then and the now. All of which combine to make this the simultaneously the most specific but also the most frustratingly vague game in the series. At its best, Fallout's love of juxtaposing the then and the now would make it a great setting for the Rip Van Winkle routine. But it requires a strong, strong understanding of what the world was like before and after, a willingness to use the protagonist to constantly grind the jagged edges of those things against each other, a protagonist with a better-defined outlook than Bethesda's open-ended-past approach allowed for- and it has to be in service of a greater point. And for Fallout 4 to do anything with any of that, the game would have to be about something instead of being something for you to do. Maddening. Maddening.

[lyrebright]

after musing on it crazy feral style in discord with friends for a few days, i've convinced myself that the roaring knight is dess+kris' soul. i don't think we've taken over kris' soul, i think in whatever incident dess was lost in, kris' soul was taken as well (which might explain why kris has been so distant/different from childhood stories noelle has of them; they've literally been soulless and disconnected. given they need the soul to open and close fountains too, it's possible that losing their soul also meant they could no longer go into the dark world (and search for dess??) which they HAVE been in before (ch1 save file being under kris' name before we overwrite the file).

and it's also convinced me that maybe the vessel we made way back when might come into play at some point? everything is a gun waiting to be fired with toby until proven otherwise. and what better narrative tie up than to defy "no one can choose who they are in this world" by *choosing* not to be kris, who--while has seemingly worked with or orchestrated bringing us here because they need us, as a soul--really doesn't actually like us being here?? they go out of their way to comply at the most barebones and direct way when they can and sometimes outright defy us. they're PISSED we killed their piano skills. they want to beat us up so bad and lock us in a closet and forget about us for a while. but they NEED US, so they always come back to welcome us back in. but maybe if roaring knight IS a dess+kris soul combo (sort of like how asriel and chara fused briefly back in undertale lore), maybe if we get kris their soul back we'll be able to drag our poor creation out of gaster's trash heap!! who knows!!

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Rewatching episode 9 again, something just hit me....

The Council said that the cosmic order was broken when MAGIC was given to humans....

It a not specified which magic, but we can assume all Leola knew was Primal Magic....

What if, the magic they foresaw being given to humans was actually DARK Magic. But they, somehow, didn't realize this?

And thus....Aaravos was actually to cause the spiral into chaos. Because the Council made a mistake in their "prophecy"?

Mmm yes good, a Cosmic Order ask. Love thinking about those weirdos who think they know everything better than everyone else and how wrong they are. Let's do this!

We don't actually know how prophecy works in TDP, since it's only a small aspect of the destiny/fate theme. But it does seem to be a counter to Callum's belief that "Destiny is a book you write yourself," and that in itself is interesting to look at.

in S6, we learned that a Timeblind prophecy from hundreds of years ago predicted Callum and Rayla helping the Celestial elves, and it set their reward for doing so. This feels like it's part of a greater prophetic intent, that whatever Runaan does in the future - as well as whatever the other quasar diamond is used for - was also seen and intended by the prophecy. It's a nice framing for S7 (and beyond?). But this is just what mortal elves are capable of when they've become Timeblind.

One would assume that the actual Star Touch elves would be more powerful than this somehow. Perhaps further than simply reading the future, they can direct it? Or create it? Or even undo what has already been done? All of which are extremely powerful, potentially story-breaking powers.

So, how to manage this massive potential in a way that our merely mortal protagonists can still have agency? Well, you're onto something with the imperfect vision idea. Since Star Touch elves can come and go from Xadia when their constellation aligns just right, there's a cyclical nature to their existence, and possibly their power and influence as well. Maybe they see some things clearer from the grassy ground of Xadia than they do from the stars.

Or maybe they overwrite each other and change the narrative so much that their own handwriting is hard to read anymore. Aaravos is powerful and terrifying enough on his own. Four other Stars, each with their own agendas, trying to be The Most Right all at once, sounds like a recipe for miscalculation.

tldr, when everyone is so big, it's easy to make a little mistake.

[thenugking]

Where is Lee post-epilogue? I know they romance Wyll, so does Karlach's ending impact that (i.e. going to Avernus) or did something else happen? Does their ending align with canon or have you taken it a different direction?

Aaaa this was a very fun question to answer, thank you!

So right now, the canon is that Lee, Wyll, Karlach and Astarion go off to Avernus together at the end of the game. (Astarion is also romancing Wyll and doesn’t entirely hate the idea of going off somewhere with no sun, Wyll talks to Karlach before the end of the game and goes, “look we’re all planning to go and fight devils in Avernus anyway, if you choose to live you won’t be alone”.) It made a lot of sense when I was playing the game--I’d never done the Avernus route before, romanced!Astarion’s lines for origin!Karlach indicate he’s more than happy to join his loved ones for the trip, Lee gets to end the game going off on a brand new adventure with their three closest friends.

I’ve been wondering a bit about changing it up since then though. It’s not a bad ending, but I don’t know if it’s the most thematically fitting one? I’ve been wondering about having the other three go to Avernus while Lee stays on Toril to try to help rebuild the city and make reparations for everything in their backstory, rather than running away to kill more people. I might also end up swapping a few of my OC’s endings round, and have Karlach become a mindflayer in Lee’s game?? Not sure about that one yet though--part of the appeal is just to have Lee’s in-game epilogue not be shit (going to Avernus with Karlach overwrites a lot of epilogue dialogue for being Durge and for romancing Wyll) but I don’t want to base a story decision on gameplay bugs. I'm definitely going to replay Lee eventually though, so hopefully once I do that, I'll come out with a more solid idea of what I'm doing with them here.

Anyway. Whether or not Lee goes to Avernus or stays to rebuild Baldur’s Gate, they’re eventually going to realise they have unfinished business and that they need to find a way to stop the Dead Three, or at least free the people they’re torturing in their various realms and put their souls to rest. I don’t know how they do this, I don’t know if this actually can be done in Forgottem Realms lore, but I fundamentally do not vibe with any lore where people get tortured for eternity so I’m doing it anyway.

The point is, Lee’s remembering more of their past. They’re remembering how terribly they treated Gortash and wanting to set him free from Bane as some sort of reparation. They’re remembering that they had two sisters once, and Orin might be free from Bhaal now (Lee stays away from her themself, but they ask Jaheira to keep an eye, and Orin seems to be doing well and less murderously!), but no one ever did anything to help Helena. 

I do not have detailed thoughts for much of this. There’s a few things here and there--Karlach and Lee initially have a disagreement over Saving Gortash, but Karlach is a better person than he was and ultimately doesn’t think he should be tortured eternally either. Orin is involved with Fighting Bhaal, I also want to get Real!Sarevok (not the fake BG3 one) to meet Lee and give advice, maybe also Imoen. (I’m not sure yet whether to accept the Journal of Villainy canon for Imoen. There’s a lot in it that I reject, but I am a vampire fan and it would give me a reason tokeep her around during BG3. Ask me again once I’ve finished BG2 and have a stronger grasp on my Charname’s story.) Helena comes to some kind of peace with Lee, Orin, and her mother and gets her soul put to rest, because oh my god the shit I've put her through making up backstories. Lee and Orin have a conversation, Orin reaffirms that she wants Lee out of her life, because you do not get to keep your sister after doing All That to her, Lee lets her go. It's very bittersweet. Also I guess we’re rescuing Ketheric’s soul somewhere in all this. The only thought on that I have is that he’s probably even less thrilled to see Lee again than the rest of these people are.

Eventually, Lee’s going to want to settle down and not be in a position where they end up going out and killing people, even if for good reasons. They’re going to keep living with Wyll and Astarion, and probably also Karlach, and several years down the line, maybe some kids. I think Wyll definitely wants kids, Astarion would prefer to be a Cool Uncle figure with fewer responsibilities, and Lee is a mixture of enthusiastic and terrified. I don’t know if there’s a fostering system in Baldur’s Gate, but if not they’re getting one invented, because they very much want to be sure they’re safe around kids before committing permanently to this. Any children are absolutely going to be adopted, rather than biological.

Other than that, Lee continues learning about those they killed from Withers, because they want their victims to be remembered. They keep making their little bone sculptures, they just ethically source their bones now. They stay in contact with all companions except Minthara (she was not thrilled about Orin being spared). They keep trying to grow, and be better than they were yesterday.

[durge-marzio]

Meet my Tav, Marzio! Yes, another updated masterpost. I'm so sorry.

His pose is apart of the somatic motion for Sanctuary (if you wanted to know)~

Since my Marzio comic is going to take a lot longer to be produced than I planned, his story will be under the cut! You can read this if you like, or you can wait until I start releasing the comic.

Gender/Sexuality: Trans Man / Bi Age: 33-36, or however old Gortash is -> unsure due to memory loss Race: Mephistopheles Tiefling Origin: Haunted One (Dark Urge) Class: Monk / Cleric of Ilmater -> Duelclass (Open Hand / Life Domain)

Marzio has very little memories of his life before the Nautiloid. All he has left are his name, flashes of old names and training as his time as a painbearer for Ilmater.

Stats:

STR: 15 DEX: 12 CON: 13 INT: 8 WIS: 17 CHA: 10

Important Design Note:

Devil’s Hair listed here is Devil’s Daring Needles or Virgin’s Bower. I didn’t realize thar Devil’s Hair was a parasite twin plant? Correct me if I’m wrong.

His pants are usually white, but I went with blue here... for some reason.

His eyes probably change color during his urges to red or orange

SPOILERS BELOW CUT -> scroll all the way down for screenshots!

UPDATED Marzio Backstory can be read here Marzio's Story (SCRAPPED) TLDR: Marcio got sacrificed to Bhaal and was revived as the Dark Urge (now Marzio).

Life One:

Marcio was a cleric of Ilmater, a painbearer specifically. Marcio was trained to endure the worst pains a person could experience, all in the name of helping others—including but not limited to drowning, starvation, dehydration, extreme weather, and anything physically painful. Reading on Ilmater Painbearers, there's a lot of horrors between those lines.

Despite this, Marcio was satisfied with his life and the path he had chosen. He loves people, and Ilmater is actually pretty cool compared to a lot of the other gods. He was eventually almost made a martyr of when the Nautiloid came and took him away—taken rushing people to safety as the ship tore through Baldur's.

He met Gale after Shadowheart, and one could say the rest is history, but that's unfortunately, that's not how Marcio's story goes.

After a lot of self-sacrifice, Marcio developing an alarming savior/martyr complex, they finally reached Mystra's confrontation. I kid you not when I say that my save files stopped loading after that conversation. Gale had received all the help he needed from Marcio, but the moment Gale turned around to finally help Marcio in return, dead. Save gone.

So, why not take that opportunity to diverge from canon a little bit.

Intermission:

Remember that murder tribunal with Sarevok to Bhaal? Who would be a better replacement for Valeria than Marcio himself—a cleric to Ilmater makes a much better sacrifice than an uncaring investigator.

Gale, I imagine, was nooooot that happiest with this development. But what was done, was done. Can't revive Marcio now.

So, what does our completely sane and not at all unhinged wizard do? Why, he takes the Crown of Karsus to revive Marcio, of course! Somewhat becoming a god, and despite all warnings not to, half-god Gale reverses time with a wish spell. Wish spells though? They're a lot like a monkey's paw. He might have changed the timeline, but not everything came back how it should.

Life Two:

Marcio has been reborn in this timeline as Marzio. (Partially because I needed a way to differentiate the two, and partially the because that was how I meant to spell it in the first place. But I had two save files to experiment with classes, and I was afraid of overwriting something.)

Now here's where the timeline gets messed up.

I don't imagine this new Bhaal was very happy with a sacrifice to him literally being the cause of a new world with new life. No, in fact, it was probably another chance for him to try and destroy the world again. Taking that sacrifice Marcio made for Valeria, Marzio was born as the Dark Urge. Maybe this would direct his destruction on the winning path this time.

So, Marzio is the Dark Urge now. He's all blue, because he was a corpse literally wished to have a new life.

Currently:

Yeah, so that's Marzio!

He and Gale are Betty x Simon coded, and I'm crying in the club thinking about it.

I'm thinking maybe Gale is a tiefling too in this timeline (thanks to High Rollers for that imagery), solely for the fun of it. Who knows. I was this comic to be fun and worth the time it will take to create, but also worth y'all's time to read. Let me know what you think.

I have the dream guardian set as Marcio, so maybe that will change things in the comic for the Emperor? Who knows. I still have a bit of deciding to do with the writing.

OTHER FUN INFORMATION:

Romance Partner: Gortash; (ex-partner: Gale —> They’re friends! Don’t worry! Mutual break up!) Tattoos: Dandelion, Yarrow, Coltsfoot, Bishop's Lace & Devil's Hair (Virgin's Bower) Scars: Morning star scar on cheek; whip/scourge lashings on his back and some spilling onto his arms/shoulders, hips, and sides; rope burn scars (religious practice), vivisections scar from his collarbone down to his abdomen

Other Notable Details:

pierced ears

wears holy symbol ropes around his wrists for Ilmater as often as allowed

doesn’t have t-scars, because he’d prefer no one to know (magiced them away!)

Other Behaviors:

cat-like: purrs, trilling, tail movement (twitching, lashing, etc.), and sometimes other cat body-language (headcanon that all tiefling are somewhat cat-like)

Music Playlist (Spotify): Marcio Leles

Trivia:

Birthday: March 4th / Ches (the Claw of Sunsets) 3rd MBTI: tbd Personality: Shy with people he knows, bold with people he doesn't know, lovingly teasing, patient, self-sacrificing

Favorites:

Food: Potatoes (& anything potato adjacent) Drink: Dry Alcohols (usually ciders or wines) Color: Blue Weather: Slight Breeze, Slightly Cloudy, Sunny Flower: Dandelion Animal: Pigeon Activities: Gardening, Foraging, & Herbalism

Images:

You can thank my roommate for these once in a life time quality screenshots. My laptop does not let Marzio look this high res 👁️

[ask-dced]

For LttM: What are some things you like or found fascinating about the slugcats and scavengers you've met so far?

BSM: It's one thing to watch their daily lives... it's another to be a part of them. BSM: Let's see... for instance, Crack of Lightning. She has gone through her elite training and rites, yet she has found her passion to be in tailoring. BSM: I've been trying to learn from her, though the process has had some unforeseen complications. I... don't have a lot of memory storage at the moment. And though I have intermittent access to my memory arrays, writing to them is far more resource intensive than reading from them. Pearls are even worse for this... BSM: So, I have to pick and choose what information to retain, and what I will need to overwrite. BSM: But that isn't what you asked about, is it? Sorry, yes... Lightning. She's rough around the edges, but doesn't mind me watching her work. She's been teaching me how to sew, and suggesting I practice by repairing my cloak a bit. Which... I agree, though I am worried I might just make it worse. BSM: I'd... rather keep my cloak in one piece... or two pieces, considering a part has already been torn off to cover my broken eye. BSM: Then there's Artificer, or Firemaker, as the scavengers call them. I am... familiar with their story. A toll passing gone wrong, two pups lost, and the toll ultimately deciding to save Artificer's life. Whether it was an act of mercy or a punishment to prevent them from cycling back, I cannot say. The scavengers who made that decision are long dead by their hands. BSM: I cannot condone the acts of violence they enacted on the scavenger population. But I can somewhat relate to the irrationality and confusion that would come with losing someone close to you, even if I never had a relationship as close as that of a mother and their children. BSM: Regardless, they have been helping me greatly with mobility in the outside world. They've been carrying me to the arrays every few cycles so I can communicate with the others, like I am doing here. I think they prefer it to the scavenger den. I can feel the tension in their body when they're there, even as they sleep. Maybe they're concerned about my safety, or about the scavengers turning on them, or them turning on the scavengers... but... BSM: ... BSM: Moon Upon Lone Shore is not my child, but she is probably the closest I can get, given what I am. I'm her... aunt, to put it in their terms. A figure who has a significant involvement in her life. Which... I can't help but be proud of. BSM: It means a lot to me that I can have a positive, tangible impact on their lives, rather than one that is abstracted by Spines. No offense to it, of course, but I have found that I like the direct interactions I've had with... everyone, really. BSM: I especially appreciate how open most of them are. They don't hide their true feelings behind flowery language and pleasantries... not that they aren't kind. They're just more... blunt. Direct. Something which I have grown to appreciate, especially as I don't have as much energy to dedicate to decoding and interpreting their words. BSM: It's... strange, isn't it? How I have grown attached to these creatures that I have known for less than a percent of my lifetime, while... BSM: Never mind that. I shouldn't speak ill of those who have transcended. They were our parents, after all.

BSM: ... BSM: Maybe I should take a cue from the scavengers in this regard.

Author's note: This blog is still alive. I've just been Art Fighting, drawing, writing, etc. This has been a bit lower on my priorities, in the end.

Things will likely remain slow on here, but I do intend to continue maintaining it. I have, what, 15ish questions in my ask box? Probably won't get to everything in the end, but asks are still open.

I hope you enjoy today's answer, I quite like it!

[nomeniko]

hi :D for the ask game What do you wish more people understood about kazui? Which trial 2 MV do you enjoy the most, and why?

thank you for the ask i would grovel at ur feet in gratitude i hope the sun shines down and makes the light dance for u and you only today

1. if anything ive seen a few theories of kazui possibly revealing himself to be a two faced manipulator of sorts due to his self proclaimed liarness…. like ‘ohh u cant trust what he says he cld be trying to make himself look pitiable to the audience to get voted inno’ sort of theories which is. no he wont do that???

is he a liar? to a degree yes—liar not in the sense that what he says are direct falsities, but more like hes built much of his character to constantly disguise his true intentions/feelings as a defense mechanism. the lies he says are less of words from a schemer and more of redirections from someone who is, all in all, an insecure adult scared of what will happen if he isnt able to meet peoples expectations of him

as much as he calls himself a liar hes mad honest about where he thinks his capabilities lie, which is to say he doesnt believe in his capabilities at all lol. when amane asks him for help with her studies, he turns her down after some consideration bc he doesnt believe himself to be smart enough to help (despite having graduated from a university; sports degree or not credit shld be given where credit is due). when he talks to shidou post ktk attack, he refuses to admit doing any of the work in taking care of the situation and instead puts all the praise onto shidou. even his physical strength and skill (which is arguably the one part of him he does acknowledge and take some sort of belief in) is something he treats as less of something that he has achieved himself and more of an obligation of his—like, hes strong bc to him he HAS to be, bc it is expected of him to protect those who need protecting. he does want to protect others, sure, but much of that wanting comes frm how ingrained it is in him that thats what hes good for, thats what his strength is for (his timeline w/ yuno on her bday says as much nyway)

the way i see it, that self deprication of his plays back into his obsession with meeting the expectations placed onto him, or at least lessening the disappointment of others by lessening those expectations in the first place. if u tell someone that u didnt go to the right university, that u didnt do much to help anyway, that u were born so fundamentally wrong as a person that everything is bound to go to shit as long as ur there (he basically said this to es in his t1 vd im not even kidding), wouldnt that ensure the safety that youre less likely to ruin someone elses confidence in you? less likely to ruin bc in the small chance that u still fuck up, theres not much left to ruin at that point

in the end ig what i wish more ppl understood abt kazui is that hes a liar yes, but not a manipulator. he lies to stay safe, not to be a sadist or whatever. you cant take what he says at face value (in much the same way u cant do the same for any other prisoner tbh), but that does not mean u shldnt take anything he says srsly at all!!!

2. ok this one i have to give a bit of thought, mostly bc i cant pick just one

if the standards were which t2 mv do i enjoy for its direction music n visual wise, purge march takes the cake so quickly. the music itself is so bomb (which like, i cant even find a logical explanation as to why… its just so good to listen to) n the mv itself does such a great job at creating the right atmosphere, both in its flashy theatrics and the subtle uncanniness under it. mayb i have a slight bias bc tpm was the whole reason i got into milgram in the first place, but i stand by it idccc

aesthetic wise, def all knowing and all agony. the horror elements r genuinely disturbing, but not so overbearing that it overwrites the pop style that milgram has going on. i luove the use of amber for blood, plus the filters that remind me of found footage u usually see show up in asian horror movies. i think i was actually terrified the first time i watched the mv

symbolic wise, its cat always and forever god bless. it takes advantage of its aesthetics to hint at subtle secrets so well that it makes me giddy as hell. the use of colors as a part of the set, the transitions frm scene to scene having its own part in making the story, n honestly making the bg more blank than usual readjusts the focus of the mv on what matters p well. i cant mention every detail rn or else id be here all day

[boxylocks]

Was it ever revealed why Arceus is so evil towards his own creations? Or is that still confidential information? Or is he... actually the good god?

If you want to learn more tidbits directly from their mouth I assure you will get a chance to speak to them on both Ask-North and Ask-Valiant-Victory. Though they will likely be more direct with their intentions on Valiant's blog.

Valiant will also be going into some of their behavior in a reply and ask, however, I should say Valiant might not be able to tell you everything he wants to tell you. Most things that come out of his mouth are extremely filtered.

If you want to know more truthful comments regarding everything Arceus thinks and has done to Valiant and others, Valor is your best bet. He's not going to sugarcoat it.

But, If you wanna hear it straight from my mouth full-on rambling style feel free to keep reading! I will gladly go into it more.

Regarding my most recent doodles, I should say they might be confusing to those who do not know what the deal with Valiant is but this is actually Arceus:

Their name is actually Temperance! As to why the hell was I addressing Valiant as Arceus: Valiant was partly made to relay messages so I'm sure you can maybe connect the dots >:3c

Onto the questions!

Question: Is Arceus actually a good god?

They're not a good god at all, everyone is their playtoy, something that can keep them entertained for a while and then toss them out when they become bored.

If you see them being addressed as a good or perfect god, always take it with a grain of salt. Arceus has and will do 'good' things but their intentions are usually self-centered and revolve around them getting some free entertainment.

Some characters you generally see praising Arceus and why:

North (Ask-North) - North was 'saved' by Arceus, so her view of the god is extremely biased and mislead.

Journey (Book-of-Legends) - Journey is a familiar this causes Journey to have a natural desire to admire their god. Journey also just has issues in general that cause them to view Arceus as the perfect being.

Valiant (Ask-Valiant-Victory) - Valiant is a familiar, he has a natural desire to admire his god, but unlike Journey, he is quite literally physically unable to say directly negative things about them. He also is still very much under the impression that Arceus is perfect and always right, its something Valiant genuinely needs to learn.

Question: Why Arceus is so evil towards their own creations?

Many reasons! But I will say, Arceus is typically only directly 'evil' to their followers and children. If you want to know all their creations here they are!

The only creation of theirs that Arceus is nice to is Valor, mainly because they very much want to get rid of Valiant. Again for their own personal gain.

But WHY? Are they so crude and mean to them? It's simple:

Much like their creations, Arceus doesn't have certain emotions: They cannot feel sympathy or empathy towards other living beings. Unlike Valiant it is not because they were deprived of having them, they just genuinely do not want them nor care for them. Any 'positive' emotions they do show are either stolen from someone else's personality using a type of 'mimic' move or an act to get you to trust and like them.

Arceus is very broken and corrupted... Literally: They have been killed over and over by the other gods thousands of times. Due to the constant 'resets' and 'overwrites' of them, they are uh... broken. Their brains are a little fried.

They really just don't care about their creations: They're just toys to them honestly. Something to keep them entertained.

Now, why is Arceus so mean to Valiant? Many reasons as well!

They hate Valiant and view him as a failed project, especially when Valiant learned to talk and started learning how to disobey them. Instant failure, Valiant's beyond 'broken' in their eyes.

They find Valiant very annoying, and creepy. Valiant talks, he's not supposed to do that it's very weird, plus he craves their attention and love, that's like mega 'EW' to them. Valiant is an object, not a living being to them.

Valiant doesn't listen, why do you think they shoved a collar on him :'D It's because he started learning to disobey, it's very annoying having something that doesn't want to listen to you.

Valiant uh... reminds them a little too much of themself and they hate it. It's like looking in a weird mirror.

And the main reason issss! THEY'RE BORED OF VALIANT. Asking Arceus to have something as long as they've had Valiant is asking WAYYYY too much of them.

I hope that answers your questions!! If not feel free to ask for clarification, I'm more then happy to explain things that may seem confusing! 💖

~ Thank you for the ask!!

[unidentifiedfuckingthing]

oh yeah i keep thinking about that downs syndrome awareness video and how i felt like it/ the response to it was somehow incomplete but i keep only thinking of it in like the grocery store or the shower. but i think the thing is that it hinges on the idea that people with down's syndrome Can Do That Thing right? they deserve autonomy because it's a lie that they can't do things? the thing is that like, theres always 2 parts to disability activism which are, firstly, that the abilities in living attributed to people with any kind of condition are highly shaped in the public perception to further disable and entrap disabled people and often directly to economically exploit them. especially downs syndrome specifically. its important to get people to understand that a lot of people are being suffocated in this way and could live a less disabled life if only their lives werent defined by stigma in a way that makes it impossible to get an education, or get a job, or live alone, or date, or socialize, and these are skills that can be easily determined by actually looking at and talking to a person instead of overwriting everything with a picture of an invalid. but then, secondly, the equation of level of disability with level of human rights youre required to allow them is still fundamentally always bad even if the system that determines whether someone is too disabled only includes SOME people with down's syndrome and not all of them. people being locked inside a house and not being allowed to go to school or meet other people or choose what they eat for dinner is still a tragedy regardless of whether that person is severely disabled. trying to shift the window of means testing to be good to less disabled people who can objectively live in abled society, and leaving that as the end of your activism, is just not good activism. i think its difficult to condense both concepts into something the average person can grasp at the same time but i think compromising on getting people to attribute personhood to only the most photogenic and acceptable skim of a vulnerable group is a poisonous track & literally always ends there. the only thing aspies escaping pariahdom has accomplished is that now they can be mean to severely disabled people on twitter too without people reminding them theyre also retards. maybe marxists have a good & extremely specific word for this kind of thing thats objectively a positive direction in the context of current society but fails in actually accomplishing the core need for change and so is like, complicated strategically. like im not gonna say its a bad goal to say that well spoken people with downs syndrome deserve to drink alcohol if they want i just also dont like that thats the extent of the message

[belladovah]

2023 Simming Goals

Grow my YouTube Channel: Aiming to average a minimum of 1 video release per month. Plans/Ideas: finish Veronaville 10 Rotations Later Tour, do another Veronaville tour in a different style after 20 rotations, continue Opening Valley LP, mod showcases and tutorials.

Stop sitting on a load of completed mods out of procrastination to write a description and/or take screenshots and actually upload them! Seriously, I've made quite a bit of good stuff I need to share.

Make more mods, particularly traits mods and become a more confident BHAV modder. I also want to make more compatibility patches between conflicting mods.

Make a CC Finds Blog where I can reblog CC I come across. I will most likely unfollow some CC creators on this blog and follow them on the CC Finds blog instead so I can more easily find new mods specifically in my main feed. My content which is mostly mods will continue to be shared here.

Re-do my CC folder completely following my own advice. The procrastination is unreal. Currently I'm not even installing new CC really (hence why I more easily want to find mods in my main feed and not CC) because of how my CC folder currently is. Everything is in huge merges I'm talking like 1000s of pieces of content in merged files up to like 100MB each. This is great for speed - my game loads in just 1 min when it used to be 30. However, its terrible for management - I can't easily add new stuff or get rid of any junk. I just need to start again. The problem is, I'm such a perfectionist that if I'm doing it I'm doing it right - I'm talking editing every item myself to ensure I'm happy with its price and stats etc. This is a long and tedious process. Maybe I need to loosen up on this a little...

Stop keeping loads of newly installed mods in a 'Test' Folder out of procrastination to sort them properly and update my Mod List. As soon as I'm sure a mod is a keeper, put it in the right place and put it on my mod list before I struggle to ever find the download link again!

Keep better track of which mods I edit and how I edit them. I need to indicate that I have edited them in the filename and keep a log of what my edits are so its no longer as difficult to update mods or even overwrite my changes because I forgot I made them. I should also make more patches instead of direct edits so that I can share these patches without re-uploading the original mod.

Make a family tree for Veronaville before 2nd Cousins end up romancing...

Make a website to share my content, tutorials, gameplay guides/rules, etc.

Go through who I'm following on Twitter and unfollow all Sims-4-only accounts so I actually start using Twitter again and see Sims 2 content on my feed.

Bonus: Learn to make 4t2 Object and/or Clothing Conversions.

Bonus: Start streaming.

[anime-grimmy-art]

Told you guys I’d ramble in due time.

I absolutely adore Bravely Default 2. It came at a really bad time cos I can’t waste 70 hours on a jrpg, but well, it’s too late to be concerned about that now. And as is tradition with me obsessing over a new game / show / whatever, you’ll basically find a fullblown review disguised as ramblings right under the cut. Be aware that I’m gonna talk about EVERYTHING, so spoilers are a given. Some maybe even for the previous Bravely Default games.

Also, if you wanna talk about this game in any capacity, hit me up, I’m DESPERATE to talk more about it.

Just for reference on how long this is gonna be, I made a voice recording while driving to remember all the points I wanna make, and that recording is almost 2 hours long. I did cut it down but still, this is gonna be a lot.

I’ll start off with the things that actually bugged me about the game, since there are only 3 things that really bothered me. First of, I really don’t like that you can name Seth. He has too much personality to be a self insert and player integration is not that big of a part in the game that this decision can be justified. It wouldn’t bother me that much if it didn’t leave a bad mark on the ending. First of all, we were robbed of Gloria desperately shouting for Seth, which makes the impact work less, and it’s just so prevalent that the name can’t be said because you have all the normal sound design going. If they’d just let the credits still play I wouldn’t have batted an eye, but because every other sound comes in it’s so obvious they’re just silently shouting in this scene, which makes it look silly. Like I said, this decision is more a detriment than an addition, and it’s a shame it casts a shadow on an otherwise heartfelt ending.

Speaking about lost potential, the other thing that really bothers me is the lost potential in certain plot points and character conclusions. I mainly mean Adam and Edna here. Both of them have been built up to be these formidable foes but they just, die. If it was just Adam I’d be fine with it, since you expect Edna to backstab him and be the actual big bad of the story, but I cannot fathom why they dropped Edna this HARD. If not Edna herself, I don’t understand why we don’t get more of a reaction from the Fairies and especially Adelle. I mean, Edna was her sole reason she left for her journey in the first place, then Edna dies and that’s it? No part where she grieves for a second? No concern from the others about Adelle? Mind you, I haven’t finished all the Sidequests, so maybe there actually is one in which this is addressed, but I think even just a Party Chat after Bad End 1 would have been sufficient to show how Adelle suddenly feels about the loss of Edna. It would have made Bad End 2 / The Secret Ending even more impactful, because, yeah, of course, you kinda know Adelle isn’t going to turn her back on fairy kind, but one of the reasons she doesn’t leave is because if Enda didn’t get a happy ending, then she shouldn’t either. It would have been amazing foreshadowing if she showed this sentiment before this scene happened. Other than that, it’s a shame that we know so little about Edna, or rather, how she became “bad”. I get she’s supposed to be corrupted by the Night’s Nexus, but how did it even come to this? It can’t have been a gradual thing, after all, Adelle says Edna was always good natured and then just disappeared one day. Really would have loved seeing more of that plot point.

Ok, last gripe I have, some choices in the soundtrack and sound design. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the OST, and I will get to that, but damn, whatever Revo used for the lead instrument in Wiswald hurts my ears. It’s a really good track, but I always have to turn down my volume because these high pitched sounds physically hurt. And for sound design. Dude, the Night’s Nexus is the least threatening, nightmare fueled abomination that ever existed. I get that its growl is kinda supposed to be layered with Edna’s or sth, but it, it just sounds silly. If they went the route of just swinging between different voices or began distorting it from phase to phase, it would have been fine. But the choice they made really made an otherwise creepy design just absolutely silly.

Ok, enough jammering, on to the good stuff. Like I said, there’s going to be a lot, so I’ll try to be brief in each aspect.

Gameplay

I honestly like the new battle mechanics more than the old ones. This individual, turn based system feels way more dynamic and it’s easier to strategies in battles. Because nothing made me more angry than setting up for a heal and the enemy suddenly being faster than me and killing my healer. Now it’s easier to plan ahead a bit.

I also found myself experimenting more with the jobs. Not sure what it really is, but none of the party members leaning more towards certain types of jobs and the job leveling being way faster probably helped.

And I know some people get up in arms because the boss sometimes can be a real pain in the ass (looking at you pope dude), I still found it very interesting getting around counters or even using these counters as a benefit. As an example, I made Adelle my main physical fighter and gave her lots of counter abilities to help her profit from being countered by enemies themselves. Now, she can attack enemies, get countered, automatically evade that counter and earn a BP at the same time. Made a lot of boss fights way easier and fun to exploit.

Music

Ok, I will try my best to be really, really brief, because in my recording this part takes up almost 40 minutes. Anyways, Revo might have just become one of my absolute favorite composers ever. I don’t know what kind of magic he used, but I initially wasn’t that impressed with the OST, but every time I listened to it, I just fell in love harder and harder. Before getting into specifics, I wanna highlight the two things that made me love this OST overall. First of all, this soundtrack almost seems like a refinement of BD’s. While losing some of that fairytale vibe, it sounds even more fantasy now. And in contrast to the original, this almost sounds more balanced? Like, BD’s OST felt high energy throughout, BD2’s on the other hand manages to find a good balance between high and low energy pieces. Like, the character themes or battle themes are absolute hype, but the overworld themes are a lot calmer and easier to listen to while exploring. Second big point that makes this soundtrack amazing is that Revo is an absolute god at using emotional progression/storytelling and leitmotifs in his songs. And heck, do I love myself my leitmotifs. You’ve got some obvious ones, like the final battle theme in which all the character themes and other leitmotifs are integrated. Then you got some maybe more subtle once, just like how the overworld themes are just the main theme, just a lot calmer and using the lead instruments of the towns of the areas.

But my absolute favourites gotta be the character themes and the main theme. I love how fitting the themes for the characters are and in general, each of them is such a bop. At first I prefered Elvis’, because I sure am a sucker for jazzy vibes, but over time Adelle’s became my fav. It’s just something about the trumpets, and how the theme almost sounds a bit melancholic and bittersweet, that drew me in. And considering her story, mostly her bad end, that the bittersweet tone really fits.

Then there’s the main theme. Just like BD’s it shouts “triumphant anthem” and it definitely gives you a very familiar vibe, but I’d argue it has even better emotional progression. Heck, the first time I heard the music start up in the reveal trailer, I didn’t have to look at the screen to know this is gonna be a BD game. Also, the credit song version had me weeping at the true end. I’m someone who’s very easily affected by music (if me shouting about soundtracks on this blog wasn’t proof enough) and just hearing that ending song, getting the after credits scene, just for the second credits to start as a freaking duet. Dude, at that point I just started sobbing, I’m not gonna lie. Just this little part showed how much Revo knows how to put emotion in a song and also write it in such a way that he can elicit strong, emotional reactions from you too. 

Story

People have been complaining how the story is too boring and kinda disappointing in comparison to the last one, but I just think the games tried to accomplish different things here. Since the BD series is a celebration of old, classic jrpgs, “cliche” storytelling is a given. Though, BD did throw a lot of meta stuff in there too. BD2 in contrast just feels like a direct execution of that initial idea. It feels familiar, it feels comfy and it feels safe. Except for the little things with the endings and then overwriting the Nexus’ “save file”, BD2 doesn’t really get that meta, which is totally fine. It doesn’t try to reinvent or innovate anything, it just wants to be a fantasy story, that might be cliche, but still fun and enjoyable in its own right.

I’d also argue that the pacing is a lot better than the old game, because with BD I sometimes found myself skipping through scenes to get on with the story. Not that this game didn’t have me rushing through stuff as well, but I found it kept my intrigue way better than the original.

Characters

Next to the music, this is the part that I absolutely love the most. While, yes, they did lose a lot of potential with some characters, mostly with the villains, the main cast is just so much fun. I love these 4 dorks so, so much.

I honestly can’t stand how much people compare them to the original cast. Yes, ofc, I’ve been doing my fair share of comparisons too, but calling these four a more boring version of BD’s party physically hurts me. Because except for some initial impressions, the Heroes of Light are completely different from our beloved Warriors of Light.

While yes, Seth and Gloria give off strong Tiz and Agnes vibes at first, they both grow into such different characters that they’re not really comparable. I think this shows with Adelle and Elvis even more. I do understand how people could compare Adelle and Edea, since they’re both the feisty girl type, but I can’t understand how people can see Ringabel and Elvis as the same character type. While those two are the “suave” party members, they act so differently from another. And that’s honestly apparent the first time you meet them. 

Anyways, I love these 4 so much.

We technically don’t know a lot about Seth at all, but they manage to pull so much out of just the fact that he’s a sailor, that it makes him really endearing, really fast.

I was kinda disinterested with Gloria at first, because again, the initial impression was Agnés2.0, but she grew on me a lot. Gloria is way more hard headed and honestly sassy in comparison to Agnés and I absolutely adore it.

Elvis. Elvis, my man. I love this fantasy scottosh wizard so, so much. He’s such a ridiculous character but so endearing at the same time. You got all this dorkiness, with him setting himself on fire as a student, him doing god knows what for a good drink or just laughing danger and prejudice in the face. But then you got his super empathetic and caring side. Mind you, most of his wise moments come from quoting Lady Emma, but still, as much as he’s hopeless with certain social situations, he’s actually still really good at reading the room and playing things smart. He’s a smart and powerful idiot, which makes him a danger to everyone and himself, and I love him for it. (I also can’t believe they called him Lesley I MEAN COME ON)

And then there’s Adelle. I liked her from the start, but I didn’t think she would stick out to me. I think now she’s my favourite character. Not even talking about all the stuff that happens in chapter 3 and onward, because these story threads are awesome in their own right, but there’s just something about her personality that’s interesting and appealing to me. Like I said, I’m not surprised people compare her to Edea, I did too at first, but while Edea walks very close to the line of a Tsundere, I was really surprised that Adelle is, well, not a Tsundere at all. Yeah, of course she’s putting Elvis down a lot, but that stems more from her preventing his ego from going to his head than her being all embarrassed. No, Adelle is actually really well adjusted when it comes to communication. While it’s hilarious that she and Elvis met with her chucking her shoes at him, the two just got along well right from the start. Adelle in general has this really open and helpful personality, but also doesn’t shy away from putting her foot down, even if that sometimes comes out as an embarrassed sputter. She’s also the mother hen of the group. She looks out for the other three and gets concerned about them real fast. 

I dunno, Adelle just really grew on me over the course of this game, and then her kinda being paired with Elvis too, as partners and as partners, makes me like her even more. Because as much as I like their personalities individually, I like their character dynamic even more. I honestly love the relationships between all four of them a lot. You really feel them grow closer as friends and all the little character sidequests just always made me really happy.

Conclusion

You might not believe me, but I really held back there. This could probably have been 3 times its length. As much as I love this game, it’s of course not perfect. It struggles and flails in some parts a lot and it certainly has some aspects that might turn people off. But for me, it was just a very familiar and comfy game that didn’t necessarily deliver anything new, but that told its story in such a way that it still got me excited to keep going. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing and the conclusion of the story actually got me to cry. While not groundbreaking, this game is highly enjoyable and leaves you absolutely satisfied at the end.

Also, I would like to iterate that I am desperate to get more content about this game, so if you wanna chat about it, hit me up.

Anyways, anyone else felt like having a fever dream when everybody in chapter 2 started talking fantasy scottish? Cos I sure did.

[inventors-fair]

Re:Writing

So, you know how I get on people for their flavor text a lot? Because of context, overwriting, underdevelopment, whatever—that’s my pedantic burden to bear. I love good writing and I love good flavor text on the right card! Granted, these days it’s hard to find the real snappy things, but the community generally accepts when flavor text is...lacking.

But for some people, it’s more difficult. Context is sometimes a matter of perspective. Language barriers can create a lack of eloquence that would be better translated to a mother tongue. Some cards just speak for themselves but the text books looks bad without some snippet. So you know what? This week, flavor text is required—but you’re not allowed to write any.

Design a card whose flavor text is lifted VERBATIM from an official MTG card, but with the context changed completely.

Here’s an example I whipped up:

The flavor text is from Failed Inspection, which I pulled up on the randomizer from Scryfall. Is it the absolute best card? No, I made it in five minutes, but we have the different artificer’s context here, and art direction can help even more. What plane might this take place on? Who is doing the sabotage? Kaladesh could work, but Urza’s known for his artifact servants, as is Tezzeret, or perhaps the Esper mages encounter a wild Jundian control shaman, or maybe Grenzo’s just having fun—etc., etc.

M.E.O.W. is pretty easy:

Mandatory — You can only use a card which has been officially printed from WotC, and your card must be black-bordered, even if silver-bordered text is allowed. This is an allowance, not a challenge. Your card must, to the best of your ability, recontextualize the flavor text of the original card.

Encouraged — I’m looking for cards that make me feel that your original card is wildly different, that you’ve removed it so thoroughly in such a neat and new place that your card actually makes that flavor text make more sense, or emphasizes it more!

Optional — I think you should challenge yourself to change everything else about the card that you can! New name, color, rarity, type, plane, whatever. Lotsa options!

Warning — Your card should not be an homage or callback. Your flavor text should be copy-pasted. Don’t rely on your memory.

Hopefully this will alleviate some fears, and instill many more!

With love, @abelzumi​

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers (February 22nd, 2021)

Hello! Here’s another collection of anon ask answers all put together in one big post.

This might be strange considering how upbeat yall are about the fandoms for your games in general, but is there any particular trope or ship you WOULDN'T want us writing/drawing/etc. in relation to your stuff? (IE, any canon you don't want us 'overwriting' or something like that?)

Of course we would want the fan content people make to not be racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted, harmful, etc. But in terms of generally doing non-canon pairings or adding in headcanons or stuff, we really don’t mind that. People are welcome to have fun and explore their own ideas.

for the 1.2 Android update was it meant to download as a  separate app? I really want to keep my previous save files but they don't show up (also thank u for the updates I'm really excited to get back into the game!!)

We had to change the name of the file and unfortunately for some phones that meant it’s treated as a brand new game. I’m sorry your saves didn’t transfer over to the new version. You can try to look up your specific phone and see if there’s a way to access save files for games on your device and then transfer those saves over to the new build manually. It may or may not be possible.

I'm having some trouble figuring out how to get the update from Itichio without losing my save files? Is it the same game or a folder I can put in the properties? Sorry if this question is not worded well or if this isn't the avenue you'd want to take technical questions on

Are you using Android? If so, the above answer may apply to you. If you’re on PC or Mac, the save files will automatically still be included.

Hey. I really loved playing our life. It was a fun experience and I never thought I would like it this much. I do have a question, I am currently replaying the game and I am choosing choices I never chose at first. In step 2 during the road trip arc, I decided to ask Cove about what he liked to see on people. One of his response was anklets and black eyes. My MC have just happens to have black eyes. Do Cove say black eyes cuz my mc have it or it was just a coincidently programmed into the game?

He uses your eye color intentionally! If you changed your eye color he’d change what he said.

Will step 4 have 10 moments like steps 1-3? 

Step 4 is only an epilogue. It plays like the openings/endings of the earlier Steps where it’s a bunch of scenes all in a row, there aren’t any individual Moments.

hi! who was/were the artist(s) for our life? 

&

who is the artist for Our Life: Beginning and Always?

Main Sprite and CG Artist: Addrossi

Main Background Artist: Vui Huynh

Main Interface Artist: Winter Slice

Other artists who helped out can be seen in the credits of the game.

In the new ol, there are two main love interests... Would it be possible to pair them together or is that weird? 

You can’t stay single and pair them together. If we are going to add all the extra content to have a route where the two LIs get together, it’d be a full poly route where them and the MC were all dating. And that’s not a for sure option yet because it’d add a lot of extra complications. But either way, in OL the relationships all gotta be about the MC, haha.

In OL2, there will be extra LIs in form of DLCs? Like Dexter and Baxter. 

Maybe! We’ll see how it goes.

Since Cove will have 2 diff body types in s4, will the storyline and dialogs reflect this? Or all of it will be the same? Btw love the game and sorry for bad english. Hope this doesn't sound rude 😅 

Some descriptions and pieces of dialog will change, but it won’t impact the story really. And you don’t need to apologize! It’s all good.

Will you ever release the transparent sprites of the Our Life characters? 

Probably not, I’m afraid. They’ve got a lot of pieces and it’d just be kind of hard to deal with, aha.

Something I was curious about, what was your inspiration for making a game with so much customization?

Initially, the idea was just about having a romance where you actually grew up with the LI. But it was pretty stressful to try deciding how fast the relationship would progress with it taking place over such a long period of time and with no real storyline carrying it. People might not wanna play a game where the characters don’t get along as kids, but other people might not bother with a game where kids immediately liked each other. So the obvious answer came, just let the player pick themselves how it goes. From there we simply continued to add more flexibly with the MC due to the same thought process of wanting to make sure people were onboard with how their life was going.

What made you decide to change the artstyle for ol 2 so much? I of course respect all your decisions and will buy the shit out of everything related to ol 2, but i love the original style and i m honestly not a fan of the styles shown on patreon, despite me liking the painterly style in general. (I don t mind the style being changed, just that the examples shown so far all feel like there s something wrong with them.) 

We’ve always used different art styles for each of our projects. They all have distinct looks from each other. It’s just nice to do something new. I’m glad you really like how the first game looks, though. And those samples were only general concepts, rather than the exact options being decided between. We wanted to see reactions to different options. The art style we’re going with won’t be exactly like those, though I personally like all of them. I think players are gonna enjoy the style Our Life: Now & Forever when it’s revealed.

Hey! Is it ok to ask what gender ourlife2 protagonist will be and if we'll be given the same opportunity to customize an MC? Totally understand if you're keeping this under wraps for now if u don't wanna say! 

OL2 will have the same type of MC customization as OL1, but even more refined! So their gender will be up to you.

Hi! I happened upon Our Life on Steam by pure chance. It is such a great game, I am super excited about the DLC, and I just want you all to know that you are awesome! :D I have a question, and I'm sorry if it's been asked before. Do you have plans of making more games similar to Our Life, with customizable player character? The customizable player character was probably the one thing I personally have been desperate for in romance VNs. So glad there finally is one and would love to see more.

Thank you! And yep, we do have plans for more games like Our Life, most notably is another game in the franchise- Our Life: Now & Forever. We’ll also likely have other, non-OL, games with customizable MCs, though we may still have some games with set MCs in the future as well.

On the patreon dlc just curious but is it possible to play it without actually sleeping together/getting the nsfw content? I just want to spend more time with Cove 

Yeah, you can still choose not to go that far. Though the event is shorter if you pass on the 18+ stuff.

At the beginning of Step 2, did Cove end up accidentally falling asleep in your bed? Or did he fall asleep on the floor? 

He fell asleep sitting on the floor with his body/head leaning against the side of the bed.

This may seem like a weird question, but what exactly is the difference between "direct" and "relaxed" on the comfort scale?

Direct is blunter and more teasing, relaxed is lighthearted and goes with the flow.

can the MC have tattoos in step 3? 

Not in Step 3, but you can in Step 4.

how would Cove react if he visited somewhere like North Carolina in winter where it can get in the 20s(F) at night sometimes? 

He would be shocked and unprepared for what serious coldness is really like, haha. The poor beach baby would wanna go home.

Hello! I just joined the PATREON!! It’s amazing! I love your games! I have a question, approximately how much after will the nsfw be out? After or before the dlc 3 and step four? Sorry my English isn’t the best!❤️❤️❤️ 

Thanks so much! The NSFW DLC will be out after the Step 3 DLC but before Step 4. And you don’t need to apologize for that ^^.

This might be obvious but, will step 4 have dlcs? Also, where will the nsfw dlc happen? Won't bother me at all if it s in in our or his house but i do think it d be moderately funny 

Step 4 will have the Cove Wedding DLC and the Derek and Baxter romance DLCs each add a lot of new content to Step 4, though they’re also partially set in Step 2 and Step 3 respectively. The NSFW DLC happens in Cove’s room.

I keep wondering what would've happened if Mr. Holden met Lizzie first instead of the MC. I can't see that turning out well somehow lol. 

It wouldn’t have made a difference. He met the MC’s parents first and they told him about their two kids. He wanted the MC specifically to be Cove’s friend because the two were the same age.

Even though we have a way to go I'm really excited for OL 2! I was curious though, is the next main character going to be adopted again? I thought it was really clever to make the first main character adopted so when players are customizing,  they can make them look how ever they like without worrying about pesky genetics. Just wondering! 

The OL2 MC is not adopted. We wanted to go for a new dynamic. Instead their parents are their biological single mother who is partially customizable and an off-screen sperm donor father. So the mom will look generally like the MC and any other traits not from her can be assumed to come from whoever the father was.

—– —– —–

Thank you so much for all the asks ^^

FAQ   If you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[anfie-in-the-box]

X-tra Dark Cream Teaser

Notes

I’m still very much not participating in Dark Cream Week, yet somehow this thing is done right in time, so I’m posting it with respective tags.

The story of X-tra Dark Cream is going to be pretty big and serious. Like, plot-wise, lore-wise, so-many-other-aspects-wise, you have no idea what you’ve got coming. And I just really hope you all will enjoy the ride.

What you need to know now is that I’m kind of getting back to my very own idea that you can find right here. Though it’s a different timeline, not Genocide Route. What they share is a concept of both Dream and Cross being villains, at first sight their atmosphere and aesthetic are kind of similar, but that’s it. What exactly is happening here will be explained in the story, and let me tell you, Dream and Cross have a long way ahead of them before they reach the point described in this little teaser.

So I’ve got a question for you. Answer honestly.

Would you like your Cream extra dark?

。。。

Just a Bad Dream

Once the portal is safely closed and there’s no more negativity pouring right into Dream’s cursed soul, he hurries to Cross’ side, hugging him tightly. Dismissing his huge knife, Cross hugs Dream back with a weary yet content sigh. “My greatest hero, once again taking down the whole world in my name,” Dream murmurs, ever so appreciatively and very, very gently. Cross caresses his spine through the clothes and the gloop, and, although he never really bothers to use words after a foray to one AU or another, the tremble of his hands is telling Dream enough. So, as much as the fallen guardian wishes to hold Cross like this forever, he lets go.

“I believe you are due for a good rest now.”

Dream cannot help a smile when Cross doesn’t argue, merely lingering to give his spine one last stroke. One could say they are finally figuring out their routine, grasping the ways to make their complicated lives easier, if only a little bit. For Cross it’s definitely lots of sleep and lazing around after all the work he’s done; no matter how much he doesn’t like it, and despite all the bad dreams that he’s most likely to have with all the LV, both old and new, still raging in his soul.

Dream, on the other hand, won’t be sleeping any time soon. It would do him no good at all — this lesson he learned the hard way. There isn’t much to be done when Dream’s whole being is brimming over with shattered positivity of the whole AU, — agonising grief and fear from those who survived; absolute despair from the last moments of those who died; guilt of those who were supposed to protect their people, parents and rulers all the same; at last, contempt and helplessness of every single soul. Oh, the two of them truly are beneath contempt, aren’t they? Breaking entire worlds, taking away a mere possibility of them functioning like they are supposed to. Monsters who only seek to twist and corrupt.

That’s what they say, Dream knows it all too well, both from careful whispers that no one else was supposed to hear and from straightforward, provocative screams right in his face. It’s good, exactly how he wants it to be, but right now he couldn’t care less. Dirt on Cross’ clothes matters more than this.

Actually, that’s what Dream’s going to busy himself with. Cross’ new uniform is piled up beside their bed, soaked in humans’ blood and covered in monsters’ dust. There’s no doubt washing these will be a real pain in the neck, but that’s exactly what Dream needs right now. Something basic yet not too simple. Easy enough for Dream to be able to pay more attention to Cross, whose even breathing and serene expression bring peace to the fallen guardian’s rotting soul, too. This way his hands are occupied, all of the energy he’s gathered is guided in the non-destructive direction until it settles, and his troubled mind is resting even without sleep. It’s a nice bonus to be able to look after Cross, ready to help him break free from yet another nightmare, for the dreadful, horrific visions are always haunting him in reality as well… At least in the first moments after waking up, although sometimes it takes Cross much longer to snap out of it, even with the aid of Dream. Hopefully, this time won’t be so… troublesome.

It’s so obvious that Dream isn’t in the slightest used to doing the laundry — any laundry at all, let alone something as tricky as washing all this blood and dust out, — it’s almost funny. Although, to be fair, it really isn’t supposed to actually be useful — a mere distraction, nothing more, nothing less.

Cross will overwrite his clothes anyway. And, if that fails (though lately the number of failures has lessened significantly; the thought makes Dream’s chest tighten with warmth and pride in his most loyal ally and dearest fiance), they’ll just trade new armor in some AU for the delusive sense of safety. Material needs don’t concern them anymore.

Dream’s progress on washing the uniform is still close to none when he feels a sudden powerful wave of severe distress, and merely a moment later the air gets heavy with magic. Bones and blasters are everywhere, there are so many of them there’s no speck of whiteness left, everything bright red and purple instead. It’s not the first time — neither it is the last one, Dream’s under no illusion about that part, — yet it’s no less mesmerising. If only it weren’t so dangerous for both of them.

Dodging all the attacks, getting closer to Cross is the easy part, that Dream’s doing effortlessly, without sparing it much thought; it’s not like Cross is able to properly hurt Dream, neither in his sleep nor while being fully conscious. Especially not like that. Cross wouldn’t gather enough harmful intent, and considering Dream’s nature is far from ordinary…

It’s even easier to throw Cross out of their bed, his body light, though trembling violently. He jolts awake the moment Dream’s hand touches his chest to grab the fabric of his shirt, but his mind is still very far away. Out of reach. It’s only the lack of resistance that shows Cross has recognised him, if only a little, on some kind of subconscious level. Nothing other than that — just pure black hate pouring down his cheeks and LV raging on within his soul. No way Dream will stand such a state of affairs any longer. Cross is his and his only, he doesn’t belong to whatever hell he’s seeing. And so the fallen guardian growls, as if his own life depended on it, “Wake up!”

Please, please let this one end quickly. Dream hates hurting Cross more than needed.

“Wake up!”

Of course that doesn’t work, it rarely does, but Dream has to try anyway. Besides, it’s usually when the struggling begins. Not this time though; good. Dream feels every single bone directed at his back, oh so clearly hears the Gaster blasters charging. Nothing ever comes. Nothing ever would; not when he’s close enough for Cross to feel the familiar warmth and weight of his body, that Dream knows for sure.

Holding Cross’ hands tight, chanting “Wake up, wake up, wake up”, as if it were a spell (or a plea,  or a prayer), Dream reaches out to Cross’ chest with one of his tentacles, pressing firmly right in the middle of the ribcage, forcing his soul to appear. Cross sharply inhales, obviously in pain, and even tries to arch his back, — only Dream doesn’t allow it, keeping him in place. That’s when his tentacles come in handy…

Other than that, nothing much happens. “Thank stars,” Dream thinks, taking a deep breath. From now on, he needs to be extremely careful. Souls are not to be toyed with. Or, well, the souls of those he loves are not to be toyed with. All the others are perfect but hollow dolls to be filled with oh so very hurtful fragments of their shattered dreams.

That’s what Dream and Cross do. That’s what they’ll continue doing, and no haunting visions would ever take Cross away. They’re together in this.

With his gloved hand Dream cautiously touches the soul, pulsing with LV and shining red and purple, no trace of it ever being one of a monster. Cross’ eye sockets and mouth open wide… It’s almost like he’s screaming without a sound, or maybe the sound merely goes just as far away as his mind is.

Dream’s never asked. He’s not going to ask this time, either.

The charged blasters fire all at once, and the bones are falling behind his back, yet none of the attacks ever land as Dream bawls, “I am Dream, and you are the one who swore an oath of loyalty and love, the one who saw through me, and accepted me, and stayed by my side! You are Cross, and whatever hell you’re seeing, you do not belong to it!” Cross’ mismatched eye-lights get a bit less blurry for a second, and that’s Dream’s cue to finally act with all he’s got.

And so he lets Cross go, leaving utterly motionless body lying on the floor, only for all of Dream’s tentacles to hit the soul at same time before it disappeared once again.

This time Cross actually screams; there is unparalleled agony in his voice, unexpectedly hoarse, as if he’s been screaming like that for hours. It hurts so much to hear it.

Dream is certain it’s better than whatever Cross has just broken free from. As Cross himself once said, “At least in reality I’m in this mess with you.” Very vividly Dream remembers his own response — a warm smile and quiet, confident “Likewise.”

That was then. Now Cross is looking at Dream with lost, pained, vulnerable expression, and his eye-lights, though faded to white, are still blurry — only this time from exhaustion, not because he’s seeing something too much different from reality. That Dream knows how to deal with. He doesn’t help Cross get on his feet, picking him up instead, holding him with hands and tentacles the same.

It’s nice to feel Cross’ weight, and his soul beating more and more steadily. Soothing, really. And that is why Cross only squeaks a little, otherwise showing no signs of discomfort or desire to argue about his position. Not like an argument would lead him anywhere, even if he had enough energy to start one.

They don’t talk until both of them are back in the bed, so close to each other it’s still very easy to hear their souls beating, their breaths warming what little space is beetween them. Dream squeezes Cross’ hand and offers a smile. It’s a tender one, if only a bit teasing.

“Hush now, Cross. It was just a bad dream.”

No words can ever describe his immense relief when Cross smiles back. And all too clearly Dream sees the moment some kind of mischief sparks in his love’s eyes.

“Oh? Well, then I definitely woke up,” Cross says, almost nonchalantly, though there’s no way that would fool Dream, who knows exactly how much he weighs every word. “Because what I see now is not 'just a bad' dream but the worst Dream ever.” At that the warmth in Dream’s chest is blooming like a flower, bursting like thousands of fireworks. Then Cross adds, so gently, as if the two of them might break — and take the whole world with them. “You are my worst.”

And places a kiss on his forehead. Like a final blow.

That weird, silly fool. That wonderful idiot. Dream loves him so, so much.

It takes the fallen guardian a moment to find his words again, and to be sure his voice won’t be trembling as soon as he starts talking. For a moment Dream simply stares at Cross, who just looks back, so calm, so sure, so present.

“Good one,” Dream finally says. “Though if you're feeling fine enough to make flirty puns, we should go back to sleep.” It’s a perfect moment to return the kiss, only on the cheek. Cross seems content anyway.

“Yeah, let’s do that.” He chuckles. “Won't summon any more bones. Or blasters. Promise.”

。。。

Credits:

Undertale © Toby Fox

Dream © jokublog

Cross © jakei95 / xtaleunderverse

Shattered!Dream © shattereddreamsau

Dark Cream © zu-is-here

X-tra Dark Cream © me (anfie / anfie-in-the-box)

Link to the Russian version will be here!

。。。

Notes

I'm too sleepy to write down the references, but there are quite a few! I'll update them later.

But god and stars, do I love Cross' wordplay in the end. That's the first thing I got to know about this story. Then it became "Two villains who have the whole Multiverse terrified being idiots in love". Then I blinked, and suddenly it's huge and super serious. That was fun. It still is.

[zu-is-here]

Hi Zu!

Really glad to know you are well. Every day I make sure to at least check asks where you update us on how you are doing, and it always makes me feel a little better to know you're okay 🌻 btw, reminds me of Drop Pop Candy, where they sing that "Every day, every day is okay!" and "Every night, every night is alright!" That's literally about you (x

As for me, yesterday I spent, like, two hours rereading your new comic, crying, and listening to the song I had in mind for Nightmare and Killer for a while. It made me so much more emotional. Infinity isn't the limit, am I right? (x This song works perfectly for Nightmare from X-tra Dark Cream, and now so does the LODESTAR, so I mixed it and... Oh well.

I woke up pretty early, as usual, but felt so exhausted that I spent the whole morning waking up and falling asleep. I think I dreamed about talking to you and several others, too?.. I'm certain there was @help-im-a-gay-fish, but I don't remember who the others were or what we were talking about. But it was pleasant, especially considering my inside-dreams-self is much more open and, well, confident. Not shy at all.

Then I spent my day translating the whole Dark Cream and LODESTAR comics for my loved one, who isn't even is the fandom but wanted to see what makes me so happy and inspired nonetheless. It was such a pleasure. And she was just as fascinated by your story as I am, she said it's absolutely beautiful and she is very grateful to have me show her this and even translate it. So my energy is still so low it is almost scary, but I'm glad and satisfied.

And now I can finally talk about the comic itself! Because I do have a lot to say, yesterday it was mostly an incoherent pile of emotions.

People have already pointed out quite a lot, so I guess I'll focus on what got personally me.

And first things first. "Being neither a human nor a monster", oh dear, I just can't. If you don't mind me asking, was it planned even before and we had some sort of congeniality, or was it a reference, or maybe something else?.. I'd honestly be delighted by any option. The only thing that actually matters is that this choice of words is here. That's all. So I'm merely curious.

Also Nightmare's bare spine in the beginning. I mean, I knew his clothes are a mess, especially from behind, but seeing this. Personally for me it was so, so important. You see, for me spine has been a very special part of body for so long now, it's just... something really personal.

Do I love Killer's smile when he is offering Nightmare his heart soul. His face looks so tender, so vulnerable with those traces of hate that's no longer there... But then there is the next panel, of course there is, and I'd like to say one thing here. Thank you for not showing Killer's eyes. I don't think I could handle it.

The duality on the fifth page. Hate flowing too much for this to be safe, ending up as that very same negativity that covered Nightmare, had lim locked. And the clean knife that won't be used. I don't see it directed at Nightmare, not really. It's just... kand of where corrupted Nightmare wanted it to be.

Or maybe it's the other way around, and it's the negativity that covered Nightmare is flowing inside Killer's eye socket? After all, the damage has been cost. After all,

Everything has consequences.

It's not something you can just save, reset or overwrite.

But, as we know,

Making mistakes and correcting them is what's life about.

...

As long as we're alive, we have a chance to make things right.

Killer and Nightmare are alive.

So on Nightmare's blind, vulnerable, helpless side there is a bare hand, a half-closed eye socket, and the serene smile that always has me mesmerised.

...

Let's continue.

That stars-and-moon metaphor is so beautiful, so true. Perfect. I might have a match for it in the X-tra Dark Cream story, thank you ever so much.

"The inner demons used to win", oh, if only Killer knew just how similar all of them are... Also another wave of inspiration here, everything fits as if it was intended to be like that from the very beginning. (I do see that smile in the dark.)

"Failure is not an option". Once again I stand to applaud your oh so clever choice of words. They are desperately trying to stick to subordination, but what I see here is so many hidden meanings, from "I believe you can do this" and "I trust you to protect me" to "Please, please, don't die, I don't see a world where you would be dead, so please be safe". Choose what you like. Or neither, of course, that's also an option.

Nightmare looks so small when Killer closes the door. So utterly broken, even though it's the only panel with (not corrupted) Nightmare where we don't see his awful cracks. Or, well, not the only one, but you know what I mean.

I wrote so much and still it's not enough, nowhere near it. But this would suffice for now. After all, I am writing a few stories based on this, and that's another way to get all of this out of one's chest, I suppose.

Once again, thank you. I love your stories and art ever so much, and I look forward to seeing more. Wish you all the best.

Sincerely,

anfie.

Hi anfie!╰(*´︶`*)╯

I'm really glad to see you again, hope you're doing good ♡ Oh do I love this song! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

And I'm more than happy to hear you enjoyed the spin-off that much! (〃ω〃) By the way, do you mind telling me what this song is? ☆

Such a nice dream though! Hope your day was much better (ówò) Because—oh god—translating all the comic with the spin-off!.. There's no greater happiness for a creator than inspiring others, to share their work as well, and I'm so grateful to you for that ♡ Please have a good rest!

Speaking about the spin-off, "being neither a human nor a monster" is Killer's essence Chara told him about ;3; and I'm so pleased that you noticed these vulnerable moments with Nightmare's bare back and Killer's smile while offering his soul, with the duality and that smile in the dark, — it warms my heart and makes me know the work's been done for a reason.

And thank you very, very much for quoting them since it's not just a separate piece but an integral part of the whole story. When you named the hidden meanings behind "Failure is not an option", I swear I was about to squeal — this is a direct hit.

I'm looking forward to your stories!! Again, thank you so much, and take care╰(*´︶`*)╯♡