#no hate for people with “typical” phoenix design

[edenorisshitposting]

I set up an appointment with a tattoo artist to get the phoenix done

[summerstrash]

someday I want marvel editorial to let quentin quire out of the closet because I think it would be extremely funny to have him just kind of go "you thought I was straight this whole time???" at someone, because, like, out of all of the currently "straight" male x-men characters, quentin is like, rachel levels of glass closet.

examples:

inspired to radicalism by the hate crime death of a fashion designer in conjunction with an identity-destabilizing revelation about himself.

has maintained a pink undercut/mohawk since 2003 and gives off exactly the same energy as the most insufferable white queer radical teen/20-something you know.

his legal human name is quintavius quirinius quire. you cannot tell me he didn't name himself that after transitioning at like, age 8, during a roman empire phase.

the only human male psychic we've seen as a destined, legitimate Phoenix vessel — a story role typically played by presumed-cis women from a specific bloodline

owned a speedo that put a radioactivity symbol over his junk

kept a reservoir dogs (the most homosexual tarantino movie) poster in his dorm room at the jgs

served as the first and only boy to ever hold the role of "wolverine's dykey teen protégé" (previous girls in the role include kate, jubilee, movies!rogue, and laura)

The now-defunct official JGS Twitter accounts included a tweet stating that Quentin tried out for the school cheer team in a skirt.

the sexy Phoenix nuns were intentionally not all girls, Jason Latour said that to my face with his human mouth.

his version of a Dark Phoenix Saga ("Tomorrow Never Learns") explored his relationships with evan and idie in ways that likened evan to new-mutant-rev!scott and clearly paralleled logan and idie, which, like [gestures]

When Evan and Idie take Teen Bobby to his first gay bar, Idie chalks up her confidence in the space to having dated Quentin.

Percy had him literally trying on bodies during a period where he was trying to find himself after a straight breakup, including female bodies.

the script for X-Men/Fantastic Four #1 included a reference to Quentin hanging out with Akihiro (notable undercut/Mohawk bisexual adoptee with wolverine-related Daddy issues) in the background

Like, I wouldn't be surprised if people at Marvel literally have forgotten he's not canonically explicitly queer yet. The vibes are just so powerful.

[ravenousnightwind]

I always have a random assortment of thoughts relating to nothing in particular. A lot of it is fantastical nonsense. Yet because of it, I've developed my own fantasy powers and a way to randomly generate powers for other people based on their interests and favorite things as well as their personality by a series of random questions.

What's my Fantasy Powers

The ability to absorb mana and turn it into anything, but the form it typically takes is the form of feathers. Whether that's clothes, or tools or other objects. It's always got a feather or wing on them or is, in fact of them. I can use in general magics if they use any kind of surrounding mana. From healing to magical bolts. I can perform any role given my versatility or provide magical weapons with special enchantments.

Any weapons I create end up being made of purely feathers ruffled together in the shape of a weapon, possibly more than one feather, and or seemingly wing shaped solid object that kinda feels like a real wing but isn't real is actually the manifestation of my will via mana. I can even make tools like keys or in general workman tools, etc. Can either be magically wielded or will imbued, of which may have their own piece of me within them for a time. (I'm like my own workforce haha) I'm also consciously aware of all weapons summoned by me and who has them. I can send magic through them to the individual for healing or increased buffs to the weapon or tool.

My primary skill is transforming mana into threads, of which often take the form of clothing or some other thing. I can create my own wings, I can change the color of anything I make. I have another ability I refer to as wardrobe of plumage. Of which is where I can design my own brand of feather clothes. I can even create my own vehicles in the shape of various birds to carry people or things, but takes medium mana to sustain.

I do have, however, combat related abilities. Any tool i make is always feathershaped. Wing sword? Feather dagger? I have an AOE attack called feather storm, which allows me to form quills in rapid succession, of which are razor sharp imagine getting stabbed with that shit.

I also have a transformation ability, which has a cool-down. It allows me to take the form of any bird I've seen, but I also have a larger and more mana heavy ability that allows me to transform into an avian dragon. (Dragon with feathered wings and beak) I have traits such as avian voice, which allows me to copy not just anyone's voice but also any sound or animal. I can partially transform my body as a modification, allowing for talon hands or other limbs and enhancements.

I have a trait that allows me to absorb the hate of my enemies and turn it into my strength. The more they hate me, the more powerful and larger I can become. It also allows for self-healing, being almost completely invincible if they hate me enough.

I have a sort of limit-break ability? I can absorb all the self stored mana I have in my pools and continuously drain the ambient mana. Doing this transforms me into my Phoenix form, which allows me to endlessly pull mana from the environment and other people.

This ability is directly connected to my passion and caring for people and things. The more I feel, the more I become engulfed in flames from the feathers that surrounded me. This ability has a very large cooldown, and I would pass out after having timed it out, which is essentially when i stop using it. It's a last resort sort of ability that has both beneficial and detrimental effects.

One benefit to this ability is that it's insanely powerful. I nullify any magic user as totally useless. They can't cast any magic at all. As though the entire widespread area is under anti-magic aura, but in fact is under the influence of my primal flames trait, which again, allows me to constantly drain mana within an area of effect.

Another benefit is that if someone is capable of killing me while this ability is in use, I'll simply burst into flames and emerge from the ashes totally refreshed but with all abilities and traits locked for a few days. This power also extends to any allies within the area of effect. If they die. They're reborn from their own self combustion, except they won't have the same restrictions as I do, their powers and abilities will be entirely refreshed with zero detrimental effects.

A few other benefits are not just self-healing, but the healing of allies and the burning of all enemies within the area of effect. Enemies are under a constant ethereal burn of transcendent damage, and even after exiting the area of effect, they are marked by my primal flames for a short time if I wish to pursue them. The area of effect for this ability also moves with me.

Even if I'm killed during its use, the primal flames will remain upon them, giving them a constant drain on both HP and mana. It can't be healed or removed. It simply has to time they have to hope they have the vitality to sustain it.

The downsides to this ability are very heavy. Not just in how long it takes to recover from, but also how it causes me to become incapacitated after its use. Surrounding myself in winged cocoon, I sleep until I am restored. After my initial days or weeks or perhaps even months, depending on how long i used the ability. My own abilities will remain locked during that time. In which I might suffer mild pain to headaches. My mana regenerates very slowly, and I may be slow to move. This ability in its entirety is mainly for the protection of others as well as it is for self-preservation.

And yeah..that's it? I guess. I'm pretty imaginative when it comes to this stuff. Very fantasy litrpg inspired things. This was fun really fleshing things out lol

[renegadewangs]

I had a very strong thought about Barok van Zieks’s character this morning. Normally I don’t like to take too much of a stance on this, because I’m aware it’s a heated topic and I don’t want to be seen as a ‘Barok excuser’ when nobody ever excuses his behavior to begin with. As a writer myself, I only see a fictional character who was designed a certain way for a certain narrative purpose, and he fits that purpose. SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE DGS/TGAA DUOLOGY INCOMING:

The people hating on Barok's announcement tweet once again had me comparing him to previous prosecutors and their behavior towards the defense, to see whether Barok is really worse than most other prosecutors in terms of morality. My personal stance is that he is not. Edgeworth and Franziska sent plenty of innocent people to death row for the sake of their perfection, Godot was never really a prosecutor to begin with and is only a salty grudgelord, Simon never gave off the impression that he cared about the defendants’ fates and instead was only there to lure the Phantom out into the open, plus he kept physically attacking the defense just as Franziska did... And Nahyuta openly supported an oppressive regime, hunting down revolutionists and sending lots more innocent people to their deaths. (Sure, he was coerced, but 'he had his reasons' is the same thing you can apply to Barok's racism.) Klavier is the only main prosecutor who’s genuinely a nice person with a good sense of morals. What everyone seems to forget is that the main prosecutor of any game has, and always will be, an antagonistic force. Not a villain, just someone who impedes the protag’s goal of getting a not-guilty verdict.

So then I started thinking even harder. What do the previous prosecutors have in common? I reached the conclusion before that the prosecutors represent the obstacle/personal turmoil that the defense needs to overcome. They’re designed to be antagonists tailored specifically to the protag. Edgeworth is a close friend who's drastically changed for the worse, but Phoenix wants to prove his righteous old buddy's still in there. Franziska shows up in the second game to rub it in that Edgeworth is 'gone' and it's Phoenix's fault. Godot shows up in the third game to rub it in that Mia's gone. Klavier is a figurehead for Phoenix's disgrace, while Apollo wants to trust Phoenix and prove the forgery thing was wrong. Etc. etc., you get it. The prosecutor is tied to a pivotal moment in the attorney's past.

So my first thought viewing all that above was "Huh, the previous prosecutors all hated on the attorney specifically, while Barok hates on the attorney's roots. I guess because it's a game about an exchange student and the obstacle for Ryu to overcome is racist prejudice?" And then it hit me: Barok isn't Ryunosuke's prosecutor. He's ASOGI'S. If Asogi had made it to England and stood in court, Barok would've fit the usual prosecutor to a tee because he's tied to Asogi's past. But Asogi fell before he could reach that point and now Ryu's there in his stead, saying that he’s carrying his friend’s will when in truth, he’s oblivious to what it is he’s even representing.

Imagine a game where Asogi had made it to court and Barok would've been there to be all "YOU... SON OF ASOGI", and it would've been just like Godot calling Phoenix “Trite”. Just like Franziska's resentment towards Phoenix for what he did to Edgeworth. Just like Simon facing Athena, forcing her to accept the traumatic incident in her past. Would Barok still have been racist on top of that? Sure. Most characters in DGS hold racist prejudice. That’s just what the game is about.

But then things take a turn later, in case 2-4, when we get a role reversal of sorts. Now Asogi, full of anger and resentment (again, just like Godot and Franziska) is at the prosecutor bench, only thinking of defeating the defense because in doing so, Barok will be sent to his death regardless of what the real truth behind the murder is. All that matters is the guilty verdict- the victory, and Asogi is convinced that he’s right. Now he is the one who fits the typical prosecutor archetype.

I’d also point out that like another aspect of the ‘prosecutor arc’ is to be humbled by the defense and eventually see eye to eye with them. Because remember, every prosecutor (minus maybe Klavier) starts off very hostile and dismissive towards our protag(s), only to have their face turn moment. This same thing applies to Barok, who sees the error of his ways and grows as a person, acknowledging that his behavior was wrong and that he owes Ryu a great debt. (Because yes, his prejudice was wrong, and I’m still baffled that some people out there believe that anyone who likes Barok as a character condones racism. That’s like saying people who like Franziska condone physically assaulting someone.)

Anyway I’m not here to defend Barok’s words/actions, or say that you have to like him when you don’t. Anyone is free to not like a character. I’m only here to say that from a purely narrative point of view, Barok is a fascinating character who is just like the prosecutors who came before him.

[anonymous-eggy]

In ur pirate AU, would you say its similar to the Last Legacy universe? Does it gravitate more to the fantasy side (think Owl House) or more of the realism side (think Naruto), im sure its a mix but what do you think it leans to most? What kinds of fantasy things we think about (unicorns, dragons, ogres, fae, witches.. Etc, that whole shabang) exist or not,

or is it 2 or more dimensions mashed together (ex: star vs forces evil ending, gravity falls)

Take ur time answering this, im just eager to figure out how the magic works, small clues or hints would be very nice if u can lol

Thancc, Xoxo

I would say it's similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean, but just a little more magic. so it leans into realism the most.

I typed a lot because... well it's a lot to go over 😂

basically I'm going to go over magic in humans and fantasy aspects.

1. I'm gonna start with magic and humans bc that's the easiest thing.

People all have magic that runs in them. It manifests as luck, gut feelings, prophetic dreams, deja vu, and other unexplainable things.

This is also why people give off vibes. their vibes are simply the type of magic they have (which doesn't always define who they are as a person). types of magic don't fit in a box, it's a big spectrum among the five elements.

it's less than common for a person to be able to control their magic. those people are referred to as witches (not just females. anyone able to control their magic. it's a broad gender-neutral term)

witches normally aren't able to produce icicles out of thin air or produce large flames, but they can channel their magical energy and intent to create sparks or make things cold. maybe even create flashy sparkles that don't do anything.

some are able to have healing abilities, but that's quite a rare thing (not impossible though 😉)

for most part, witches have to channel their magic through other things with intention for the best results. usually they channel and store it in items, turning them into magic items. or they channel it into a drinks or herbs for consumption later. (so yes, healing potions, stamina potions, strength potions, ect.)

typically, a magical item is something that can be worn. like a necklace, bracelet, pin, brooch, ect. these items have to be recharged every now and then, but the time between recharges varies based on the power of the witch.

this is why you’ll notice some of the most powerful witches wearing a shit ton of jewelry.

they also channel through tarot cards, crystal balls, pendulums, and other divination. It's common to see a witch design and create their own tarot deck or oracle cards because a witch must have a strong connection to their tools in order for them to work effectively.

not that that's a requirement for witches, finding a pre-made deck and forming a strong bond with it is also very common.

enchanting things and channeling is tiring though and takes a mental and semi-physical toll on the witch. which is why self care is very important and celebrated as a witch.

witches are forbidden in any part of the world owned by Britain or Spain. and a little of France. basically, if the place is taken over by colonizers, witches try to steer clear or hide all evidence of magic in those areas.

because of this widespread hate, it's very common for pirates to have a witch (or two). some of the best pirates either have a witch in a high standing, or are a witch themself.

witches are highly respected by most pirates because of their ability to provide protection against supernatural forces that may have otherwise doomed the ship.

When a pirate encounters a witch, it's common for them to offer hospitality and a safe resting place in return for putting a protection charm on a ship or even joining the crew. so it's no surprise that almost every witch also associates with pirates.

2. now for the other fantasy aspects

I think a variety of fantasy creatures exist in Crepuscolo, but in places that no one has ever visited or in plain sight. this means everyone thinks they aren't real, except for people who find them and keep the secret.

we already know about dragons and the way they operate in this world. I think there would probably be other fantasy creatures that do the same thing, mainly unicorns (disguising themselves as horses).

other fantasy aspects include the existence of fairies, moss goblins, and other intelligent humanoid creatures.

the common thing between all of these creatures is that they've all been around much longer than people, and therefore have a stronger connection to their ancient magics.

there are also stories passed around of how they came to be as they are.

Fairies were blessed with flight by Air,

Moss Goblins were blessed with intunment with Earth,

Phoenix were blessed with rebirth by Fire,

and Mermaids were blessed with voices by Water.

(all of these have their own stories that I'll share when I draw concepts of each species)

What about that fifth element? Spirit blessed the heroes of the world, not just one species.╰(*´︶`*)╯

basically, yes many fantasy creatures exist (usually in an unpredictable way, you'll soon find out), most just avoid most humans. So humans think they are just legends.

I can't think of anything else, but if I do I'll add it on or you can ask!

[msfilmdiary]

The Twilight Saga: Twilight (2008)

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone, Peter Facinelli, Anna Kendrick, Elizabeth Reaser, Billie Burke, Christian Serratos, Rachelle Lefevre

Screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke

I do not own any of the pictures posted. 

SPOILERS AHEAD 

First of all, you have no idea how excited I am to finally be reviewing this. (I have popcorn!) 

Twilight may perhaps be one of the most recognizable films of the early 2000s vampire craze. Now, whenever someone mentions the word Vampire I immediately think of Twilight. (Also The Vampire Diaries, but that’s a story for another day.) 

Twilight follows seventeen-year-old outcast Isabella “Bella” Swan, after her relocation to Forks, Washington, from Phoenix, Arizona to live with her father, Charlie. Charlie is the towns’ police chief, while her mother, Renee, is married to a minor league baseball player named Phil. 

After the move, Bella becomes reunited with childhood friend Jacob Black, a Native American teenager living with his father, Billy on the Quileute Indian Reservation near Forks. Bella soon makes friends at her high school but is drawn to the aloof and quiet Cullen siblings consisting of Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, and the famous Edward Cullen. She is seated next to Edward in biology, to which he acts almost repulsed by her. After the Cullens are absent from school for a week, Edward returns to class and socializes with Bella. A couple of days later, an out of control driver nearly crashes Bella in the school parking lot, but Edward instantly covers a distance by thirty or so feet in order to prevent the van from striking her. After arriving at the hospital, Edward refuses to explain his actions to Bella, ultimately warning her against being friends with him. Jacob then informs Bella of the long-standing rivalry between the Cullens and the Quileutes and that the Cullen family is not allowed on the reservation. 

Bella then begins to research Edward’s condition, ultimately concluding that he is a vampire. He confirms this but pleads with Bella that he and his family only consume animal blood. They soon fall in love, and Edward introduces Bella to his family, where she meets Carlisle, the family father, and a doctor at Forks Hospital, Esme, the family mother, and their formally adopted children Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett. The family’s reaction to Bella is generally positive except for Rosalie’s, who fears that her family’s secret can now be exposed. 

Bella and Edward’s relationship is soon jeopardized when James, Victoria, and Laurent, three nomadic vampires arrive in Forks territory. They are responsible for a series of attacks leading up to and in the Forks territory. James, who’s described as a tracker vampire with incredible hunting instincts, is consumed by Bella’s scent and becomes obsessed with hunting her. Edward and the other Cullens protect Bella, but James ultimately tracks her to Phoenix, Arizona, where she’s hiding with Jasper and Alice. James lures Bella into her old ballet studio as a trap, attacking Bella and infecting her with vampire venom. Edward arrives and fights James, subduing him until the other Cullens arrive. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett kill James, decapitating and burning him. 

In the aftermath, Bella suffered a broken leg and is hospitalized. Edward accepts Bella’s invitation to their high school prom, where he refuses her request to turn her into a vampire. They are unaware that Victoria, James’ lover, is secretly watching them, in schemes to avenge his death. 

Let’s talk about Twilight as a cultural phenomenon. It pleased devoted fans to the novel series, while also defining an early generation of the vampire-romance genre. I was five when the first Twilight movie was released, so it was never a huge part of my life growing up. However, I do remember the cultural aspect of the films. I remember going to the mall in the mid-2000s and seeing posters and pictures for it everywhere. Twilight, like it or not, was everywhere from 2008 to 2012 and has experienced a surge in popularity since Stephanie Myer’s release of Midnight Sun, which is Twilight told from Edward’s perspective. 

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a huge fan of Hardwicke’s directing style. I think if she continues to direct the following Twilight films, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn 1 & 2. I would have enjoyed the later movies as much if not more if I enjoyed the first one. However, that’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the series as a whole. I think it truly defined the early-mid 2000s, and the nostalgia of the movie I think is more remembered than the actual story. 

My friends and I still have Twilight marathons to this day. Do I think it’s deep? No. It’s about a girl falling in love with a 108-year-old vampire, of course, it’s not deep. Plus, the film, novels, and the story are directed at teenage girls, who of course back then, couldn’t possibly understand the complexity of a well-written and well-developed script. Do films have to be deep in order to enjoy them? No, absolutely not. I think that most of the people who heavily critique Twilight think that it needs to be deep in order to be enjoyable. Twilight, in no shape or form, I think claims to be deep. I think it’s a cultural phenomenon, and because of that, people think it has to be the next generation-defying film that has to be good. I also think that it’s more popular to hate Twilight because it's directed toward teenage girls, and, as we’ve learned, teenage girls can’t have anything without being made fun of. 

I also want to talk about Bella’s plainness. When I see critiques on Twilight or Bella’s character in general, said critiques typically argue that Bella’s lack of personality in the films (and book) is a major turn-off. I agree that she’s plain, but I don’t agree that she’s a major turn off when it comes to my love for Twilight and the saga as a whole. Truthfully, she was designed to be a plain and somewhat modest teenage girl. Everyone around her, especially her friends, are full of life, while she is frankly dull. She is one of those characters that is written to coincide with another, that being Edward Cullen. 

In my perspective, they are two sides of the same coin. For example, Bella believes that she has nothing to live for, while Edward is pushing and pushing her to live and have the life he never got to live. Bella is extremely realistic for a teenage girl, honestly. Her “normal” attributes make Edward seem more desirable and God-like. I think it's time we stop picking on the “boringness” of characters written for and about teenage girls, mostly because I think it's just another thing that young girls can be put in a box for. If they’re not interesting or captivating enough for a certain audience, they’re plain and dull and lifeless. If they’re too interesting or captivating, there’s always something wrong with them (hence the manic pixie dream girl trope). Bella, I believe is written against that trope, and that is why she’s boring. 

I enjoy Twilight. I do. And I’m not ashamed of it. I don’t think every movie has to be life-changing to be defined as a cultural phenomenon, or even enjoyable. I think when people say that Twilight is “bad” we have to ask ourselves what a “bad” movie is. “Bad” and “good” is completely subjective to who is watching it. As a teenage girl in my life right now, I enjoy watching Twilight. Truth be told, I like the story, and I like the nostalgia attached to it. 

I wonder if my feelings would be different if I was a teenage girl in 2008 when the Twilight film was first released. I wonder if I would hate it because I was told to hate it, or if I would like it because it’s something that I enjoy. Nonetheless, the first Twilight film will always have a special place in my nostalgic little teenage girl heart, everything from Bella’s bleak green and purple bedroom to the clearness of the Cullen's barely used kitchen. 

Overall rating: 9/10 (For the nostalgia, of course.) 

[u23art]

A LOOK AT NEO: THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU (SPOILERS AHEAD)

A Look at Neo: The World Ends With You (Spoilers Ahead) The World Ends With You was and is a very special video game. It wasn’t just a typical RPG, it was an experience that took the gimmick of the DS’s two screens and created a wholly unique style of combat. That combat would in turn compliment the characters, and those characters would enrich the story all the more. Anyone who played it through fell in love with it and waited enthusiastically for any kind of follow up to it. And on July 27th, 2021, Neo: The World Ends With You. The story is a familiar affair. The protagonist Rindo gets sucked into the Reaper game and his party has to survive over the course of a week or 3. The gameplay consists of fighting the enemies such as the noise and the Reapers, collecting and leveling up pins, replaying segments with time travel, “remind” mini games and deep diving into NPCs for fighting challenges. This game, is middling at best. I’ll explain this by drawing comparisons between Neo and TWEWY, an entirely fair comparison to make. First on the chopping block, the combat. The first game required the player to split their attention between controlling one character (Shiki, Joshua and Beat) with the directional pad on the top screen, and then activating pin psyches with the stylus on the bottom screen with Neku. It sounds like a mess on paper potentially but it could be mastered. By making uninterrupted combos you could build up a meter to 3 levels which could unleash limit break moves with visual flair unique to the partner character you have at the time. In Neo, everyone uses pins, and your interactions with your party members amounts to a tap of the buttons they’re mapped to. This can be a disorienting affair, especially when you have pins equipped to the trigger buttons on one side. This ends up making no particular character feel unique with the exception of their evasion animation. Psyches in the first game were a manifestation of characters channeling energy through objects, Shiki fought with Mr. Mew, Joshua with his phone and Beat with his skateboard. Only Neku had the power to fight with pins. In combat, the characters don’t matter, the pins do. When everyone’s super, no one is. The smaller touches peppered into the game during navigation like “remind” and “diving” are forgivable. Remind is a cute unscrambling mini-game and diving can provide extra fights with extra rewards. The character shoka’s ability, flight, is more often a miss as what could have been a useful fast travel option ends up being an option to look in nooks and crannies of the map with usually nothing to find. The absolute worst new edition to this game, is time travel. During points of the game, usually when you’re about to go up against an anticipated big fight, Rindo can take away a player’s right to choose and force you to replay segments. Within the context of the story, this is meant to make a fight easier despite the fact that a fight is supposed challenge a player in the first place and shouldn’t be something to avoid. You travel back and replay scenes but you have to select dialogue options to make the scene play out differently. Heck, most of the time there are no dialogue options, Rindo will automatically alter the scenario.

This is especially annoying during the final big stretch of the game. The final week boasts the grand finale of facing against Shiba, Kubo, and a giant noise phoenix. In a typical RPG, you earn the chance to face the ultimate foe when you’ve conquered the challenges in a final area. Before you can face these bosses, you have to cycle through eons of text as you repeat events over and over again so the characters can move events in their favor. This doesn’t build excitement or tension, this doesn’t challenge the player’s mastery over the gameplay, this is utterly deflating. Time travel in this game is wheel spinning fluff that asks nothing of the player and trivializes the problems in the game, and is a problem that’s reared it’s head in other Square games, but I digress. My next shortcoming I’ll be forthcoming with. With the exception of Shoka, the protagonists made for this game: Rindo, Fret and Nagi; they could not carry this game without the help of the legacy characters. At least not with how they were written. Sure, it’s conveyed that these characters have problems and insecurities to overcome, but I ask you this; at what point in the game did those 3 have any friction between eachother? They’re passive aggressive towards eachother, but that’s it.

Rindo has an apparent inability to make decisions as the game explains and yet uses time travel to fix events from the moment he realizes he has it. Fret forces himself to be cheery and deflects responsibility with no proper explanation besides a quick mention of how a friend of his died. Same with Nagi, why does she so heavily retreat towards her favorite game for comfort and obsess over collecting merchandise? There are arcs here ready to be explored yet they’re never leaned on or overcome, any chance to get meaningful stories out of these characters is squandered. In the spirit of fairness, Neku’s reason for being emotionally distant isn’t explored but that problem still manifested in captivating ways, like when he’s so indifferent about being involved with people that he was willing to murder Shiki to get out of the Reaper Game. Even without that, TWEWY still had strong personal stories with Shiki and Beat who both struggled to either be comfortable with themselves or overcome their feelings of inadequacy. On a petty point, design, specifically with Rindo and Neku. I hate Rindo’s design, his coat is outrageous and the mask annoys me. Not because he has one but because he’s not wearing right, if he’s not properly wearing it over his nose then it’s just a jaw bikini. As for Neku, he puts on display Nomura’s perpetual weird fascination with plaid that won’t go away and keeps appearing in his current character designs. His coat is dumb and clashes with his motif. Petty point #2, the final phoenix boss. It makes it’s appearance after very little build up after another villain was being built up….in a game about time traveling. I’m getting flashbacks to Final Fantasy XIII-2 and I don’t like that one bit.

I think there was potentially a good game to be had here, and here’s how I’d fix it. 1. One partner at a time. Bring back the double character play style, you couldn’t do it with touch features because the switch couldn’t replicate the DS experience in a way that’s comfortable to hold. But overcome that problem and you have time to explore the characters. 2. Shoka could have been the protagonist. She’s a recovering antagonist, that’s an issue to be explored and was such a waste to keep to the way side.

3. Character specific weapons. Rather than collect pins, shops could offer items the character could use as weapons. -Fret could manifest power from scarves. -Nagi could summon varients of her favorite Elestra character through her own preferred pins. -Beat would have Skateboards

-Neku could get a selection of pins to use. -Shoka could also summon, like monsters from FanGo because she cherished her time with Rindo. Give the characters abilities derivative of their personalities. Uniqueness for the characters is so important for the sake of the games name. The World Ends With You. Neku’s world was small to him because he isolated himself, by knowing other people did he learn life can be so much richer.

I understand my criticism is biting, but this game is a sequel in name only. TWEWY is a phenomenal game to have as a foundation to build upon, but this game at most becomes a cautionary tale of what you shouldn’t do when making a follow up to TWEWY. Please Square, have more thought put into the writing of your new RPGs. And for the love of God; Stop. Using. Time. Travel. In your stories. You sure do like having it in your games despite the fact that you don’t want to make games for the Chrono Trigger franchise anymore. Like time travel? You’ve already got a franchise for that.

[itsana004]

10 Characters for 10 people

Thank you for the tag @aoristiandariostis !! It's going to be difficult to choose only 10 favourite characters, but challenge accepted! I send the same challenge to @mizaelloverno107, @sienasiesta, @galaxymaster360, @ayse7124, @vector3996, @karenusia, @baddyzarc, @little-mx-cryptic, @aerialartistic, @animalgirl2018 and anyone who comes across this and wants to do it!

1) Liesel Meminger from The Book Thief

This is one of my absolute favourite books and movie. I remember watching this at school when I was in fifth grade and loving it and love her character. This story sets at the time of the Nazi Germany and the character of Liesel in front our eyes has been through very rough times in her early childhood, she has experienced and seen premature death from a very tender age and since the novel takes place during World War II, death is omnipresent and she constantly puts her own life on the line with her actions. She has a very unique prospective of life and was really fascinated by the power of the words, in fact she is referred as a "book thief", she has pretty much put her life on the line just to learn how to read and understand the meaning of the words, with which she has saved a life and saved her own.

2) Dolowa/Droite/Dextra from Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal and II

This character lays a special place in my heart. Droite is presented as a classy business woman type but rather here she seems to be a person with a duty of the Maintenance of Security in the tower belonging to its creator and the Mayor, as his right hand woman, it is also confirmed that she's an elite. The reason I began to like her it's because how her true layers of personality quickly contrasted the typical business woman/seductive persona, she was nothing like it even though most of the time, the characters similar to her character design are portrayed that way. She's purely devoted to her loved ones and she doesn't got tip to toe with her boss' wishes and would face any consequnces for them. She's caring and capable and her Dueling tactics were really cool.

3) Mebara Keiichi from Higurashi no naku koro ni (kai, rei, kira)

I love love love him. Keichii is hilarious, funny, easily can get attached to but he's a tragic hero. He breaks the chains of tragic fate in utterly hopeless situations and I love how much he cares about his friends. It's absolutely tragic the deaths they have to go through, and luckly they came past it and Keichii played a great role in breaking those tragic chains.

4) Ellen/Viola from The Witch House

The Witch's House is an JRPG game and I am so sad that this doesn't have an anime or something because the plot is really awsome. Anyway, the character of Ellen, she's the main villain, so I should feel no sorrow and sympathy for this b- bery very bad person, and especially not include her in the favourite list, but my kokoro can't be helped, even though I absolutely hate her character out of frustration, but she has a tragic ass backstory to make feel damn emotional for. I hate her but I also love her, idk anymore... Next!

5) Sana from Kodomo no Omocha or Rossana

She's super energetic, and kind and compassionate and querky, silly, stupid sometimes but also very intelligent and mature. We saw so many phases of herself and her character grow. Even though she goes through really tough times, or even dying almsot, she always has a huge heart of her to forgive and come out of trauma and look at life very brightly. She was definately my role model and I am still surprised when I rewatch the way she handled her problems, and she had tones in the anime since she's an actress and lots of teenage drama. Her approach to problems was somehow many times applicable to my life and I still feel inspired by her. She's really an awsome character.

6) Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games

I immediately fell in love with her character the moment she volunteered for her sister. She's incredibly selfless, devoted, brave and ribellious, however it's a shame the reason that everything started by trying to protect that person is taken away from her. I loved how she realised that President Coin is just another President Snow and she killed the right person and rightfully allowed the citizens of the Districts to kill Snow. There were so many parts of the book and scenes of the movie that really drawn such a high opinion of her but I can't talk about everything other than the beginning and the end, otherwise I would take ages

7) Phoenix Wright from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Dual Destiny, everything that has Phoenix and my babies Apollo and Atena in it!!)

I admire how he believes the innocence of the people and is after the truth and not winning the case, he's true, genuine and honest. I love how he does the extreme to repay people back, literally make them either his assistant, adopted daughter, his apprentice, his husband (yes I am talking about Edgy), I can't even take account of at this point.

8) Shuici Saihara from Danganronpa

I have a thing for Detectives with the name that starts with a "S", the only reason I didn't put Shinici Kudo from Detective Conan because I couldn't keep up with the series and honestly I can't, maybe one day when my online classes will end, anyway... Shuici, I like his detective work, his reasoning and the bond she formed with Kaede and his sidekick Kaito, it makes me cry just remembering it, and he's actually sensitive. I loved him even more after his reactions in Love Hotel and secret scenes. The character of Kaede was a huge influence on him, he didn't want to find the truth before because he was scared, but then he took off his cap and solved cases with his head up in the sky (I still can't get over the feels from the fact Kaede's portrait is always on Shuici's side in scrum debate to show she's always with him even after death 😭)

9) Alvin Junior from The Walking Dead

Even though I followed the series of Walking Dead for a very long time, I really got attached to Alvin Junior as much as Clementine, he's just a young god and can't convince me otherwise. Some fans didn't like AJ that much because he was new but I really saw AJ like a young Clem and Clementine now being in Lee's shoes and protecting AJ with her life just as Lee did with hers. AJ is such a mood sometimes and also really reliable. He had to make really hard calls poor guy, but I am really glad to having a happy ending

10) Agatha from the Dark Deception

Agatha is a merciless monster and a spoiled brat that will say that you're cheating by speed boost while she teleport and cut you into a corner while we're running, but I still love her <3

[newx-menfan]

Do you have any unpopular opinions about the New X-Men, or the X-Men in general?

Potentially even the idea that the New X-Men should once again even have a book is kind of controversial among X-fans...

Other potentially unpopular opinions would be:

- I heavily dislike making Quire a sympathetic or focal character because of his subtextual connections to mass shootings and violence (Granted; I’m probably heavily biased because I grew up in a state where a lot of mass shootings have happened, so it kind of makes me uncomfortable...) 

-I think it’s problematic Marvel still relies on only certain characters for diversity (i.e. Storm still being the only African American X-character regularly featured in books, or Iceman and Northstar typically being the only LGBTQIA characters pushed...) 

- I heavily dislike Marvel’s sliding time scale, especially when it comes to the X-Men

- I am not a big O5 fan, even of the original O5; I tend to think they are better in other team lineups than together

-I’m very sick of time displaced characters, younger versions of characters, dystopian timelines, or the phoenix force

- I think Logan was a much better character when he had a reasonable healing factor and writers slowly ruined his character by making him too OP and oversaturating him in the comics

- I don’t think the Fox films are as bad as everyone says; While I definitely did not like certain interpretations of certain characters, I do think there were things like usage of powers or having the universe be separate, that actually worked pretty well

- I will heavily defend Hellion, Surge, and Elixir; while each character does have their flaws, I personally think the hate for them is ridiculously blown out of proportion... 

-  I wish Marvel would finally just make Kitty bisexual...and Rachel..and Dani...

- I wish Marvel would give Karma and Anole an actual relationship

- I think Xavier is kind of obsolete in X-Men books anymore and honestly kind of awful when you really look at the character...

- I think the New Mutants SHOULD be full fledged X-Men at this point...

- I actually do really like Maggot and Marrow...

-I liked Morrison’s run on X-Men and thought the affair was actually an interesting take...

-I also really love Frank Quitely’s art...and his Emma design...

- I think X-Men’s success was actually a pretty big detriment to them, and has been the reason the books stopped being as well written...

- I hate the empty nostalgia

- I like KYOST’s X-Men books despite people hating it for how ‘grim-dark’ it was...

-I deeply disliked Bendis’ X-Men run

- Rachel is the best Summer’s kid (sorry, not sorry!)

-I’m kind of sick of the weird obsession around Scott’s DNA and think it’s an overplayed storyline

- I really miss Storm being a badass and not fill in diversity

- I hate how X-women still get pretty screwed in storytelling ( Jean, Lorna, Storm, Rachel, ect...) 

-’Life Death’ is probably one of my all time favorite Claremont stories

- Doug Ramsey’s powers are actually REALLY useful and people that criticize him are just being mean...

-Mystique and Destiny probably had the healthiest relationship out of all the X-relationships

-Longshot should get a comeback

-Sunfire’s hissy fits are just the best!

-The Morlocks should have at some point gotten their own book

- Ann Nocenti and Louise Simonson don’t get enough credit

-C-List X-characters are just super fun!

-The one thing I wish that would come back in the nostalgia movement is artist’s detail to fashion and it’s relation to characters personalities (Plus...some character’s just had rockin’ fashion, like Skids!) 

There’s probably more, but those were the one’s I could think of on the fly...

[phoenixresidences7-blog]

What types of Improvements Can I Make to help My Condo?

Phoenix Residences

People who unique condos are no different than another homeowners. Many of them want to help the place in which they live. Even though single-family homeowners have more mobility to put on additions or maybe decks, condo owners, far too, can make some dramatic developments. While the options are not infinite, there are a multitude of changes they will make. Following are a few of the chances.

Phoenix Residences Showrooom

Paint The easiest way to transform almost any space is to give it an alternative coat of paint. It can be easy and does not take a lot of time, so if you get it on the divider and absolutely hate the item, then you can do it over. Giving you the freedom to be inspiring.

Floor Depending on what your floors is made from, you can upgrade your surfaces (a higher quality carpet, to get example), or change it once and for all. Many people like having a many floor types in their household. Decide what is best for you, although keep in mind that putting in a new carpet is more expensive than sloshing paint on the wall. Consequently make sure you have your mind made-up.

Countertops Countertops are made of lots of materials. Unless you bought a completely new condo, it is very likely typically the countertop is not exactly what you can have chosen. Luckily for you, design kitchen counter top are relatively easy to change available. Butcher block counters usually are nice, and many people trust by granite.

Hardware On the list of easiest ways to improve the search of your condo is to affect the hardware. You can take this as long as you want. Some people stop together with the knobs and pulls for the kitchen cabinets. Others replace all hardware, from pulls and pulls to light source fixtures and door manages.

Window treatments Believe it or not, some rental residents prefer to have no curtains; nothing to impede the view with or out. But many, likely, want a little something. It is usually functional, like a blind as well as drapes, or more for show, being a small valance at the top of often the window. Whatever your choice, drapes and window treatments are a great way to combine function in addition to fashion.

Appliances Upgrading your personal appliances is not a cheap means of improving your condo, though it can be a change you will notice just about every morning of your life. Some people change gadgets out of necessity if their previous ones no longer work. Other individuals simply want a different conclude (stainless steel, for example) or something that functions a little bit better.

Phoenix Residences (Former Phoenix Heights) by OKP Holdings Limited. Hotline 61009266. Get Discounts, Direct Developer Price, Brochure, Floor Plan, Price List & More.

[luckylq46-blog]

The back end of the order

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The area was hard hit for nearly a year while people avoided coming to the area because of the removal of the Crescent Lot, which accommodated about 170 cars at capacity. https://www.cheapjerseys18.com/ The lot is staffed 24 hours a day, is brightly lit and will hold over 400 vehicles. Now, with the best parking facility in the area, the Downtown Business District is looking forward to a booming holiday season.

Cheap Jerseys free shipping Take an experienced look in the components present the good hair care goods in which you at present use. Eliminate any product, or at the minimum restriction using of any product, that contains alcoholic shots. These types of things usually freed from moisture ones hair out which help it become nike air jordan appear and feel bad Cheap Jerseys free shipping.

[yunaffie]

Shu Takumi interview

Several years ago, Official Nintendo Magazine UK (now no longer existent) had an interview with Shu Takumi and it was even on their website. Now their website is no longer around, but I did manage to find the interview on the Wayback Machine and I figured I’d repost it to make it easier to find, as well as give people who haven’t seen it yet the opportunity to do so.

    On the day that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies is released, Takumi talks to us about his best-loved series

Shu Takumi's most famous creation, Phoenix Wright, is famed for his 'turnabouts'. These whiplash-inducing twists of logic see him step into the unknown in order to seek his client's innocence; he's essentially a chancer, blagging his way to victory. Talk to Takumi, however, and you sense that he leaves nothing to fate. His stories are intricately plotted, his jokes laser-targeted and his heroes full-bodied personalities.

In a medium in which storytelling starts and ends with 'man hates thing, man shoots thing', Takumi is a rare exception to the rule. With his latest yarn, Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney, on the horizon, Associate Editor Matthew Castle was lucky enough to cross-examine one of gaming's definitive voices.

Matthew Castle: Before we start, just for any readers who might not know who you are, could you tell us about your role at Capcom?

Shu Takumi: I'm a director, which means that I propose ideas for new titles, design the games, write the scenarios and direct the projects. In addition, I mutter complaints and, when the intense pressure of an impossible schedule finally gets to me, escape into a fantasy world of my own creation [laughs].

MC: Before developing Ace Attorney you worked on Dino Crisis. How does one go from dinosaur survival horror to virtual courtrooms?

ST: Dino Crisis was the brainchild of my then boss, Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami. Working on his projects taught me not only how to make games, but also how to think about them. After Dino Crisis 2 wrapped, Mr Mikami gave me six months in which to create any kind of game I wanted.

I was still pretty wet behind the ears, but as I'd originally joined Capcom with a desire to create mystery and adventure games, this was a huge chance for me to make my mark as a creator. In the end it took a team of seven 10 months to produce the first GBA Ace Attorney title. Having the freedom to create exactly the kind of game I wanted was amazing and it was a real pleasure to work on that project.

MC: Can you remember when the idea of Ace Attorney first came to you? How did your bosses respond to the idea of a lawyer-based adventure game when you first described it to them?

ST: It was in 2000 when Mr Mikami said I could make my own game and my original idea was a fairly typical adventure with a detective as the main character. Most mystery adventures have the player choose from a number of different dialogue options for their character in order to progress the story, but I wanted a new gameplay style that enabled players to deduce for themselves what was happening, rather than just selecting canned responses. I developed this into the concept of facing off against the suspect in a crime and exposing the contradictions in their statements.

I was sure my new idea would be a fun and original take on the genre, so I started to revise the main character, since a detective would be too traditional for such an original concept. I asked myself, "What kind of professional would face off against a suspect and expose their contradictory statements?" The answer, of course, was a lawyer and so the Ace Attorney concept was born.

Incidentally, I wrote the game design document at home during my summer holiday straight after Dino Crisis 2 finished. One day, I got a call from Mr Mikami. Despite having supposedly given me free rein to design whatever I wanted, he warned me off doing a game about courtroom trials!

MC: Ace Attorney paints the police and legal profession in a silly light. Have you ever had feedback from lawyers or policemen about your portrayal of them?

ST: A few years ago I had the opportunity to speak with some police detectives and they told me that their real-life investigations are nowhere near as absurd as those that were depicted in Ace Attorney. I thought to myself, "Well, I had sort-of guessed that already..."

I've never had feedback from any lawyers, but I imagine it would be the same. They'd tell me they don't scream out "Objection!" as vigorously as our characters and I'd think to myself, "Well, I had sort-of guessed that already..."

MC: Every Ace Attorney game is full of great characters, so when you wrote each sequel how did you decide which people to bring back?

ST: The first time a previously featured character returned in a later case was Larry Butz. Phoenix defended him on a murder charge in the very first case of the first game and he showed up later in the same game as a supporting character in the fourth case.

He wasn't originally planned to be a recurring character, however. The schedule for designing and drawing a new character for that case was so tight that there was a serious risk we wouldn't make it in time, so we decided to reuse an existing character simply to save time on asset creation. Thus, Larry made his encore appearance, which ended up being a well-received element of the first game's storyline, so from the second game onwards, we started bringing old characters back intentionally.

How we choose who to bring back is simple: it's usually either characters who are popular with fans, or those I am fond of [laughs].

MC: For all the madness, there's something traditional about the mysteries at the heart of Ace Attorney. Did you draw on any classic crime writers for inspiration?

ST: You could say that there is a mixture of the spilled blood of victims, the guilty tears of killers and the sweat of hard-working detectives flowing through my veins... To put it less graphically, from the time I came across the Sherlock Holmes series as a child, all the way through to my university days, I've been obsessed with reading classic murder mysteries. It's safe to say that Ace Attorney would not exist were it not for Perry Mason.

When writing the cases for the games I've found inspiration in the works of GK Chesterton, Ellery Queen and Anthony Berkeley, to name but a few. And I can't leave out that modern classic of the genre, Columbo.

MC: How hard is it to devise a juicy twist and to hide it from view? In storytelling you often want to obscure the details, but videogame design often requires clarity. Did you find it hard to rectify those two things?

ST: They say that it's harder to create a puzzle than to solve one and that's certainly proved to be the case in my experience. For the first game, with my lack of experience I found it less like a challenging task than a hobby with which I became obsessed.

You need to control the information presented in the game so that there is a single right answer for the player to deduce, but also weave in plenty of initial inconsistencies for them to uncover and our trademark 'turnabout' twists to confound their expectations. This is where reading all those mystery novels in my youth has really paid off.

MC: Having worked on four Ace Attorney games, how did it feel to step away and work on Ghost Trick? Were you nervous to leave that safety bubble?

ST: I first started working on the Ghost Trick concept in 2004, after the completion of the original GBA version of Ace Attorney 3. The third game was supposed to be the last one, but plans changed and I ended up working on the first DS Ace Attorney, which, as you know, was the first Ace Attorney title to be localised and released in the west. My next project after that was Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, so by the time I got around to finishing Ghost Trick it was 2010, six years after I first thought up the concept.

I certainly felt a lot of pressure when making Ghost Trick, as it was a brand new IP and I had just left the Ace Attorney series, but I was grateful for the chance to take on a new challenge.

MC: Ghost Trick featured some incredibly gruesome murder concepts - death by giant roast chicken is my favourite. From where did you draw inspiration for such a huge variety of deaths? Did any not make the cut?

ST: I feel that the most violent way of murdering someone is by directly shooting, stabbing or strangling them, so for Ghost Trick I wanted to have more indirect ways of killing someone, with a darkly comical, more symbolic feeling to them.

Combining this approach with the fact that the Nintendo DS screens are not the largest, or most high-resolution displays out there, it became important to make sure that whatever death we were presenting to the player was visually easy to comprehend. So being crushed to death by some giant object was a perfect fit for our requirements, whether it was under a big rock or a huge roast chicken.

As far as cut ideas, there was going to be a stage where the victim had been crushed by a huge safe that fell from the ceiling, but time restrictions meant the whole stage was cut. I do love having giant objects fall on people, don't I? That's probably the influence of Tom and Jerry on the young Shu Takumi showing through.

MC: More importantly, how did your team react as you presented these death ideas to them. Was anyone worried for your sanity?

ST: Yes, and not only that, but I also made it my goal to cause the team to worry for my sanity whenever I presented an idea, because if they were, it meant it was a good one. I would hear a little voice in my head saying, "You win!" at times like that. The more "You win!" moments one can have in life, the better.

MC: There were nods in Ghost Trick to Ace Attorney - Missile the dog, for example; a character who looked like Wright - do you see the two games as existing in the same universe?

ST: Those are really just coincidences: the guy who looks like Phoenix actually only has the same colour suit on and the dog is not the same breed as Missile, which, coincidentally, is the name of my pet Pomeranian.

Ghost Trick takes place in what is obviously a much more fantastical world than Ace Attorney. You may have noticed that the level backgrounds in Ghost Trick never have any kind of writing in them. This was an intentional design choice to prevent the game's setting from being identifiable as taking place in any particular country or era from the real world.

MC: Could you imagine an Ace Attorney/Ghost Trick crossover? Any deaths that we couldn't prevent by way of possession could then go to trial in a courtroom...

ST: ...or Phoenix Wright could be killed and Sissel could prosecute his killer in court! Whatever form it might take, a crossover between these games is something I would love to see happen.

MC: When you return to Ace Attorney after a period of absence - whether it was to write Apollo Justice or Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney - how easy do you find it to slip back into that world and that writing voice?

ST: Writing for Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney was the first time in several years that I wrote in the voice of Phoenix and Maya, but those characters are so dear to me that I carry them around everywhere in my heart, so it was very easy to pick it up again. It was like a reunion with old friends and was a very pleasurable and nostalgic experience for me.

MC: When you came to write the scenario for Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney, how hard was it to make those two universes gel? Layton's world traditionally dispels the paranormal, while Wright tends to embrace it.

ST: I worked together with Level 5 to develop the world in which the crossover takes place. It took quite a lot of time for both sides to find a setting into which we were happy to place our biggest characters. The starting point for me was when I wondered to myself if one could still use logic to solve a case in a world in which crimes could be committed using magic. I really liked this idea, so it was hard, but fun, work to design the court sections of the game around it.

MC: Putting all diplomacy aside, who would win in a battle of the wits between Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright?

ST: If you ask me, I don't think Phoenix would be able to hold a candle to Layton in a real battle of wits. However, we all know that the hand of fate somehow always manages to bring a 'turnabout' in Nick's fortunes, no matter how sticky the situation, which means, well, sorry, Professor, but you're out of luck!

MC: With Ace Attorney 5 and Ace Attorney Investigations how does it feel to see your characters in the hands of other Capcom employees? We imagine it must be like a parent sending their child to school for the first day.

ST:

That's an apt comparison. I do have mixed feelings about it sometimes. For instance, I was really surprised to see that after we focused on the new character of Apollo in the fourth game, the Dual Destinies team decided to bring Phoenix back. Ultimately, though, having creators other than myself take the helm of the series is a valid choice, as it brings new directions and new story possibilities.

The team on the new game have looked at what the essence of Ace Attorney is, and as long as they can give the fans another great game to enjoy, I'll be happy. After all, the fact that the series is still going over a decade after I made the first game is something I couldn't possibly have imagined in the first place.

MC: Have you seen the Ace Attorney film? If so, what did you think of it? Was it funny to see characters you sketched out all those years ago in the flesh?

ST: I saw it, and I even got to make a little cameo when the film company invited some Capcom staff to visit the set. You can see me briefly in the spectators' gallery in the final court scene.

It was really something to see the story I wrote for the first game brought to life on the big screen by real-life actors.

And those costumes! They were such perfect recreations. The director, Takashi Miike, is an expert at making existing works from other media into entertaining live action films and he did a great job with Ace Attorney. I highly recommend that everyone reading this check it out, if they can.

MC: This interview is part of our 100th edition and we're looking back over some of our magazine highlights. Looking back over your own career, what is your personal highlight to date?

ST: As a creator, the greatest compliment to me is when someone tells me that they played one of my games and enjoyed it. In the course of the press tour for Ghost Trick in 2010, many players from around the world expressed their love of Ace Attorney to me and it's moments like those that make me glad I became a game creator. Also, I'm deeply honoured to have been asked to take part in this special issue and having myself, my team and our work considered a highlight of your magazine's history. I'd like to thank you on behalf of everyone at Capcom. This opportunity is in itself a highlight for us.

MC: Many of our readers are keen to know, what's next for Shu Takumi?

ST: Game projects are a complex balance of so many factors: what I want to make, what players might make of my concept, what Capcom as a company wants from the game, and also broader trends in the gaming industry. My next project is in the preparation stages and I still don't know myself what form it might take by the time it's finished.

Whatever happens, though, I'll be pouring my heart and soul into it and working towards that eternal goal of hearing positive reactions from the players at the end of all the hard work.

[fatedbutblinking]

hp next generation│characters

REMUS & TONKS

Teddy Lupin

Hufflepuff

Hair that changes often—currently a bright, electric blue; olive skin

Kind and considerate

Respectful and sweet

Humble and appreciative of Harry Potter and their family

Deeply in love with Victoire—for a lot more than her looks

Victoire tells everyone it was Teddy who fell for her first, just because he told her he loved her first, but Teddy secretly knows that it’s Victoire who fell first

Made Head Boy for his high academic achievement (including a nailed Outstanding in Defence Against the Dark Arts)

Out of all the Potter children, he is closest with Lily Potter; she used to ride his back when she was younger and make him personalised, singing birthday cards

HARRY & GINNY

James Sirius Potter

Gryffindor

Around 180 cm; classically handsome face; strong jawline; thick, dark brown, untidy hair that glints auburn in the sun and he constantly runs his hands through; irritatingly clear skin; prominent hazel eyes; cocky smirk

From first to third year, he conceitedly thinks that Allie likes him just because she said thank you to him after he told off some boys for pulling on her hair; this turns out to be false, as Allie starts going out with Dylan Thomas

The most arrogant out of his family members, his best friend and cousin Fred coming second

His nana started calling him “Jamie,” to which his friends started mocking him for

This led to James coming up with nicknames for everyone else, some sticking and some only for mocking (e.g. Allie, Freddie, Roxie—but not Dom because she’d kill them if they did)

Typically a player but knows when to settle down into a relationship—reliable and loyal if he’s really interested in you—if you’re just a one-time shag, he’s still nice to you though

A lover of Quidditch, pranks, making others laugh—he’s the class clown

Naturally smart; has a lot of potential to be great—especially in Potions and Alchemy—but starts off not diligent or focused enough

Cares for his family and friends—perhaps too much sometimes

Immature class clown turned just as funny Head Boy without wanting the latter

Gets others and himself into trouble all the time

Constantly curious—to the point where it, also constantly, gets him into trouble and detention with McGonagall

Free and confident being who he is, which Allie admires

Childish, stupid, hyper and more arrogant when drunk

After being turned by an infamous werewolf in the middle of his sixth year, he starts smoking excessively—”The more I do with my mouth, the less chance I’ll have to tell someone I’m a monstrous killer. Unless you, Allie, would like to help me instead?”—Dom, who used to be an addict in her fourth year when she hung out with Slytherin boys, persuades James to stop

When he becomes a werewolf in his sixth year, he decides to quit the Quidditch team so he won’t ruin it for anyone if he can’t play; he doesn’t tell Fred his reasoning—he can’t tell anyone he’s a werewolf or might be expelled for possible danger by certain Ministry workers—and Allie is forced to take his spot

McGonagall secretly finds James one of her favourite students, despite telling him off constantly for his pranks

Loves his dog Paddy

Bisexual or pansexual—“As long as they’re good-looking,” he says, cracking a cocky smirk.

The ultimate 21st century cool guy—really hot, intelligent and with no preference for partners’ sexuality

Very straightforward like Dominique—doesn’t know boundaries at times

Secretly kind

Super selfless

Finds it amusing that he actually likes Professor Malfoy, his new Alchemy teacher

Professor Malfoy finds it funny that he likes James too

Though predicted Outstanding in his Alchemy mock exam, James runs out halfway through the lesson to confess his feelings to Allie

“What’s with your son, Potter? He’s unbelievable.”—“Merlin, what’s he done now?”—“He ran out halfway through the lesson, finishing 75% of the exam—which is impressive enough as he should’ve been at 50%—and got 73% right! If your son doesn’t run out of the room during the real exam, I’m sure he could get an O.”

Albus Severus Potter

Slytherin

Only just taller than Roxanne

Almond-shaped, bright green eyes; neat black hair; thin-faced with knobby knees; thin and of average height

Listens to Radiohead and other Muggle bands

Angsty teen shut-the-fuck-up type

Used to be bullied for being so different from the rest of his family; girls dig the bad boy thing (though Albus isn’t bad and doesn’t act like it on purpose)

Like a sassy young Harry from Order of the Phoenix

Rolls eyes a lot

Nobody can tell what he’s thinking

Witty—self-deprecating humour

Lily Potter

Gryffindor—without a doubt

Around 162 cm with pale, white, freckled skin, vibrant brown eyes, straight, bright ginger hair; she eventually gets glasses due to her worsening eyesight—“At least I’m not as blind as you, Dad.”

Very curious and interested; cheery; talkative; honest; adventurous

Wants to have fun but is studious too—for sure not as extreme a pranker or partyer as James

Often argues with Albus as they’re both really stubborn; James can be seen laughing the background

Strong-willed and quick-witted

Admires Rose as an older sister

Ships Albus and Scorpius more than anyone

RON & HERMIONE

Rose Weasley

Gryffindor

Wavy scarlet/vermilion hair; light skin with minor freckles, as she doesn’t spend much time in the sun

Loves reading and the library

Prefers to keep to herself/be independent

Loves to point things out for others

Her fatal flaw is being too honest that she sounds condescending/rude, especially when she’s angry

Only impulsive when angry;

Never procrastinates

Extremely intelligent/book-smart

Slightly arrogant and snobby

Short-tempered and stubborn

Says she doesn’t care about appearances until Scorpius finds out about her contact lenses after hiding under her bed

Hugo Weasley

Ravenclaw

Shorter than most; boyish good looks; curly brown hair (an undercut when he was rebelling); lanky; long-sleeved shirts and jeans

Loves music—singing, acoustics, angst/soft/indie tunes

Quiet but frank when passionate or needed

Highly intelligent

Quietly opinionated

Named attractive by girls but he doesn’t care for them—only his studies and music

Doesn’t laugh; deadpan

Not very close with Potter-Weasley-Granger clan

Dislikes James for treating him like a child, being frivolous and always partying

Dislikes Dominique for being intimidatingly rude

NEVILLE & HANNAH

Alice (Allie) Longbottom

Ravenclaw

Around 158 cm; sweet-faced; doe-eyed; wavy dark-gold/caramel-blonde medium-length hair; long eyelashes; rich, doe, dark brown eyes; thick-knit cream and orange jumpers

A bad habit of hers is biting her nails

Doesn’t get drunk until of age but is said to remain nonchalant and the same after several drinks

Though she complains she hates it because it’s illegal, she secretly enjoys being the designated driver in the flying car—there’s no other way for her to fly, as she’s dreadful on a broom like her dad

Clumsy when she’s younger

Open-minded; the right amount of honesty; not rude

Tones down James and Fred by telling them if their pranks are going over the line

Considered the worst Quidditch player/broom-rider ever since her first flying lesson where she spun around the school for hours uncontrollably

One day when Fred is injured and can’t play a match, James convinces Allie to and she manages to help them win—by distracting the other scared players with her super-fast flying

A louder, sweeter, more humble version of Albus

Shy when with new people, but later—if quiet—she’s only observant

Wishes she had a large family but eventually finds that the Weasley-Potter-Granger clan are just as caring

Her mother, Hannah Abbott, the school matron, is dying—lethargic, pale, cadaverous, bony, tired hair 

Her parents weren’t sure they could have a child due to Hannah being ill (having a blood curse)

When Hannah dies, Allie becomes very depressed because her family is down to just her and her dad; she feels guilty that she didn’t spend as much time with her mum as she did with her dad

Allie sees Scorpius crying in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom after his mother died too from a blood curse; this leads to a close friendship and slight jealousy from James, who at this point has just realised he loves Allie

Thinks she needs to excel at school because her dad works there—wants to impress her dad and make him proud

In her seventh year, she hears about a chance to intern at St Mungo’s; wanting to be nearer to family, she applies and gets accepted

She visits her grandparents at Christmas, which is why they sort-of remember her

Neville only hears about the internship when McGonagall talks to him about it and is heartbroken that his daughter didn’t tell him—this was because she knew he’d say no

She impulsively decides she wants to be a Healer

James and her get into an argument about this

“You don’t care about being a Healer. You just want a reason to see your grandparents, to be nearer people who care about you. What you don’t realise is that, although plenty of us aren’t related to you, we love you too.”—James

“You want to be a Healer? You’ve never talked about this ever!”—“Well some people can’t decide what they want to do when they’re five, like you or Fred!”—“I don’t know what I’m doing, Allie! Merlin...what’re you going to do if your grandparents pass away? Will you quit being a Healer? Do what you love, Allie. Don’t do what you think other people want.”

After James becomes a werewolf, she sticks by his side; she even becomes an illegal Animagus to help him—she is a hare, like Luna Lovegood’s Patronus, and finds herself somewhat unuseful as she’s so small

Lysander is her first kiss

Boys consider her pretty in the “cute” way; adults describe her as “lovely”; Fred describes her as “the type of person that calls other girls beautiful”; James describes her as “beautiful. That’s it.”  

Her three current and past love interests are James, Dylan Thomas and Nicolas (a hot Beauxbatons exchange student), the first becoming her husband and the latter two ending up together

Zabini mocks this, telling Allie she “turned them gay.”

James murdered him on the Quidditch pitch the next day

GEORGE & ANGELINA

Fred Weasley

Gryffindor

187 cm; very tall; well-built; short, cropped raven hair; light freckles

Goofy like James

Needs to focus on his studies more and does in last two years of school, after failing multiple OWL exams and getting a Howler from his mum 

From then on, he is given a tutor, Chloe, who is a year older than him, in Ravenclaw, pretty and half-Asian

Fred falls in love with her, though is scared she thinks of him as an immature guy and doesn’t tell her until the Christmas of his sixth year where James and Ally are invited to the Slug Club party and he’s left alone to study; On the way back from the bathroom, Chloe decides to ditch the Slug Club and stay with Fred late into the night

Loves/is passionate about Quidditch more than anything; wants to play professionally

After James is turned into a werewolf and some people become slightly scared of him and find him unreliable, Wood has no choice but to choose Fred to be Quidditch Captain

Fred knows he’s second best to James, as he always is, and 

Always seen laughing with James

Always sleeps and snores in History of Magic

Infatuated with Ally for a period of time but never confesses himself

Instead, they become very, very close friends, Fred being the first person who finds out how Allie feels about James

Roxanne Weasley

Hufflepuff

Around 165 cm; long, rich dark auburn hair; flawless, freckle-less mocha skin

Admires Ally

Sickeningly sweet; polite; formal

Lies so people don’t get hurt

Introverted

Low self-esteem

Loves watching Quidditch, not playing, making her different from her mum and dad

Secretly very loud, opinionated and 

Not an attention-seeker but wants to be noticed by somebody outside of her family

Dominique and her end up having a lot in common, including being constantly annoyed at Fred

Crushes on Lysander, the popular, smart guy, but ends up with Lorcan, the outcasted, artsy guy

BILL & FLEUR

Louis Weasley

“Hot Louis”

Ravenclaw

Looks more like his mother

Always relaxed

Close friends with Lysander

*To be continued*

Dominique Weasley

Gryffindor but almost a Slytherin

Tall and skinny; long, strawberry-blonde hair often kept in a pony-tail; light tan from the hours spent playing Quidditch; dark blue eyes that flicker with every sarcastic thought

Somewhat jealous of her older sister Victoire but doesn’t hold too much resentment towards her

The best female beater on the Slytherin team in years; she only tries out for the team after a year of being a hilarious, swearing, honest Quidditch commentator

Admittedly a hypocrite

The badass, devil-may-care type

Extra asf

Finds Herbology boring, despite everyone loving Herbology because of Professor Longbottom

Gets kicked out of Beauxbatons for using magic inappropriately after her mum sends her there to discipline her

Rough relationship with her mum

She is surprised to learn that her dad dressed as a bad boy during school, as he now worships grades and do-gooder ideals

Victoire Weasley

Gryffindor

Beautiful; tall and willowy, like a model; sapphire-blue eyes; long, pale-blonde hair (that she cuts shorter later to be “taken seriously by Aurors”); forever clear, pale skin (apart from the light freckling on her cheeks and nose)

Sweet; caring

Made Head Girl

Curious, but not rebellious, cunning, stealthy or adventurous like her sister

Graceful but not stealthy

Plays it safe, but not compliant

Deeply in love with the kind, sweet, yet misunderstood Teddy—a boy whom she helps recover from depression by showering him with friendship and love

PERCY & AUDREY

Molly Weasley

Ravenclaw

Wavy gingery-brown hair; icy, pale blue eyes; very skinny; tall; very freckled skin

Head Girl after Victoire leaves

Strict

Caring but not doting

Responsible

Easily-angered

Bickers and argues a lot with everyone

Tends to hang around her family members or teachers

Highly intelligent due to determination

Well-spoken; know-it-all

Acts like she can control everyone around her

Is disliked or not preferred by the older kids in the Potter-Weasley-Granger clan, but the young ones like her for babysitting when she’s free

Admires how Ally cares for everyone, tries to keep them out of trouble, without making them hate her

Admired by Rose

Lucy Weasley

*To be continued*

LUNA & ROLF

Lysander Scamander

Ravenclaw

Intelligent

Cool and collected

Well-known by everyone; popular

Follows in his father, Rolf’s, footsteps

Handsome; neat dirty-blond hair; “dreamy” cornflower-blue eyes

Brightest wizard of his year

The classier, more organised out of the twins

Blunt and honest but tries to hold back

Aware of his achievements

Arrogant; “Yeah, I know.”

Like a classier, quieter version of James, which Lily hates at first

Nevertheless, Lily and him end up together after the both of them consistently visit Hagrid (Lily does this because she doesn’t have many friends and hangs out with Hagrid; Lysander does this because he loves Care of Magical Creatures)

Lorcan Scamander

Ravenclaw

Quiet in speech, but loud in every other aspect

Badly-dressed—clothes the wrong size, the wrong colour, but still manages to make it looks somewhat stylish

Not-so-secretly handsome

I’ll-be-who-I-want kind of personality

Longer, messy dirty-blond hair; kind, doe silvery eyes; smiley

Loves art

Creative, confident and selfless

Great at giving advice

Called “weird” and a “hippie” by some 

DRACO & ASTORIA

Scorpius Malfoy

Slytherin

White-blonde hair; pale blue-grey eyes; tall and lanky; sharp cheek bones; intimidating due to height but an actual cinnamon bun;

Easy-going

Your genuine he-who-listens-and-won’t-judge mate

Determined to make Rose like him

Persistent and passionate about things he loves

Loves Christmas with the Weasley-Potter-Granger clan more than with him and his dad alone, as being alone with his dad reminds him he doesn’t have his mum there too—which is why he always brings his dad along to the Burrow, which can be slightly awkward

Thinks of Allie as a big sister

[sanjuno]

Ummmm howabout a one piece time travel fic of your choice?

(1/32 SI Promptfest)

The sea is a treacherous bitch, and I have never hated being proved right more than the moment I realized that the undertow that drowned mereally did come out of nowhere just to drag my ass away from shore. How, you ask me at this point, did I know my bitter sarcasm was more than simple railing against my unfortunate circumstances?

The giant glowing sea goddess clad in sea foam and coral tipped me off. A smidge. Just a wee little bit of a hint there.

Terrible and majestic, the Ocean spoke in a voice like the waves crashing against stone. ‘My son will appreciate the help you canprovide, Occhio D Vittoria.’

“… eh?” I was understandably suffering a bit of a BSOD inthe brain, between the worldview shift required when a technical atheist meets withthe divine face to face and the oxygen deprivation. The Ocean then proceeded to slam me head-first down a whirlpool before I could even get a complete word out, and then pain from the bends set my blood on fire.

Needless to say, I was not in the best frame of mind when Iwoke up still under the water. “That’s not my fucking name, you salt-soaked whore!”

A rather scandalized clownfish burbled at me in shock, retreating into its anemone. It took me longer than I care to admit to realizethat I was actually breathing water rather than using a self-taught diving trick to recycle old air. Hard on the heels of that revelation was the notice that my legs had been replaced with a fishtail. Specifically, I was sporting the iconic ray-finned crimson-and-neon barbsof a clearfin lionfish.

“…” I stared for a good long while, trying to make sense of what the hell was going on. This was a situation that called for a witty one-liner. “… Well if I have to be a male-gaze fantasy trope at least I get to be a venomous one.”

… Eh, good enough. I always did have a habit of identifying the benefits of any given situation, and being neurotoxic was a fairly decent defense mechanism when all is said and done. Next step was movement, fairly easy to adapt to given that despite the surface characteristics my tail was still jointed like an aquatic mammalian.This meant I propelled myself with the vertical kick I was familiar with from when I still had legs rather than having to learn how to steer using the lateral movements of an actual fish.

Bonk!

“Mother of fuck!” One hand pressed to my brand new brain injury, I slapped the other one forward to press against the glass wall. Now that I was paying attention to something other than my new meatsuit, I recognized the not-quite-mirror quality of aquarium glass. “Oh, you’ve got to be fucking with me.”

I was in a honest-to-goodness fishbowl. What in the name of all that was held sacred did the Ocean think she was doing sticking me in a fucking aquarium? Was this vengeance for the time I let my mother help me clean my fish tank and she accidentally boiled my placo?

Holy shit I hopenot.

Pressing my face up against the glass I could see… wanted posters. In a… more-than-slightly-familiar printing style. Hm.

My fins flared out in shock as I stared at a wanted poster for Portgas D Rouge. There were other posters, all of them bounties for female pirates. Those, combined with the questionable taste of the statuary bolted to the floor, told me exactly what kind of situation I had ended up in.

I was in One Piece, I was a captive mermaid, and my ‘owner’had a fetish typical of the series’ stock of minor villains. A perversion that was played up for comedy during the build-up and action events while actually being beyond horrifying when realistically considered. I was trapped inside the glass, and swallowing back the surge of fear made me acutely aware of the pressure of what I presumed was a bomb collar around my neck. I had no resources, no allies, no clue what I was even doing in this world, and no realistic hope of rescue.

I was, in short, completely doomed unless the Ocean decided to take pity and toss a miracle or two my way.

BOOM!

Well, ask and ye shall receive… at least so long as the Ocean Goddess still has a use for me, I suppose. The water in my tank vibrated, the walls of the room outside of it shaking madly as what I assumed was a Grand Line style brawl grew closer. An ugly man, made recognizable to me by his inbred ugliness as a World Noble, flew through the far wall to crash into the memorabilia shrine. The posters and broken pieces of plaster flew up into the air.

I am Canadian to my core, and also a mouthy shit with no shame, so I threw my arms in the air and made like a bullhorn. “GOOOOAAAAALLLL!”

The man dramatically emerging from the smoke in a predatory stalk promptly stumbled as he sputtered. Two smaller bodies shoved around his knees to stare at me curiously. The view was a bit distorted, but it was hard to mistake those two particular children for anyone else.

Blinking, I took in the sight of Portgas D Ace and Monkey D Luffy in all their tiny, childhood glory. For some reason they were dressed in the tattered remains of tropical print sundresses. Which really did not make me feel any better about how they had managed to end up in the same room as my cage. Then I lifted my gaze to the adult accompanying them and felt my eye twitch.

It was an adult version of Ace, tattooed front and back with an elaborate phoenix-and-wave design that I had never managed to draw out quite to my satisfaction. Well, at least if I had to be a victimized minority in One Piece I was in a fix-it AU and now I knew how to create a situation where I could make the most of it.

“Hi, Riot!” I waved cheerfully, hoping against hope that anime physics would come into play and let my voice carry through the glass. “Could you be a dear and get the key to this bomb collar before you completely destroy that asshole’s everything?”

“Hi, Pretty Fish Lady!” Luffy waved back, and oh, look at that. There were den-den mushi installed on either side of the glass for easy communication. That made better sense. “Do you know my big brother?”

“I saw him be born! A real firecracker, your big brother.” Technically I am actually telling thetruth, which is great because Luffy is oddly perceptive about things like that. Riot gave me a sharp look, and I winked at him trying to mime holding a crystal ball, hoping he would pick up on the wording and… yeah, there it was. Thank you for your reputation, Madame Sharkey, and let us all hope I never get called out on borrowing it.

“Stop right there, pirate scum!” The man who rushed at Riot was dressed in white, and… yep. There was that sand-blasted awful coat with the hideous epaulettes.

Carnage ensued. The glass of my tank got broken as Riot’s fight with the Noble’s Marine bodyguard ramped up, and I had a terrifying flashback to the time my five gallon tank got shoved off the table and broken glass sliced my betta in half. Luck and possible divine intervention allowed everyone involved in the confusion to avoid gaining a serious injury from the glass shards. Ace proved that his pick pocketing skills were still sharp when he rushed over to me with a stupidly elaborate key ring in hand.

Key in lock and turn and yes! Free!

I ripped the collar away from my neck as soon as the clasp popped loose, glaring at the Noble only just managing to pull himself free of the pile of debris Riot had buried him in. He needed to be buried deeper and I needed my fucking legs back!

A lurch, like when your gut drops out from under you on a roller coaster.

“HA! Feet! Score one for maturity!” I am a very mature and poised individual indeed. Ask anyone. I am also really glad for the worldbuilding that means despite being a mermaid, as an adult I can have feet whenever I need them. Certain people just really need a good curb-stomping, and it is hard to deliver such without heels to slam down into tender places.

I might also have fed the Noble the bomb collar. After arming it. In retrospect, I have no idea how I managed to avoid making a horrid mess of myself.

… Honestly I think I just got caught up in the moment. Also I have a very low empathy score and a duty to future generations to remove certain bad influences from the gene pool. Especially when said bad influences make creepy comments about small children and their ‘uses’.

Noting that Riot seemed to be finishing up his fight, I grabbed one of the wrap dresses from the wreckage of the armoire and cinched it tight, vowing to change into something with a less tainted providence at the first available opportunity. Then I slung the children over my shoulders like particularly vocal grain sacks and headed for the stairs. Predictably, things started to explode as Riot put the Marine down for good. I was already up on the deck with my wiggling burdens by the time a massive fireball chewed through most of the Noble’s ostentatiously gaudy ship.

Riot emerged from the flames, predictably unscathed, and the Marine was nowhere to be seen. He stared at me, I stared back at him, and Luffy whined into my shoulder-blade about me not letting him watch the end of the fight. “You’re a mean Fish Lady.”

“Little fry should not be fighting sharks.” I told the youngest boy even as I tossed Ace at his older counterpart and re-secured Luffy before he could slip free. “Salut, cousin. I appreciate the assist and the chance to get my own back. Although I do hope you have an escape route in mind.”

“My ship is right there.” Riot caught Ace without pausing stride and motioned to where a galleon flying a jolly roger was pulling up broadside to the rapidly burning vessel. The light from the flames made it easy to see Riot frown, his entirely understandable distrust of strangers warring with the reality of the situation I was in when he found me. “… Are you comingalong?”

“If you don’t mind the company.” I smiled at him as we began to move towards the pirate ship and pulled the one bounty poster I had made a point of picking up out of my pocket. “It’d be nice to get to know Miss Rouge’s sons.”

Riot flicked another searching look at me while Ace gaped at the picture of his mother. It was probably the first time the kid had seen her face. Hells bells, they were young. I still had a decade on Riot at this point in his life, more than twice that on Ace and Luffy. Still, time to make the most of being the eldest.

“The name’s Occhio D Vittoria, pleasure to make your acquaintance.” … Aw fuck no. That was not my name. The Ocean was still playing silly buggers and I did not appreciate the sudden re-branding at all.

… Oh shit, maybe the D stood for Drowned.

[poisonappletales]

What are your favorite traits in each of your characters?~

Hello, fearofprayer! Ooh, let’s see…this should be fun. Of course, I’m going to keep my answers spoiler-free. But whenever Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces) is released, please feel free to ask again if you’d like to know about those.

Now then, this will include my thoughts on all my characters - the cast of Don’t Take This Risk being among them. I’m going to give you the short summarized answer first, followed by a wordier explanation telling you what I think in detail.Shall we begin?

Arsenik of the Hulder

Favorite Traits: Intelligence, style of speech, his hobby of writing

One of my favorite traits is that he speaks in that intellectual, old-fashioned style. It lets me use that older style of writing that you see in classical literature, whether it’s Jane Austen or Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Plus, he has a hobby of writing, so it gives me a chance to write things like poems.

You might say I like the opportunities he gives me for writing myself! On a related note, he enjoys reading just as I do, but I wouldn’t call that a trait I prefer/like in a character. It honestly doesn’t matter to me if a character has similar hobbies to me or not.

Why am I mentioning this? I just thought it’d be something you’d like to know, particularly since it’s common for “writers” and “reading” to go together. If he were to discuss books with someone, that would be easy to write since I enjoy doing so as well! However, his opinions are not necessarily the same as mine.

Anyway, what I like most about him is his style of talking, his intelligence and his writing inclinations.

For those who aren’t a fan of him, a common reason would be that they find his sort of character to be “boring.” I just want to note that I’m not offended by any of those kinds of opinions. Like and dislike whichever character you want! It’s your prerogative. I’m glad if my cast feels like actual people you can form opinions about when you meet them.

But yeah, I do know a lot of people who find things like the classic books boring, so if you personally aren’t fond of his speech, that’s totally understandable. Or just, you know, the do-gooder character you see in shows.  Though, something you may not realize is that he sounds a little more stilted/formal when he’s around his beloved…

(Again, that’s not a trait of his that I would call a “favorite” of mine. It’s just there and a part of his character that feels fitting for him. His shyness/awkwardness is just something I thought I’d bring to your attention in case you missed it in the demo!)

Oh, and a bonus trait I like about him (or the Hulder in general) relates to what’s been said about his clan: “They’re only gentlemen during the day.”

Chase of the Trold

Favorite Traits: How he rounds out the cast and what he represents

Ah, Chase. Two things I like about him: 1) He rounds out the cast well. 2) His relationship with Ambrosia (should you choose to put these two together) has a nice meaning behind it.

What do I mean by “nice meaning”? Well, does anyone remember this Chase/Ambrosia piece I wrote a while back? Chase is not considered conventionally attractive, but Ambrosia doesn’t subscribe to the masses, to say the least. She’s not superficial and considers beauty to be in the eye of the beholder.

He’s a character that represents those principles.

Going back to my first point, it’s not too difficult to see how he rounds out the cast. He’s the most “average guy” of the group.  I have heard a lot of players like him for that reason (heart of gold and a nice guy who’s easy to get along with). He also has a few people who dislike him for…a certain “temper” scene in the demo. Those of you who came across it probably know what I’m talking about here!

He has his strengths and weaknesses. I know I definitely wanted to make him as much a “real boy” as possible, so to speak. Hate him or love him, it’s your call!

Wind of the Imugi

Favorite Traits: Cool, tough barbarian fighter

Your resident tsundere (the hot-cold jerky type), even if he isn’t your textbook classic example. I don’t like to do stereotypes straight-out, so you can’t expect my characters to follow any of those archetypes to a T.

I’m not generally a fan of tsunderes. I don’t mind them in shows, and I think that the cast needs their spice at times. They can create fun situations. It’s just not going to be a favorite of mine (not typically at least - there are always exceptions).

So, what do I like about Wind? He’s cool and tough and isn’t scared of slicing through flesh with those claws of his. I feel like I just picked him to play in a video game selection screen. You could say that’s what I like about him. I would enjoy playing him in a video game for a time.

“What kind of description is that?”

Oh, and if a fan dislikes him, it’s usually because he can be a jerk. That’s it.

Night of the Vi

Favorite Traits: Attitude and armor

Not that much is known about this guy yet, huh?

I’ll just tell you that my favorite traits about him is his cool attitude and that wicked black armor. I called Wind cool as well, but Night’s in a different way. He’s more relaxed and adventurous. As for that armor - well, it’s pretty self-explanatory. (Imagine the cosplaying opportunities there.)

If players don’t like him, it’s often because they’re not into his free lifestyle. He’s not looking for something serious straight off the bat and wants to come into a relationship naturally - whenever he feels it. In the meantime, he doesn’t see anything wrong with living it up, inside and outside the bedroom.

Describing it that way, I feel like you can almost see him as something of a James Bond character now…

Onyx of the Vi

Favorite Traits: Talented killing machine

All right, sure. Let’s put these Vi’s in a row, and give Onyx a nice animated gif that I have to polish up some more one day.

There’s actually a whole lot I like about Onyx. While you wouldn’t want to run into him in real life, there’s something awesome about him being a killing machine on the battlefield, wouldn’t you say? A stone-cold killer, daunted by nothing. His skill with a blade is a sight to behold.

A perfect dark warrior.

I’m actually looking forward to drawing and animating more of him fighting, with his blade drawn. Though, in that case…expect blood.

Prince Alexandrite of the Vi

We don’t talk about the prince.

King Barium of the Vi

Favorite Traits: A natural-born leader + cool and collected + some king realism

His easygoing nature, combined with his natural authority, makes him a likable and charismatic king. Those are my favorite traits about him. If he only had one or the other, I may not have necessarily called that my favorite (more so for the trait of being “cool and collected,” which I may or may not find likable on its own).

Plus…his armor’s pretty neat, isn’t it?

He owns a harem, and while that alone does not automatically make me favor a character, I do like how it’s a realistic aspect for a king of certain eras.

Viktor of the Hulder

Favorite Traits: Exciting party-maker with…comedic tendencies

And we’re back to the Hulder! The reign of the Vi is over - I joke, of course.

You know, it’s really funny, but I hear a lot of players say they like this guy for - shall we say - the wrong reasons. That is, for Arsenik reasons. What do I mean? Case in point:

1) They like his shyness. This young man isn’t shy.  I remember talking about it way back here, but yes, Viktor is a far cry from that description. He’s confident, talkative and gregarious. Sure, he blushes and stammers when Ambrosia touches him in the demo, but he’s still rather loud, wouldn’t you say? He makes his emotions very clear! He shows what he’s feeling and thinking a lot.

2) They like that he’s quieter/withdrawn/someone they can take the lead with. This is similar to the other point. This man is loud, sociable and can even be a little charming in how he flirts with Ambrosia in the demo, wouldn’t you say?

If you’re looking for someone sweeter, shyer and reserved, that’s all Arsenik. You want someone with confidence, liveliness and fun? Here’s Viktor!

That said, what do I like about Viktor? Well, he has a true knack for making a situation humorous. Look at any of his conversations, and I bet you’ll see what I mean. Plus, he has that old-fashioned way of speaking that’s always fun to write out. Just keep in mind that Viktor might be raised to speak like a Hulder, but he isn’t someone who would be considered intellectual.

I almost feel like Viktor has more fans than Arsenik does, given what people tell me! Just a reminder - Viktor isn’t an official love interest in Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces). There is a secret bachelor, but that may or may not be Viktor. However, if you so wish, I do encourage you to pursue him in-game to find out.

Bo-Peep of the Cucuy

Favorite Traits: Bubbly cuteness

Not long after talking about the king, it only makes sense to discuss one of his mistresses!

She’s peppy, bubbly and cute! She may not be the brightest around the block, but that adds to her charm. Some players assume she’s innocent possibly because her voice is, well, childish (and her mannerisms can be as well). But oh no, make no mistake.

This is the king’s woman - a sexy gal with legs for days. That kind of person. She knows more than a few tricks in the bedroom to keep a man satisfied. She’s well-versed in fashion, flirting and make-up (hopefully - she does have the tendency to wear too much herself).

Despite her capacity for sexiness, she altogether feels, as I said, cute, which is what I like about her.

She is due for a bit of a re-design in the future. Just some tweaks to bring out what I had in mind.

Jasmine of the Phoenix

Favorite Traits: Prim girl trying hard to seem older than she really is

I do like Jasmine. She might be the eldest of the Phoenix cousin trio, but she acts more like the middle child.

She seems prim and proper, but she has immature tendencies. (She’s the one who goes “Moooom, she’s picking on me again” or “Stop messing with my things or I’m going to kill you, you little brat!” Just replace “Mom” with “Ambrosia.”)

She can be almost something of a “normal teenage girl,” but I like the contrast between her “prim” side and her “teenage girl” side. She’s also due a re-design again, but she’ll still be pretty.

Ah, and another thing I like about her: that competitive streak of hers. It makes for more amusing scenarios, as you might have seen during the last exciting Valentine skit.

When it comes to “teenage girl” types of characters, they’re usually hit-or-miss with me.  But I happened to make her a kind I could like.

(You might think I made an entire cast of people I enjoy…but I actually do have characters I wouldn’t like if I wasn’t the one who made it.  And it may not be the people you think it is - aside from maybe one of them, which you’ll see later down the list. As a writer, I want a fleshed out cast and story!)

Rosemary of the Phoenix

Favorite Traits: Fun, lively, endearing

If Jasmine is like the middle child, then Rosemary is equivalent to the youngest. She’s loud, fussy and often bursting with opinions, which makes her fun. I like how she livens things up!

I also enjoy her role in the story, as she plays her part well. What that role is in full detail remains to be seen…

Since she’s sensitive about her weight and enjoys eating, I’ve had a few players assume that I’m trying to make her a walking “fat joke,” but that really couldn’t be further from the truth! What I’ve made here is a character.

I’ve got to tell you, I’ve known people with these insecurities. I’ve even had players tell me that they relate to what she’s doing (i.e. airing out complaints, cheating on their diet, etc.). And I think those are all beautiful people.

You are not meant to ridicule Rosemary. That would be Wildfire’s job. She has strengths and flaws like all the rest.

She’s another one of those “average teenage girl” kind of personalities, but as with Jasmine, I like her. She has endearing qualities, and it’s not hard for her to grow on you! At least, in my personal opinion.

Wildfire of the Valkyrie

Favorite Traits: She does her role well

Speaking of Wildfire…

Say “hello” to my least favorite character. Frankly, I wouldn’t even put her on my list of favorites, and usually, I’m naturally fond on my own creation.

I don’t know if this comes as a surprise since I made a whole game featuring her as one of the protagonists (War: 13th Day), but I did say I can write about characters I don’t even like myself. It just depends on the story I want to tell.

I think almost all of us know people who have made your life way harder than it has to be. If not yours, then someone else’s - someone you cared about. You could call them enemies, rivals, bullies, or even monsters depending on the severity.

Wildfire isn’t based off anyone in real life, but she has elements from all those types of terrible people. In the end, she reminds me of them too much to like her. If you do like her yourself, that’s perfectly fine, of course. You can feel whatever you want about my character. She does have a backstory and a personality because I want her to be three-dimensional. In fact, I was a little surprised by how many people do like her from what I’ve heard.

Now, to be fair, I do enjoy a good villain in a series. But she didn’t hit any of the right buttons for me and that’s entirely on purpose. She has a role to play, and it fits her. She’s the mean girl with the tough girl attitude.

If I had to pick something I like about her that’s more defined than “she does her role well”…can I get back to you on that?

Brooks of the Valkyrie

Favorite Traits: Entertaining, dreadlocks

Okay, this is easier. Brooks is just plain fun. Her banter with others is a pleasure to write out. Her dreadlocks are pretty cool, too. 

Did you think I was going to mention “armor” again?Hmm…I wonder if I can cite “banter with her best friend” as a favorite trait of Wildfire’s…

Ambrosia of the Phoenix

Favorite Traits: Gentle, pure, strong of heart

The innocent sweetheart and exotic Snow White beauty of the island. Here’s the heroine of the series, Ambrosia of the Phoenix!

You might have heard me mention this before but one of my favorite archetypes? The yamato nadeshiko (the proper lady). She’s delicate and feminine. A big-sister type and wife material.

She may not be strong physically, but don’t underestimate her steel will! She’s my number one favorite female character.

While she’s not a fighter, you could say she’s strong in the way that a mother or, as I mentioned before, an older sister is. Who takes care of the chores? She does. Who tries to remind the immature ones (i.e. her cousins) about what to do and looks out for them? She does. If you’ve done something wrong, she will straighten you out but with kindness. If someone’s bothering you, she will step in and be there for you.

Now, when it comes to herself? That might be a different story, but that’s her weakness.

She’s also pretty sexy during the Present Day. Not that she can’t be in the First Act.

If a player doesn’t like Ambrosia (the First Act version, I imagine), they usually tell me it’s because they think she’s too “naïve” or “weak.”

Yes, she is naïve - at least, in the first act of Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces). She’s young, so it isn’t too surprising. Again, that’s your call to make, but personally, I like that sort of character.

As for weak? I said before that she’s not strong physically. Perhaps, being naïve can be a form of weakness or just how much her young heart can love. And she does have her shyness. But I like shy girls too, so I apologize if that isn’t your cup of tea since you’ll be seeing her a lot!

And since we’re talking about her…

Ambrosia F. (Don’t Take This Risk ver.)

Favorite Traits: Same as above? With some differences.

Let’s talk about her Don’t Take This Risk version. She’s pretty much the same person, but there are differences. For one thing, her speech has less old-fashioned wording (something I enjoy doing for her Virgo Island self).

If you haven’t read the webtoon yet, there are spoilers ahead. (So, I do recommend you stop here and check it out if you haven’t yet!)

This Ambrosia is a bully victim, suffering from low self-esteem and cutting issues. Much like her other self, she’s strong of heart and will. She gets part-time jobs after school. She takes care of Grandmother when her cousins are too scared to do so (or too busy with homework/something fun). This is someone strong and independent, even if it doesn’t come with the usual tough, no-nonsense attitude you see with these kinds of women. (But let it not be said that I don’t like those types as well. I can indeed like those, too.)

When Dev offers to help her out financially, Ambrosia refuses because she wants to take care of things herself. She speaks gently but surely - like a mother/big sister again.

As young as she is, she’s sadly optimistic and naïve…but will her encounter with Unknown change her? 

Evie O.

Favorite Traits: Naughtiness, lively

You might recognize white-haired Evie O. from Death Room and the Don’t Take This Risk webtoon!

According to what fans tell me, she’s my most hated character.

For me, I actually don’t dislike her. If I knew her in real life and she did the same shenanigans, I wouldn’t be fond of her, no. But as a fictional character? You remember what I said about liking a good villain, right? She’s one of them.

She’s not a villain of the “Let’s destroy the world!” variety, but she has just enough naughtiness to make the story juicy. In Episode 20, you see a little bit from her perspective at the end. Did anyone catch her hint of insecurity?

She does have more depth than you might think. Of course, once they’ve been explored, you may not like her any more than you already do!

Unknown of Don’t Take This Risk

Favorite Traits: Crazy fun, predatory

This guy is crazy fun. Aren’t a lot of you on the edge of your seat whenever he’s around? Whether you’re looking forward to him or dreading him, he’s a character who knows how to steal the spotlight. He’s certainly a pleasure to write and a proper foil for some!

He’s also someone who a lot of people don’t quite get. Hence, the webtoon. Is it helping any? Do you feel like you understand him better?

Probably not. After all, his name is still…Unknown.

It’s interesting to note that some fans typically don’t like Night for his liberal lifestyle, but then, we get to this guy…then again, some people still fancy Unknown’s a bit reserved in some sense. Just remember: ignore the voice(s) in the game if it’s confusing you; the webcomic captures him perfectly.

Oh, and make sure you don’t do what he does at home. Unknown’s an interesting character to write, to be sure, but I don’t endorse what he does!

X from Prison

“Oi, Crown Ruler, why are you always putting me last? I ought to come first, you know! I’m the star of Beauty and the War, I’m tellin’ you!”

Favorite Traits: Powers, masculinity, snarkiness

I like X. He has good chemistry with (Present Day) Ambrosia. He radiates strength and masculine energy like he’s some kind of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But what I like most would probably be his powers, like his switch between Aries form and Regular.

His snarky remarks are pretty fun, too. You would think I’d mention this about Wind, but I just happen to prefer X’s debatably “friendlier” style. I don’t have anything against Wind’s sarcasm, and in fact, it can charge scenes with a certain kind of momentum that makes it engaging to watch. It’s just not enough to enter “favorite” territory for me.

Hopefully, I haven’t missed anyone there! I didn’t include the Huntsman’s characters (Dev and Dominic) since you asked about favorite traits for mine.

I’m a writer before I’m an artist, so you might notice that when I make a story, I make characters that fit a role. Each actor has their part in the unfolding play, and they must arrive on stage during their scene. Perhaps, individually, they may fall flat to one viewer, but together, the resulting interaction can be phenomenal - pure entertainment.

To say the least, these characters, even the ones I’m not strictly fond of, can become more intriguing when they mix and match with the others. So, that’s something I would like to add that I enjoy for each and every one - their chemistry and interaction with the rest of the cast. (Some more so than others.)

I typically enjoy talking about my characters, so if you have any other questions or if I wasn’t clear about something, please feel free to ask. Were you surprised by anything I had to say? If you have the time, share your thoughts! I love to hear them.

[rotten-games]

Gods

Okay so here’s the list. There are more but these are really the only ones who will show up. Save for two others that aren’t mentioned but they aren’t important in terms of any main plot or anything.

Golding – Considered the ‘Father God’ and one of the first to come into being, he is the sun and the stars in the sky as well as the Keeper of the Life Well, which is what the church believes maintains the process of reincarnation. Any other purpose besides is otherwise unknown. Golding is often depicted in art as a man of fire or pure light. He is probably the most prominently worshipped in the pantheon. The biological father to Orana, he is often depicted beside his lover, Lysandr. Sometimes art of him appears to make him out to be a Lion or large cat of some sort with a pelt of fire.

Lysandr – Lysandr is considered to be perhaps the second of the Deities to come into being, and perhaps one of the most derisive Gods in the pantheon. Because, despite his hand in shaping the mortal shells in which all beings walk, he is also considered to be a bad omen if seen walking the material plane. It is said that the day he walks with his creations is the day he takes back what he loaned out. Whether this is superstition or not is not known. There is some speculation that he hates his creations, or at the very least cares little for them. He is also more commonly worshipped by Infernals, or at least the few that have come out of hiding. It is thought that this is because of his important but precarious position in the Pantheon as one of the heads, as well as his similarities to Infernals in some respects. A lesser known attribute is that he’s called the ‘Father of Dragons,’ quite literally. He is often depicted with a missing right arm and a set of large horns atop his head. An alternative depiction of him in art is that he is the ice to Golding’s fire, however, this is a more recent representation.

Pyrrha – Pyrrha is considered the God of the Forest, but the actuality of it is she is the forest itself. Indeed, she is the land and the Mother of the creatures that traverse it, one of the few things she’s proud of that came from her marriage to Lysandr. She is also God of the Hunt, but has been known to show hunters and rangers quite disfavour when she perceives them to be hunting her children to extinction. Moreover, she also became the God of War after her more recent husband, the previous God of War and Strife, was killed at the hands of the Godslayer, and almost disavowed mortals altogether. Were it not for the other Gods, she may have caused the destruction of the world itself. She is the eldest and more hot-tempered of three sisters.

Adeliah – Adeliah is one of the three Gods who preside over the afterlife, for however much of an afterlife there actually is. It would be more accurate to say that she is the one who kills, or expels the souls from their shells. As a whole, she is widely agreed to be the Death God. She largely blames herself for giving her gift of Time to Wykk, as she was the previous Keeper, but ultimately didn’t trust Arior or Ataar to complete their work to the best of their abilities and wanted to dedicate her time to maintaining the Cycle of Life and Death. She is depicted as an uncaring old woman, and hasn’t been seen on the Material plane since long after she shed her guise of a young woman.

Arior – Arior is known as The Shepherd by the general populace, and indeed this moniker is more commonly used than her name. Though Ataar is her brother, Adeliah is not her mother, nor her sister, or aunt. It is unknown just what the relationship between Adeliah and the other two Death Gods are, but most agree it is not familial, or even friendly in any way. Arior’s job as The Shepherd is to herd the souls of the dead to their final judgement, where her brother will take her place and, well, judge the choices made in their life.

Ataar – Ataar is known as The Judge, and is one of the three Gods of Death. While it is often thought that the presence of a Judge is unnecessary due to the fact that mortals will just get reincarnated regardless, there have, in fact, been instances in history where particularly repulsive people have had their souls ‘passed on.’ The Godslayer would be one such individual. For the most part, his job is to lock away memories of previous lives more than actually judge, however, to do so he must look through all the memories of each soul so that he doesn’t make mistakes. As is often the case, however, mistakes are made, but it isn’t often.

Wykk – The Secretkeeper and a Shapechanger, Wykk is the beholder of all the secrets in the world. Their job centres around maintaining a balance between chaos and order, and because of their seemingly unbiased nature in regards to the politics of any given realm, they are often misunderstood. While they are also the Keeper of Time, and seem to live in a state unchanged by such a thing, it is said that to create their Oracles they manipulated it in a way that should not be possible and is generally looked down by the other Deities. Often said to be one of the Gods who most often visits the material plane, Wykk does not have a widely agreed upon appearance. Some think they must take the form of a large bird—a phoenix, perhaps—while others simply depict them as a cloaked figure, completely unknown in appearance. It is wholly possible that it is both. Often those who commit treason or collusion will claim that this God made them do it, but it is unknown whether this is true.

Radhel – The God of romantic love and sibling of Ren, Radhel is perhaps one of the more well-known Gods in the pantheon simply by virtue of his designation. While he does not make people fall in love, he is the entire reason mortals have the capacity to fall in love, however. The story in particular behind this is long and arduous, and has long since been bastardised by time but the ending is virtually the same. His lover dies and he decides to take their form whether they are depicted as masculine or feminine or neither at all. Radhel is said to be the first God to walk the land and have a child, however, there is little evidence of this and it is unknown when the first Godkin was born or to who. He is often depicted as the most juvenile of the Gods, not in appearance but in mannerisms. He seems to be seen as young and optimistic, and perhaps a bit simplistic, but above all, completely caring for others. There is no hateful bone in his body.

Ren – The God of sexual love and the brother of Radhel is the vastly more hot-headed of the two. Most commonly prayed to by those considered outcasts of society or those who have been wronged, Ren is most often represented by a viper. Many of his priests get tattoos to match his own, typically all over their bodies. He is feuding with Orana and dislikes Adeliah, extending that dislike to Ataar and Arior simply by association. For the most part, he is mistrusting of most of the other Gods, however, he was in a brief relationship with Rune and Lysandr’s daughter, Malgwin. Part of the reason he and Orana are feuding after it blew up.

Anathema – Often most associated with famine and pestilence, Anathema and his army of rats and other such pests are considered a terrible omen of mass-death and usually involves cattle mutilation for whatever reason. What is often overlooked about Anathema is that he has two sides. While one is of death and destruction in equal measure, the other is of compassion in hard times, and of the life that springs forth from death. He is a quiet God, one who has little relations with the others, but he seems to care deeply for mortals despite his obligations

Rune – A being of pure element, Rune is often considered the Patron God of witches simply due to their connection to magic. They were the shaper of the earth and is often the cause of natural disasters and other phenomena. Though typically associated with neutrality, their perception by the general populace is varied due to how connected to magic they are and their spawn are a few of the most hated of the Godkin. They are probably one of the few Gods who rarely visit the material plane, and as such there is rarely an issue with such children.

Orana – The Moon Maiden, as she is oft dubbed, presides over the tides and the night sky. Though her father is the creator of all the stars, Orana was the one who placed them on the canvas of the sky. Though she is often considered to be a calm God with eternal love for all who smiles under her light, she has a dark side. She is responsible for all floods, for all tsunamis, and all violent waves. For every child who is graced with her blessing to never be betrayed by her waters, there is a sailor lost to the sea. For she is an orderly being, even if she wishes she wasn’t. She is often depicted as the moon herself, or as a young woman with stars in her eyes and a noble appearance.

On the Great Mothers:

The Great Mothers are considered to be the first beings to exist, that they indeed existed before time, space, and everything, at least on the material plane. There is speculation that they created the material plane as a whole, however, others believe that their children created it as The Mothers had nothing to do with the creation of the world. They are called the Great Mothers, because they ‘birthed’ the current Gods and it is widely accepted that they all worked together to create them. There was a total of seven Mothers, each with vastly different appearances and skills, but it is said that they all loved one another equally. After they created their children Gods, and their children Gods created the land, they disappeared, never to be seen again.

There is one theory that they fell into an eternal slumber upon the Earth, and this theory makes up a large part of what the Elves typically believe. Often, you will find elves worshipping at large, mystical trees, or other such magical landmarks with no discernible power source, and they believe that these landmarks are where the Great Mothers finally rest and that one day they will rise. This can neither be proven or disproven at this stage, any excavation will more than likely result in war.