#posted during version 2.2

[incorrectstarrailquotes]

Argenti, sadly: How am I supposed to figure out the ring size my beloved wears? He never wears rings... but I want it to fit perfectly when I propose...

IPC guard coincidentally cutting off Boothill's arm:

Boothill: HEY??? FORKING RUDE????

Argenti:

Argenti: Stealing my boyfriend's severed robot arm is most likely morally wrong... but Idrilla has given me the opportunity...

[chilled-ice-cubes]

on sunday & the dreammaster // sunday's parallels with aventurine

the dreammaster's relationship with sunday is actually extremely fucked up and uncomfortable when you look at it as a whole:

when the siblings find the charmony dove, he tells robin that her idea of simply building a nest for the dove is "idealistic" and prods at sunday until sunday finally says that he wants the bird to live no matter what, even if it's in a cage.

ages are vague in star rail, but at least from the ~vibes~ sunday gives off (+ robin is referred to as a "young songstress" at one point), i think we can say that sunday was probably pretty young when he was made the bronze melodia. gopher wood is the dreammaster, the leader of penacony—and he's okay with making his orphaned foster son, who was p much already displaying trauma responses as a child (the immediate conclusion that "the dove's parents abandoned it", saying he has no dream and simply following what robin says her dream was) listen to the confessions of the sinners of the dreamscape? sunday being appointed as bronze melodia is the direct triggering event that leads to him losing faith in the harmony.

the dreammaster telling sunday about robin getting shot and almost dying—this is such a strange way to tell your adopted son that his sister was in mortal danger. "perhaps as a reward for her consistent deeds of harmony" its all just rather passive-aggressive and manipulative; definitely aiming to be the nail in the coffin for sunday's faith. if robin, the ideal advocate of xipe, can't be protected while doing charity... then what is the path of harmony even worth?

the most damning part of course is sunday's final conversation with the dreammaster, where the dreammaster references robin, basically sets down an ultimatum for sunday that one of the siblings must follow the path of the order and fulfill the plans they've set in motion till now. by now sunday's relationship with the dreammaster is much colder than it was in the two flashbacks about the bird and robin's gunshot wound—he clearly doesn't fully trust him anymore, but at the same time he has lost all hope and believes only in the path of the order that the dreammaster personally set him on.

the two excerpts below basically summarise sunday for me—"someone has to stay awake in the sweet dream" // "we sleep because we are afraid to awaken from our sweet dreams." firefly admits that sunday is a pessimist who feels deep compassion for all; he creates the sweet dream paradise using the order's power because he genuinely believes it will enable everyone to live their best lives.

the interesting thing is, a rejoinder to sunday's thesis of: "people sleep because they are afraid to wake up from their dreams" was already given in version 2.1, through aventurine's character arc and the conclusion he comes to during his conversation with acheron. i've already talked about sunday and aventurine's surface parallels here, so i'd like to focus specifically on their views about "dreams" in this post.

acheron and aventurine agree that people sleep because they are not ready to welcome death, and are preparing themselves for their inevitable ending—ratio adds that it is impossible to be "dormant" in the dreamscape. this is directly contrary to what sunday wants. sunday rejects that inevitable death, and wants to create a stagnant, safe, paradise in a cage for everyone. a macrocosm of what he wanted to do with the charmony dove as a child all those years ago.

version 2.1 and version 2.2 directly build upon each other, especially through sunday and aventurine's character arcs. you would imagine that aventurine, who has constantly suffered, is terrified of death and not really a big fan of living as his life was atm, would be exactly the sort of "weak" person that sunday wants to build a paradise to protect. but as he goes through his journey in 2.1, we see that he comes to an entirely different conclusion from sunday. he decides to keep moving on, so that he can make his parents proud when he meets them again at the end of his journey. sunday, meanwhile, loses all hope and quite literally falls from grace. still, robin catches her brother at the end; there's still hope for him.

[ironunderstands]

Here’s my comparison of Acheron, Aventurine and Ratio that I made in 2.1 which I forgot to upload here lol, I would like you to know my thoughts then because OH BOY HAS THIS AGED WELL

Aventurine, Acheron, Ratio and what the Nihility means to them

(Inspired by a convo I had with @aoxizu on Tumblr!)

The ending scene of the 2.1 update (the one featuring the black hole) is perhaps one of my favorite in all of fiction. I genuinely adore the way it was done and what it says about both the characters and life itself. This game has THEMES and by god did they come through then. So, I want to go over why I love it so much, and why it’s such a vital moment for Acheron, Aventurine and Ratios characters.

First, some context. Prior to Aventurine’s and Acheron’s conversation, Aventurine was taking the riskiest gamble of his life. Prior to the confrontation between him, Acheron and the Astral Express, Aventurine set up a plan to try and get to the secret at the heart of Penacony, as well as provide a ruse for Topaz and Jade to do, well whatever they planned on doing, the ending scene says they came there to “harvest”, so in 2.2 I assume we will find out what exactly that entails.

In order for this plan to work, Aventurine needed his cornerstone and to trick Sunday, so pre-2.0 he went to Dr. Ratio to include him in this plan, and set up a fake betrayal to fool Sunday and allow him to keep the Aventurine stone, with the Jade and Topaz stones also being acquired pre-Penacony. We know this because of Aventurine’s conversation with Topaz post 1.4 Belabog mission in which he requests her help in Penacony, something which we didn’t get confirmation on whether or not she accepted until 2.1, in which it’s revealed that one of the Cornerstones in the box is Topaz, meaning when they got confiscated in 2.0 she had already accepted his offer (we can assume a similar situation for Jade). 

Essentially, everything had been going according to plan for IPC (even if Aventurine was absolutely not having a fun time during it), Ratio even says as much, stating that the IPC is pleased to hear of his death sentence, so that part of the confrontation was already predetermined. This leaves Aventurine with one final gamble, hoping the Astral Express and Acheron take the bait, and that they will try and stop him from destroying the entire dreamscape, which if Acheron acts on it, he could entire the true dreamscape to find the truth, as only an emanator could break through the power of the harmony. 

Luckily for Aventurine, the gamble pays off and Aventurine does indeed draw her blade, both stopping him and sending them both into another plane entirely, it’s there in which one if my favorite scenes in fiction ever occurs. 

You see, even if Aventurine planned this all from the start, he hasn’t exactly been having a fun time while doing it. Being sentenced to death and then slowly hallucinating on Harmony sh1t until the manifestations of your past self and your present doubt and insecurities come to haunt you isn’t exactly fun for anyone, especially Aventurine. 1) Because his backstory is horrifically tragic and being faced with a reminder that you will never feel secure or valued or truly happy would be enough to erode away the psyche of anyone 2) A version of himself which claims to be his future, but is more like a personification of how much Aventurine doubts and hates himself. It’s even more telling that this isn’t the first time he has talked to this version of him, in fact it saved his life several times, meaning one of Aventurine’s driving motivations is his own self loathing. 

A trait that on the surface you don’t think he would have, Aventurine plays the role of the confident, unflappable gambler who always wins, when in reality his other hand is under the table, clutching his chips for dear life (something I quite literally paraphrased from the game). 

Therefore, going into this conversation, Aventurine is more relieved than anything, yet another one of his gambles paid off, but now he will have to see how to go from there, and that’s when Acheron’s advice comes in. She’s not stupid, and immediately recognizes that he won (or at least got what she wanted), and that killing him is meaningless, it’s not his time yet. However, what Aventurine is really focused on is the fact that out of all the emanators he could have come across, the one he faces now is an emanator of nihility.

And well, in the face of overwhelming nihility, one’s own value comes into question yet again, and that’s something Aventurine doesn’t even need the aeon for to ask. So, he talks to Acheron, as IX isn’t exactly going to answer, but she might know. Now, I’m just going to lay out the dialogue (then explain it obviously) because it’s genuinely amazing. 

Aventurine starts out by asking Acheron if she is an emanator of nihility, and I find her response to be really interesting. She doesn’t view herself as someone chosen by IX, as nihilism (the feeling of meaningless) envelops everyone equally, but she has simply walked in their shadow longer, tainted on the feeling. This leads Aventurine to question if this is the end, as if life has lost all meaning, in the face of overwhelming nihility, would that mean he’s dead?

Luckily Acheron immediately disagrees, stating that this is merely a manifestation of IX, not the end (he’s not dead guys idk how anyone can think that). However Aventurine still questions if his death has been determined, but Acheron doesn’t promise it. She mulls over his plan and and Aventurine asks her why she thinks he did it, and Acheron believes it was to find a secret deeper than the dream “deaths: the Real Penacony. He wonders how she found out, and Acheron says it’s the trailblazer’s identity which allowed her (and Aventurine) to come to this conclusion (we don’t yet know how this happened for either of them yet, but 2.2 should give answers).

They continue, Aventurine reveals that he believes the barrier the family built using the power of the harmony was not just to keep death out but the nightmare that is the real dreamscape. That the Memory Zone is simply a vast island built atop a violent ocean with the barrier keeping whatever nightmarish secrets from washing ashore. In order to break through this barrier and find the real dreamscape, which is why he kept killing himself earlier in the dream, but to no  avail. When Sparkle gave him the hint, he realized it was referring to Firefly, someone who had seen the other side and survived it, even if she was unable to let others know if it. It wasn’t proof of the families wrongdoing, but it was suspicious enough for him to try and get Acheron to kill him, rather than try and find the Meme to recreate Firefly’s death. 

Acheron points out just how insane this plan was, that if he hadn’t gotten lucky and crossed path with her, it wouldn’t have succeeded. Then, she commends him for playing it perfectly, pitting her perfectly against him and creating a plan that would be beneficial for the IPC no matter what happened, as even if he dies that would be great leverage. However, Aventurine disagrees with that last point, he truly can’t guarantee the IPCs success or even his own survival, that if she hadn’t drawn her blade it would have all be pointless. 

She’s doesn’t let him continue along this line of thought, what-ifs are pointless and he earned his ticket to the dreamscape. What matters now is what happens next, and Acheron asks him if he can return from the abyss (Childe reference?), but more importantly, she questioned if he has ever wavered, as even a gamble as seemingly insane as the one Aventurine just did seems to have not shaken him (from her POV, we know how terrified Aven was but everyone else minus maybe Ratio does). 

Aventurine tells her perhaps the most fundamental aspect of his character; he gambles simply because he has no other choice, betting on everything because he has nothing else to lose. Acheron tells him to wake up from this “dream” (aka find the true dreamscape), and she presumably goes to leave.

However (and this is my favorite part of the scene), he asks her one more question before she leaves, thinking she might know the answer as a pathstrider of nihility, “Why are we born in this world if it’s just to die?”

Her response is the best possible way you could answer this question. Acheron is an emanator of nihility, but she doesn’t think life is meaningless. The feeling of emptiness and pointlessness envelops everyone equally and that’s exactly why the nihility is pointless. It doesn’t matter that nothing matters, and we aren’t born into this world just to die. 

Aventurine still worries though, after all if the dice of fate will always roll to the same conclusion, then destiny is predetermined, so why struggle? Why does it matter?

Her answer again is not one he would expect, but one that absolutely makes sense. Acheron says the answer has been with Aventurine throughout his entire life and journey on Penacony, and that he’s already somewhat realized it. Aventurine said himself that sleep is a rehearsal of death, but people aren’t ready to welcome death, which is why they sleep to get a taste of it. Sleep is much like death, a realm of unreality in which anything might be possible within the dreams that define its existence. Death itself is an unreality, and nobody truly knows what it’s like to die, but dreams are the closest we might ever get before the end. Like Acheron says, in a way, dreams are just a preparation for death, a practice before it can be welcomed. 

However, much like how dreams can contain anything, even if we cannot choose to experience them or not, life itself is full of choices, regardless of if the ending is determined or not. Acheron understands that there are an infinite amount of things people cannot change before the end, but there are choices you can make up until it. Death is inevitable, but the life you live before it isn’t. This is what the words in red mean, both here and in my opinion, in general. 

Acheron reminds the trailblazer to make the right choice when time comes for it, in our first meeting with her. However, I don’t think the path we choose matters, but rather the the fact that we chose at all. Now the next paragraph will include a minor discussion of 2.2 leaks, so skip to the next slide if you don’t want to hear it. 

Sunday is getting a bossfight in 2.2, and it’s highly theorized that he works/believes in Ena the Order, especially because it looks like it’s their hand he’s touching in that one animation of the bossfight. Now here’s the thing, Order as a concept Chooses For You. I think the trailblazer making a decision is the thing that will save them and the rest of the gang, as within the face of an entity defined by limiting choice and free will, choosing to well, choose will save them (us?) and perhaps be the thing that gets the trailblazer acknowledged by the Harmony, a concept greater than Order. 

Anyways, after she says that, Acheron leaves Aventurine, saying the answer to his question was from his friend.

And Aventurine pulls out the vial from Dr. Ratio

The vial telling him that the only impossible thing in the dreamscape is dormancy (meaning the secrets from before are destined to rise and destroy the “island” that is Penacony.

The vial telling him to stay alive and wishing him the best of luck, which in the Chinese version is: 

Ratio answered both of Aventurine’s questions. The physical one, the one that pertains to Aventurines goals in Penacony, informing him of a vital aspect of the dreamscape that will help him win his gamble. But more importantly, he also answered Aventurine’s emotional one. What is the point of living? There is no real deeper meaning but to stay alive, survive and keep on living, because at the end of the day, that’s the only choice Aventurine can make, and that’s the one Ratio wants him to make.

Ratio Gives Aventurine A Reason To Live. 

Aventurine says that he has nothing left, his family is gone and he has nobody and nothing to fall back on which is why he gambles. But Acheron proves him wrong, he isn’t alone, she calls Ratio his “friend”, says that he’s the solution to his doubt. Someone caring about Aventurine is what saves his life, he walks into the massive black hole unafraid not because he holds some secret power or technique or trick, but because someone cares about him, and that someone taught him that caring about himself is enough. Aventurine didn’t need the power of an emanator to survive the true dreamscape, he only needed a friend, and the will to keep going that he realized from them. 

This is the true meaning of nihility, not that  Aventurine says that he has nothing left, his family is gone and he has nobody and nothing to fall back on which is why he gambles. But Acheron proves him wrong, he isn’t alone, she calls Ratio his “friend”, says that he’s the solution to his doubt. Someone caring about Aventurine is what saves his life, he walks into the massive black hole unafraid not because he holds some secret power or technique or trick, but because someone cares about him, and that someone taught him that caring about himself is enough. Aventurine didn’t need the power of an emanator to survive the true dreamscape, he only needed a friend, and the will to keep going that he realized from them. the universe is meaningless, but that regardless of if it has one or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s this realization that saves Acheron from losing herself like other emanators, it’s this realization that allows Aventurine to cross the event horizon of that manifestation of IX, and it’s this realization that I believe is why Dr. Ratio was never acknowledged by Nous: he was already treading the path of nihility without even realizing it. 

Now this is where my conversation with @aoxizu comes in, and I’m just gonna paste directly what they said because I think it’s amazing and everyone should read it, more importantly it’s what inspired this slideshow in the first place.

Ratio tells Aventurine to live despite everything because that’s the only thing he can do. It doesn’t matter how absurd life is, or how meaningless it all seems, choose to live anyways, because all you have are choices, and it doesn’t matter if they lead to some grand outcome or future or whatnot. To Ratio, life doesn’t, and shouldn’t care about that. Existence doesn’t need to make sense to be worth it, and that’s a sentiment both me, the characters and the og poster share.

Acheron is a lot like Ratio, she chooses to live despite having discovered the meaninglessness of the universe. In an existence seemingly black and white she chooses to paint the world red with her choices, accepting its reality and choosing to forge her own path rather than succumb to the madness. That’s why she says in her trailer, “there is no other choice but to move forward” and that’s because there really is no other choice, the universe doesn’t have some grand plan for anyone and you can’t turn back time to change anything, so all you can do is move forward.

My contribution! I’ve already kinda started but I do want to talk about how Ratio could be treading the path of nihility, but I’ll let this amazing post finish.

So yeah, amazing post, and I don’t think I could reword what they said in a better way than they did. Bringing up the philosophical aspects of this scene makes me really happy because they are so prominent, but most people aren’t really aware enough to notice. Absurdism is one of the driving inspirations behind the dreamscape, and it’s nice to see someone else besides you (see: my slideshow about Penacony and its American influences for an elaboration on this) bring it up. Honestly I think that philosophy fits Ratio far better than any of the Ancient Greek stuff you try to slap on him. Sure he obviously has the inspirations, but he’s closer in spirit to philosophers from the 1700s to now than them, a reinterpretation of Greek scholars rather than a copy of them. 

And this is where my idea that Ratio is a pathstrider of nihility (and he doesn’t even know it yet) comes in. He doesn’t view knowledge in the same way that pathstriders of Erudition do; knowledge for knowledges sake has never been something Ratio has cared about. Knowledge means something to Ratio because it allows people to better themselves, not because it has some sort of inherent value. That’s why he’s so determined to spread it, he wants everyone to reach their fullest potential, and dedicates his life to doing so. Regardless of if the universe has meaning or not, that doesn’t mean people can’t try and live their best lives, and that’s the philosophy Ratio truly believes in.

Moreover, this is why it’s so meaningful that Ratio is the one to help Aventurine, he’s teaching him something Ratio himself learned long ago when he got rejected by the Genius Society. Despite all of Ratio’s intellect and qualifications, he will never be good enough for them because he simply doesn’t view knowledge in the way they do. But instead of this meaninglessness (nihility) consuming him, Ratio dedicated his life to doing what brought him meaning and validation rather than searching for some hidden answers from the universe (specifically Nous).

And it’s not like he just accepted it happily. Ratio still wants their acknowledgement, and it still hurt (and hurts) him a lot to not have it, which is why I think he unknowingly strides the path of nihility. To Ratio, his view on knowledge is simply how knowledge is, and the fact that Nous will never perceive it in that way because his philosophy is more nihilistic than it is erudite is something Ratio might never come to terms with. But that’s ok. The point is that it’s ok, Ratio doesn’t need to be acknowledged or to understand the truth of the universe to be happy or do well for himself. Our universe might mean nothing and yeah that can and will suck, but existence is more valuable than some grand cosmic plan, and even if you don’t realize it, choosing to live is enough.

Continually, this reminds me of the conversation Aventurine had with his hallucination self, in which he told real Aventurine that him and Ratio are very similar. In a way, they are, both struggling to find meaning in their lives, and Ratio helps Aventurine find meaning in his without really even knowing how. Sure the note was meant to keep Aventurine going, but Ratio caused Aventurine to come to a conclusion that probably won’t find Ratio for a while. He helped Aventurine overcome nihility without even knowing it, without Ratio even realizing that THAT is the thing he has been struggling with, and the path he has been walking the whole time.

I really hope we get to see Ratio again, and at the very least I want a story quest for him because I want to analyze his brain under a microscope. Him and Acheron need to meet asap I want more Ratio content idc if everyone else in the fandom hates him I love him and he’s my pookie bear and I will write 3039493494 things about him when it comes to me UGHHHH. Anyways I didn’t know how end this so this is the ending yaaayyy! I hope you liked it and if you have any thoughts let me know! 

_________________________________________

Og post over! That was a long ass read and past me was absolutely cooking up a storm, oh god did this age well and I was right about or close to right about a lot of shit haha. Anyways I really do hope you enjoyed reading this, and this will hopefully provide some needed context for my next posts on this subject. Also feel free to repost this onto other sites I’m very proud of it

[mermaidinn]

OFMD Season 2 'missing scene' fic list

A compilation of Ed and Stede fics set during season 2, organized (roughly) by the episode they start in/after

big thank you to every single (brilliant, amazing) author who has ever written an ofmd fic, and also to the AO3 tab I've had open since november filtering for this sort of thing

post-canon fic recs

list under the cut!

2.1 impossible birds

Further Grievances Below- ElapsedSpiral, 5k

Pearls- cochineal, 3k

2.2 red flags

Finally- Fyre, 700

Purgatorio- endofadream, 2k 

Pink- saltlick, 1.5k

I hate you for what you did and I miss you like a little kid- ineffableteach, 1.5

2.3 the innkeeper

Somniphobia- YellowMustard, 10k 

Drifting- Chocolatepot, 1k 

I loved my friend- Dialects_and_Costumes, 1.5k

2.4 fun and games

You Made It Home with Silver String Unbroken- veeagainst, 13k

Seabird- celluloidbroomcloset, 2.5k 

Thought We'd Find Salvation (at the bottom of a glass)- Pamplemousse, 6k

Place Names- notfromcold, 1k

I knew a monkey once- Steve Bonnet, 8k

The Right Vibe- Fyre, 3k

Amends- prepare4trouble, 6k

delicate (ed's version)- insidethevoid, 6k

Security- Fyre, 1.5k

Ed gets some TLC after s2e4- pirate_captains_captain_pirates, 1k

Ed scared of accepting help- pirate_captains_captain_pirates, 1k

Ed worried the crew will want revenge- pirate_captains_captain_pirates, 1k

2.5 the curse of the seafaring life

A Gentleman’s Handy- Fyre, 3k

The Kissing Game- veeagainst, 8k

The Green Flash- triedunture, 5k 

Whim-Prone- celluloidbroomcloset, 1.5k

Family- pirate_captains_captain_pirates, 2.5k

Fingerposts- westernredcedar, 7k

Quiet- Fyre, 1.5k

Sackcloths, Hugs, and a Warm Bath- pirate_captains_captain_pirates, 3k

Delicious- BookknobsandBroomsticks, 2k

Stede promising Ed he's cute- pirate_captains_captain_pirates, 1k

Ed talks with Lucius- pirate_captains_captain_pirates, 1k

2.6 calypso’s birthday

A Time for Change- aveotardis, 2k

Slow Dancing- gothicginger, 500 

*****

Just Fireworks- Living_City, 4k

my sanctuary (you're holy to me)- endofadream, 9k

Press me to your heart- artismysanity, 5.5k

Losing count- bizarrelittlemew, 3k

Like a Virgin- darkshrimpemotions, 1k

To stop you bleeding- Ammy, 5k

Man on Fire- celluloidbroomcloset, 700

How a Fate Can Change- Followsthebees, 10k

More of You- deedeeinfj, 3k

2.7 man on fire

A Slice of Happiness- demolitionwoman, 2k

A Very Simple Man- This_Will_Be_Our_Year, 3k

Bright & early- summerlinenss

2.8 mermen 

Tenderly the light- darcylindbergh, 5k

Me and My Boyfriend- CobaltAugust, 1k

in the dark and out of harm- foxtails, 2k

Interlude- ferventrabbit, 2k

*****

Rewards in this life- unfolded73, 5k

As we go hand in hand- artismysanity, 700

I Got Your Letter- Timonger, 700

I know, i know- karawrites, 800

All The Things We Should Have Said- CommunionNimrod, 3k

A moment of silence- philadelea, 1k 

Some Things Old, Some Things New- Bornonabeach, 5k

Packing Priorities- quiet_compassion, 1k

[lonestarbattleship]

The real story behind the lean by Tom Scott

"Like a case of herpes, exaggerated versions of TEXAS 'flooding herself' to 'lean the ship' and extend range of her guns pops up from time to time. It is hard to think of an action that has been more exaggerated or misstated than this one. The following is based upon the ship's war diary, daily deck log entries and study of a flooding effects chart for the ship.

Flooding torpedo blisters to create list wasn't some last minute stroke of genius by TEXAS' captain and crew. The act had not only been performed numerous times on British monitors in the 1920's, it was understood by the U.S. Naval War College and likely taught there. This was documented in a letter written in 1925 from the college's superintendent to the Chief of Naval Operations. It requested information on the ability to flood the blisters being added to TEXAS and how long it would take to flood them. The request specified that it be done with the intent of creating list that would extend the range of her 14" guns.

The fire mission given to TEXAS on June 15 was apparently sent to the ship during the early morning while she was at her overnight anchorage 1.5 miles off of Point du Hoc. The assigned target was a German troop and truck concentration located more than 20,000 yards from the assigned bombardment point. This placed the target at or just beyond the extreme range of the ship's 14" guns While we do not know precisely which sections were flooded, a flooding effects table on a damage control plate, shows that they could obtain the needed list perfectly by flooding a specific 4 of the 18 floodable sections in the starboard blister. This would have given 2.2 degrees of starboard list while maintaining the ship's trim. Maintaining trim was critical since any change would have created trunnion tilt error on the guns that would degrade their accuracy.

TEXAS raised anchor at 05:30 and sailed to the bombardment point 5.8 miles away that was about 2 miles offshore. While underway, she opened flooding valves on some starboard blister compartments to create the 2 degree list. That was complete by the time she dropped anchor and fired her first rounds at 6:30.

An entry in the daily deck log states that 24 rounds were fired in single and two gun salvos over the next hour, and that the target area was covered and eliminated. Nothing was stated in the logs, but it is assumed that the blisters were immediately drained, using the ship's big steam operated bilge pumps, after completing the mission to restore proper list.

All of this is to say that Captain Baker and crew were well read, well educated and fully understood their ship's capabilities. While they didn't invent the technique, they were certainly aware of it and understood it well enough to immediately use to solve a problem that would otherwise result in failure to complete the mission."

Posted on the Battleship Texas Foundation Group Facebook page by Tom Scott: link

[p5x-theories]

New information about Versions 2.2 and 2.3!

Version 2.2, as previously announced, is a mainline version, adding more to Chapter 3's plot, as well as Messa, whose name is now confirmed to be 北里基良 (possibly Motoyoshi Kitasato) from the list previously leaked by a bug. Messa is confirmed to be a Physical type Resist teammate! This also confirms he's a 5-star, and a Confidant

Version 2.3 will be an event version (P5 Collab), broken into three parts (2.3.1, 2.3.2, and 2.3.3). Haru Okumura and Futaba Sakura will be added to the game during these versions

"A series of semi-anniversary celebrations will also be held in the 2.3.1 version at the same time" (I assume "semi-anniversary" refers to the fact that the game will have been running for six months when that version goes live?)

Version 2.3.2 will add Tycoon, and a new Ice type Defense teammate with the name 芦谷真咲 (possibly Masaki Ashitani; also a name from the leaked list) will be added; described as simply "What kind of different story will this elegant and generous senior have?", but this character is also a 5-star and a Confidant (who will not be romanceable, implying it's a guy. Possibly Cherish?)

More information about Messa will be posted within the next few days; he is described as "This seemingly casual intern doctor also seems to have inner persistence."

Version 2.2's plot content: "How can Version 2.2 "Aria of Anger" find a "method" to save Mr. Katayama, and how will Riko-senpai fulfill her "promise"…"; it will include "Plot update for Chapter 3 of the main line, new area of ​​the palace "Power Plant", new main line boss battle"; it will last from September 12th - 26th, with a banner for Messa (as well as a continuing Bui banner)

Version 2.3.1: ""Deconstructing the Angry Hacker": The new P5 linked plot and activity pyramid chapter will be launched soon, and "Futaba Sakura", a member of the Phantom Thieves of the Hearts, will soon appear. What kind of new crisis is hidden in the pyramid…"; it will last from September 26th - October 10th, with a banner for Oracle (as well as a continuing Bui banner)

Version 2.3.2: "The player who reversed the victory"; it will last from October 10th - 24th, and the new ice teammate will have a banner (as well as a continuing Fox banner)

Version 2.3.3:" "Cut off the greedy daughter": The new P5 linked story and event Space Base Chapter will be launched soon, and "Haru Okumura", a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, is about to appear. Let's defeat the powerful shadow behind the Space Base with everyone in the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!"; it will last from October 24th - November 7th, with a banner for Noir (as well as a continuing Fox banner)

[luciano-nightstar]

Sharing some of my unfinished Nimona aus because... well... I just thought of sharing it, Part 2.2

This the second part of my last post about the tale of the Blackheart angel

(I don't actually know the whole storyline of the comic version. I've seen a few pictures, but not really enough to say I've read it)

After Ambrosius was taken in by the institute, he met Ballister, a teacher who trains the students at the institute to become knights. - (You might think that this is some kind inappropriate adult x teenager relationship kind of shit. But I swear in the judgement of the ✨oratrice mecanique d'analyse cardinale✨ that it's NOT what the backstory is about, okay? Ballister only fell in love with Ambrosius AFTER the event of Nimona)

Ballister would be there to help Ambrosius with his studies and defend him from the other trainees when they bullied him.

Ambrosius first idolize and looked up to Ballister because if his skill and teaching as a knight and because he defended him from the bullies. But in the later years he secretly fell in love with him (like he always would).

During the jousting competition, Ambrosius has to win a joust against his teacher in order to be proven that he can become a knight. Of course Ballister wins the joust, Ambrosius hated loosing and shot Ballister's arm off. - (I am again debating if Ballister should actually loose his arm or have angelic regeneration...)

Skip to Nimona and Ballister's argument. When Nimona scratches the back of the couch and starts to turn a bit monstrous, instead of grabbing the sword, Ballister turns into his fallen form as an act of defense again Nim.

Skip again to the battle. Ballister tries to calm the the monster form of Nimona, but in the end he was forced to defend himself (and the kingdom) by turning into fallen form and defeated the monster with his demonic side (or powers). (So that means that Meredith's device is not broken, ✨yay✨)

Skip to the hospital scene. Ballister did not have a broken left arm because of ✨angelic regeneration✨. Speaking of regeneration, he secretly made Ambrosius's healing progress faster while he was in the coma.

✨ Design Ideas ✨

This is my original idea for his design

Five eyes (Two version if it because I thought it looks cool in my head and I couldn't choose which one) -Version 1: two above his normal eyes and the third vertically on his forehead. -Version 2: two below his normal eyes and the third on his forehead.

Black horns curving backwards with a red vein-like design, two gold halos with eyes criss-cross covering his normal eyes.

Six "burned" wings; The feather color/design is from black on the top, to a mix color of black and gold on the middle, then fading to light gold on the bottom. (why do I have an addiction to adding gold? ;-;)

A long black tail, a red crystal with black vein coming out of it on the center of his back, and black marking on his arms and legs.

Yeah the design is the same as the Golden Guardian but in a fallen form.

Some headcannons

(Some are reused from the Golden Guardian au. Also, same thing, your guess on which one is cannon on my au)

Ballister can hide his wings, halos, horns, tail, and his many eyes.

He can make himself invisible to humans and other creatures. Another fact about his invisibility is that he can make himself visible to whoever he chooses.

Another idea on how Ballister escape other than using his invisibility. There were times when Ballister would have had no chance to escape, and when the guards finally caught up to him, they would see that he was no longer there. I had this idea where Ballister can turn into a shadow and hide within shadows of other objects or just easily escape.

Since I heard that Nimona can see the dead, I thought of this idea that even if Ballister is in his human form to others, he's always in his fallen form in her eyes.

There was a once time during training years when Ambrosius accidentally finds Ballister in his fallen form. But since he only witnessed it once and has a bad memory, so he has already forgotten about it.

Speaking of bad memory. When Ballister is alone and/or comfortable, he would temporarily reveal his fallen form (but only inside the house), and Ambrosius would freak out it. (Cue brosius screaming for the second, maybe third, time of the month after seeing Bal in his fallen form)

I thought it would be wholesome that Ballister would carry Ambrosius and fly with him on a peaceful and quiet night. Sometime Amb would enjoy the ride, sometimes he would be frighten from how high they are and would hold on tight to Ballister.

A few moments when Ballister would secretly use his powers when fighting alone with Ambrosius. But he mostly is against using his powers in battle because "it wouldn't be a fair fight."

In rare moments, Ballister would use his wings to hold brosius close.

Ballister normally has his horns out, but only inside the house. Because Zee likes to look at it, touch it, and even sometimes try to decorate them with gold accessories. Blackheart's tail is actually sensitive to he rarely let's Amb touch it.

There were a few conversations of Nimona trying to convince Ballister to start a cult because of the whole fallen angel thing.

Meredith found out when Ballister was stretching his body and (unconsciously) stretched his wings too. This is my thought on what her honest reaction was. "Oh, cool" *continues to do whatever she was doing*

This is very long, but not as long as the golden guardian version. Anyways, I also tried to color the names and used as many nicknames as I know because I thought it would look cool. Also, sorry it took long, I lost motivation and my au notes.

Peace out~ *locks myself back in my room*

[podfeels]

Podfeels Adapt8ion Notes: Episode 4

hello, dare again! just as a reminder for how these posts work, stagelights will be covering the notes as a whole, and if i ever have to pitch in it will be with purple text like this! with that said, lets get back into it!

this episode was sort of the first one we ever did, as the original demo for the project way back when (i think it was like 3 years ago now? how time flies) (yeah... its so crazy to look back on) was this episode. we did however make a few new adaptational changes, as well as re-recorded everything, as basically all of us have grown as actors since then. so before we get into the episode proper, we have an adaptational addition already!

at the beginning of each episode, we hear jess (as Narration and then june) saying the quote from the description of godfeels on ao3

these fuckers.

but since june has come out, we can’t just use the godfeels 2.1 one, and the godfeels 2.2 doesn’t necessarily fit. so we (actually i got sarah to do it!) wrote our own specifically for this episode. “My name is June Eg8ert, and now I know I’m human… but will my friends see it the same way?”

ok time for the actual episode

some fairly minor changes. i’m pretty sure the ellipses were meant to be there to help with direction for the actors but we kept them in in the scriptlog because i think they help add to the vibe of roses skepticism

this change was added to help sort of bring this in line with the epilogues. giving off the vibes she’s experiencing the symptoms she talks about in there. this part of the story takes place several months before the epilogues would have happened, so obviously it’s not as severe but its still present. 

line cut for pacing. id say less PACING and more just... sometimes narration things like this, her snapping her head, can be more cleanly conveyed in audio by just having it be incorporated into the performance. the narration described terse body language, so we nix that and deliver a terse performance!

more cut narration. at this point its kind of just routine lol

not necessarily a change but a very fun thing where junes voice and vriskas voice are layered for this line. this was actually also done with the call during the previous episode but i forgot to mention it.

more narration cuts. honestly though i have listened to this episode more than i’ve read the original version so i honestly didn’t even parse the “honestly rose” bit as a change until literally just now lmao. it flows so well that i genuinely thought it was there in the original

self explanatory. im running out of things to say.

the narration is replaced by door slam and party horn sound effects. champagne was specifically mentioned in the notes in the original google doc to be pronounced “sham-pag-in” which is probably a reference to a thing i dont get. YOU HAVENT WATCHED FUTURAMA!?!?!?

lotta cut narration. u kno the deal by now

another not-a-change but a line that gains a completely new context when combined with the actor swap. she quite literally does sound different. i think thats fun. according to sarah, that line was written back in the day with direct plans on it being in reference to her her, having played both john and june, taking a different performance when playing june. its just also taken on an even more stark meaning with having them be different actors, which i think is goddamn beautiful

just more instances of turning narration into stage directions and sound and emoticons into words and vocalizations

_____

so thats it covered! thank you to stagelights for doing the breakdowns for these episodes! check back tomorrow for episode 5's breakdown!

[koshka-sova]

on minor parsing of the reverse 1999 timeline: where do events fall?

disclaimer: this post is not meant to provide a decoded in-game timeline. its purpose is to sow discussion about how to make sense of it.

minor spoilers up to 1.9 vereinsamt, and mention of versions 2.0-2.2

months ago when 1.4 prisoner in the cave (Ch5) was released in CN, a user posted her findings of the game's timeline based on the IDM in 37's lab and greta's account in the star. you can find the post here. the scope of her findings was limited to the main story and makes sense. although the theorised timeline only goes up to Ch5, we can easily extend the timeline to include the story up until the storm in Ch7, since the progression from prisoner in the cave -> vereinsamt is linear.

QUERY: where have previous non-main events fallen into this timeline?

the official re1999 account posted earlier today some images of a laplace forum board, and two things stuck out to me:

these two comments. one of them is likely windsong, based on the ID end letter 'W' and her ley line device. the other is (likely) mesmer jr's account, and here she mentions 'researcher ezra.' before talking about windsong, lets clear things up a bit with ezra.

in uluru games, vertin already has a sizeable team, such as bringing regulus, darley, la source, and click when the uluru crew first set foot in the stadium. having regulus around means the event definitely happened after Ch0-4 i.e., regulus recruited, team timekeeper is established. but did it happen between Ch4 and Ch5? not necessarily. although we know the storm has a physical radius, nothing is proven yet on which storms had affected australia. besides, ezra seems to have already been an established member of laplace by the time of the event. so, when uluru games happened is still up for discussion.

with windsong, however, one thing is certain: farewell rayashki happened before the main story. a few points infer to this:

all of farewell rayashki (1.8) happened, and THEN windsong was recruited by lucy to join laplace. this means lucy hadnt resigned.

the radio broadcast at the beginning of the event tells of a storm syndrome that turns people's insides into electrical wires. this syndrome doesnt match any storm directly in the main story (comic book explosions in 1966, money = food in 1929, oil paintings in 1914, people turning into blocks during vertin's breakaway incident; this was 1987, per the previous linked post). this might match, however, with greta's account of the storm in the star.

that's all fine and dandy, and windsong's presence in the laplace forum (which happens AFTER vereinsamt, as the forum discusses a charging station in vertin's suitcase to accommodate lucy) means the timeline is still fairly consistent. but what about the other events?

theft of the rimet cup is likely to be before Ch0 this is tomorrow. regulus was still in 1960s london at the time

green lake. horropedia recounts that the zeno campsite story seemed to have been in 1971, but when exactly is that in relation to the game's main story? still unclear, but should be after vertin establishes team timekeeper...

mor pankh, iirc, was also around 1960s, though whether this means it happened before the main story is up for discussion.

uluru games, as discussed above, should be after Ch4 at least, however it might be even later i.e., after Ch7 vereinsamt.

notes on shuori: no clue on this one... the one lead to maybe making sense of the timeline is yenisei, as it's implied she meets the timekeeper at the end of the event. the status of pei city and the storm is a different topic entirely, as well.

farewell rayashki: before one of the earlier storms prior to the main story (Ch0). see above.

after having finished vereinsamt, im quite excited to see where the story is headed next. although arcana is seemingly out of the picture, the manus still exist. what little i could garner with versions 2.0-2.2, without much spoilers, is the active presence of manus vindictae (or at least, one member) through characters like ms kimberly and ms grace. with anjo nala being a major character in Ch8 tristes tropiques, this might mean events 2.0 and 2.1 happen between Ch7 and Ch8. everything else, i have yet to know, however.

[manonamora-if]

Retrospective 2023 (3)

Haven't looked at numbers in a minute, and since my presence online has been super inconsistent (especially here) recently, I have no idea how this will end up looking. I've updated this sheet a couple of time during the year, but not in a way it tracks old numbers... Because Tumblr has a limit of 20 images per post, I won't include the graphs here, like I did last year, but in this doc (for those interested). Also, I realised I didn't even do celebration posts for milestones this year... And there were quite a few ;-; sorry

For the relevant projects, I've also included a more detailed recap of what's been done this year. All of it is under the cut.

The projects are ordered in date of release.

Forewarning, those stats are not a good representation of IF/Tumblr popularity. The numbers should not be taken as a baseline for comparison. There are many different factors that resulted in those, most of them being out of everyone’s control. I am only comparing myself to Past-Me.

2021 Releases

Status: Complete.

No major updates, since the game is complete. Only some maintenance fixes. The source code of older versions is also available on my GitHub.

Stats:

5.475 total plays (+1.7k-ish)

30 ratings (+5), with an average of 4.4/5 (+0.1)

Inside 316 collections (+108)

Almost 2.3 views/play (+0.1)

Unsurprisingly, the interest for MtP is going down. The game is complete, has not and will not have new updates. It would surprise me if it would gain any traction at this point. I expect the additional plays not to pass 600 by the end of 2024.

2023 Milestones:

5k plays

30 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Hiatus

I wanted to have an update for this project in 2023. It didn't happen. There is actually quite a bit of work to do in the code, which I had started but didn't complete.

Stats:

40.326 total plays (+12k-ish)

97 (+28), with an average of 4.6/5 (-0.1)

Inside 2.679 collections (+913)

About 2.0 view/play (+0.1)

For a year without any update, I am honestly surprised so many people still played the game this year (average of 30 plays/day). I'm very grateful about it, nonetheless. Hopefully, I'll have something to show for this year!

2023 Milestones:

30k + 40k plays

75 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Hiatus

This was another project I had planned to complete this year and... didn't. I managed to write a bit for the game, but nothing that would warrant an update.

Stats:

2.203 total plays (+760)

13 ratings (+2), with an average of 4.3/5 (+0.1)

Inside 126 collections (+38)

Went to 2.9 view/play (+0.2)

There were a few jumps in interest in Exquisite Cadaver this year, especially considering there were, once again, no updates (especially at the start of April). But nothing very substantial... I'm honestly pretty happy peeps still enjoy the game, because the whole thing is a bit strange xD

2023 Milestones:

2k plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

2022 Releases

Status: Completed

Absolutely nothing has been happening with this game, not even a bug fix or anything. When I get back to this project, it will be for a complete re-haul. Which won't happen in a long while.

Stats:

3.205 total plays (+790-ish)

19 ratings (+4), with an average of 4.3/5 (=)

Inside 293 collections (+90)

About to 2.2 view/play (+0.1)

2023 Milestones:

3k plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Completed

There was a plan to fix the issues in the game AND add new content. But, if you've followed me this year, you've seen... nothing happened! Honestly, a whole re-code of the game is needed at this point.

Stats:

1.458 total plays (+785)

16 ratings (+6), with an average of 4.5/5 (+0.3)

Inside 103 collections (+59)

About 2.1 view/play (=)

The lack of blowing up stands on two things: the game is not that good... and I don't really have an intro post peeps can share...

2023 Milestones:

1k plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing

Out of all the WIPs I have, this one got the most progress. It got two major updates during the first half of the year (one of which included a maze!). The second had been spent working especially on Chapter 5 (it's a chunker) and starting Chapter 6 (for MelS). We are trying to wrap up the project for 2024.

Stats:

9.379 total plays (+6.4k-ish) (so close…)

56 (+28) ratings, with an average of 4.8/5 (=)

Inside 783 collections (+444)

About 1.9 view/play (+0.1)

A pretty decent growth for the game, though it is not always consistent. Most interest in the project happens during updates (duh), with some dozen returning players weekly. I don't think it will ever reach the level of CRWL, but it is doing pretty well considering the genre.

2023 Milestones:

5k plays

50 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Completed(-ish)

Until the first anniversary of this project (coinciding with the EctoComp once more) this game was in French only. Since last October, it was re-written to include more rooms inside the house, and a proper ending beat. It was then translated into English, and the whole thing was recoded. There are still a few kinks I need to handle, but it is essentially complete.

Stats:

252 total plays (+181)

1 rating with 5 stars (=)

Inside 13 collections (+7)

About 4.9 view/play (-0.7)

Unsurprisingly, there was little to no interest in the game. The page was visited a bunch of times, but few people clicked (probably because it was in French. Since the translation, more users have checked out the game and played it. I don't really expect much more interest from players, unfortunately...

2023 Milestones:

100 + 250 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW Oh... it doesn't have a page... omg.. stpid me.

Status: Completed

This year, the game was re-edited, translated to French, and recoded - a proper remaster including sound! And another game I can call complete and shelved!

Stats:

605 total plays (+270-ish)

10 ratings (+3), with an average of 4.8/5 (+0.1)

Inside 31 collections (+17)

About 3.2 view/play (+0.1)

I am not shocked to see this, honestly. It's a short meme game around a gimmick mechanic that gets old pretty quickly. Still, some interest made in late last June (somehow???) and when I published the remaster in autumn.

2023 Milestones:

500 plays

10 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing

At the start of the year, I updated this game to add a tiny bit of content (a few passages) and ensured it could be played on mobile. And published a template from this UI.

There was more content written for the game, as well as mechanics coded, but nothing is coherent enough (or devoid of bugs) to be playable.

Stats:

500 total plays (+333 !!!)

4 ratings (+4), with an average of 5.0

Inside 39 collections (+28)

About 3.0 view/play (+0.5)

Combined a tiny demo with a pre-set character, a not super popular genre, not much to do or little replayability... and you get this. I'll just check back when the game is actually complete :P Honestly, I'm just glad some peeps caught the inspiration for P-RIX.

2023 Milestones:

500 plays !!!!

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW (oh and it has both an intro post and an IFDB page now!)

2023 Releases

Now that we are going into the new releases, there is less comparing, and more putting down the base.

Status: Completed

Biggest high of this year! Released the game in January, won the comp in March, was interviewed shortly after, remastered the whole thing during the summer break (which included a total re-haul of the UI, an English translation, and increased content). Hands down my best game of the year.

Stats

967 total plays

7 ratings, with an average of 5.0

Inside 68 collections

About 3.1 view/play

Lots of views on the game page without plays for the longest time, because, up until the remaster, the game was only available in French. Things picked up then the remaster was uploaded (though it coincided with the IFComp). The game is also not available for mobile play due to its interface...

2023 Milestones:

Won the French Comp!

100 + 250 + 500 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Hiatus

The first Act of the story was created for the SeedComp! (which didn't win anything because I organised it, and it would have been unfair :P ). There was a plan to complete the game after the SeedComp! was over, but that didn't pan out. I have notes for it, though a re-write of Act 1 may be necessary...

Stats:

633 total plays

5 ratings, with an average of 3.6

Inside 46 collections

About 2.6 view/plays

While bummed by the average, Not surprised. The game is incomplete and plays on the noir codes, which are... something (also the twist is silly). I'll pay a bit more attention to it when the game is actually complete :P Also... It never got an intro post....

2023 Milestones:

100 + 250 + 500 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Complete

Released for the SpringThing in the Main Garden, this game was supposed to be updated by the end of last year and... it ended up needed a lot more work than expected. I am still working on it. This was my attempt in experimenting with Twine, creating a parser with a non-parser program. It... didn't work all that well as a conventional parser, but it worked pretty well for other peeps.

Stats:

650 total plays

5 ratings, with an average of 5.0

Inside 56 collections

About 2.8 view/plays

Honestly, not bad considering this is a weird parser, that worked eh and still has some issues. I won't ever expect it to blow up, honestly, but it's nice to see a play or two popup on my screen sometimes.

2023 Milestones

100 + 250 + 500 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Complete-ish

Created for a French Jam where I could not choose the program, the game was then upgraded and translated into English for the Text Adventure Literacy Jam a few weeks later. It was my first proper parser game (and made with Adventuron). I still need to fix some issues and typos with the English version, and retranslate back into French...

Stats: The game has currently two pages: French and English

160 (58+88) total plays

4 ratings, with an average of 5.0 and 4.0

Inside 4 collections

About 2.8 view/plays

No surprise here. Parsers are not popular on itch. (I should maybe add it to the textadventure.co.uk website....)

PLAY FR - EN | INTRO POST | RATE FR - EN | REVIEW

Assets and Other Tiny Games

Loads happened with this sections this year, with the addition of 5 new templates, and a whole Guide for SugarCube.

In January, the Setting Template was added - with the Space-Tech UI one following at the end of March, the VN-lite UI one in July, the Character Creator in November, and the Title Page UI in December.

The Guide was released in two periods, with a pre-release before the summer, and a complete one mid-december (which included a download point).

As of last month, all templates are also available on Github, and the Guides are all "playable" on itch.

CScript to SugarCube Guide/Folder

105 downloads (114 plays)

4 rating at 5 stars

Inside 36 collections

Get it here.

Tweego Ready to Use Guide

425 downloads (51 plays)

1 rating at 5 stars

Inside 6 collections

Get it here

Note: this guide got its own page in November of this year, despite being available since 2022

SugarCube Guide

1.300 "plays" (76 download)

11 ratings at 5 stars

Inside 102 collections

Get it here

Templates

2105 downloads

25 ratings, with an average of 5.0

Inside 274 collections

Get them here

After the release of Le Jeu de la Dévotion in late December 2022, I've been participating in other game jams with tiny entries. While one did get a bit more interaction than even my larger piece (Collision, wtf), little really happened to warrant a proper section (they are really tiny!).

And so these were released:

April 2023: À la Campagne [English]

June 2023: Clarence Street, 14, Collision, Intersigne [English + French]

Aug 2023: Le Diner [English]

Oct 2023: In the Blink of an Eye [English + French]

Nov 2023: Tower of Sleep [English] <- BINKSI :D

Dec 2023: Dévoiement [French]

2023 Overall Graph

Ok I lied, one graph:

Compared to last year, the graph is less very high peaks and very low down time (with a slow increase), but a more consistent base (higher than last year) with some moderate peaks for releases (namely Harcourt's and DOL-OS). The downloads have boomed, but that's because of the templates...

The increase of overall small releases (with jam/comp entries) probably helped in this staying a bit consistent (though I could do a better job at hyping up releases before and after they happen here and in other places). It would probably have looked much different if my release focus was somewhere else (like CRWL).

And that's it for stats (I'm skipping the follower/note counts)! The 2024-plan is next!

[tjemegames]

HSR: Voice of the Galaxy | Developer Radio - 22 Apr 2024

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! The HSR devs dropped their latest developer radio. Here’s what you can expect to see coming to versions 2.2 & 2.3:

SU update: “Divergent Universe”

2.3 will bring us yet another SU upgrade known as Divergent Universe (DU). DU will add updates to blessing combinations and curio effects.

New Planar Ornament Quick-Claim Function within the DU game mode. Sadly, no specifications were made about quick claim being available in the regular version of the SU.

DU will have its own set of rewards as well as contribute points to the weekly SU rewards collection.

DU will have a reset function (much like the one in MoC/PF) that will allow you to try the current battle again, utilizing the same techniques you previously used. Yay for not wasting any of those precious technique points!

New Permanent Game Mode: “Apocalyptic Shadow”

In 2.3 Formidable Foes of Finality will be making their way to trailblazers. Face off against beefier versions of past enemy bosses for a chance to earn up to 720 jades per rotation!

Apocalyptic Shadow (AS) will be added to the 6 week rotation schedule of MoC & PF. After 2.3 begins, we will experience AS; two weeks later PF will begin; two weeks after that MoC will begin as well. Each game mode will last for six weeks from its cycle debut before ending. Then the rotation cycle will start anew, following the same pattern.

MoC, PF, & AS Optimizations

2.2 is adding the ability to create team presets! Direct entry is also being added to MoC, PF, & AS (after it is released).

A new drag and drop feature will be added for ease of access when organizing your selected teams within the challenge interface menus. No more are the days of clicking, un-clicking, and then re-clicking just to be able to rearrange your selected teams.

Having friends is becoming more useful! After 2.2 begins, you’ll be able to view the team setups that your friends used in both MoC & PF. Unfortunately, the ability to look at the stats, relics, and light cones your friend’s characters were using during those modes will not come until future updates.

That’s everything for now!

I feel like I explained things pretty well, but the article is linked at the top of this post if you’d like to view it yourself.

[incorrectstarrailquotes]

Topaz: Is it just me, or are we the bad guys here?

Aventurine:

Aventurine: D....Did you think we were the good guys?????

[fitjourneydaily]

Unlocking E-commerce Financial Success: Effective Earning and Networking Strategies

In today's competitive digital landscape, e-commerce has revolutionized the way businesses operate, providing endless opportunities for entrepreneurs to establish successful online ventures. However, achieving financial success in the e-commerce realm requires a comprehensive understanding of effective earning and networking strategies. In this article, we will delve into key insights and actionable tips that can help you harness the potential of e-commerce and maximize your revenue streams. 1. Building an Effective E-commerce Strategy: To achieve sustainable financial success in the e-commerce world, it is crucial to build a strong foundation for your business. Here are some key elements to consider: 1.1 Niche Selection: Identify a profitable niche by conducting thorough market research. Look for gaps, untapped markets, or emerging trends where you can position your products or services. 1.2 Target Audience Analysis: Understanding your target audience will enable you to tailor your marketing strategies accordingly. Conduct market segmentation, analyze demographics, and uncover consumer preferences to enhance your messaging and product offerings. 1.3 Competitive Analysis: Analyze your competitors to gain insights into their strategies, pricing, and branding. This will help you identify opportunities for differentiation and highlight your unique selling points in the market. 2. Optimizing Your E-commerce Store: To attract organic traffic and increase visibility, it is crucial to optimize your e-commerce store for search engines. Here are some SEO-friendly strategies: 2.1 Keyword Research: Conduct comprehensive keyword research to identify high-ranking keywords relevant to your niche. Integrate these keywords naturally into your product descriptions, page titles, meta tags, and URLs. 2.2 High-Quality Content: Creating engaging and informative content is crucial for driving organic traffic. Craft compelling product descriptions, blog posts, and landing pages that incorporate relevant keywords and provide value to your visitors. 2.3 Site Speed and Mobile Optimization: Ensure that your e-commerce store is optimized for an exceptional user experience. Improve site speed, ensure mobile responsiveness, and implement a user-friendly navigation system to enhance customer satisfaction and encourage conversions. 3. Effective Earning Strategies: Maximize your revenue streams by implementing effective earning strategies within your e-commerce business: 3.1 Upselling and Cross-selling: Leverage your existing customer base by implementing upselling and cross-selling techniques. Offer complementary products or upgraded versions to increase the average order value and encourage repeat purchases. 3.2 Loyalty Programs: Implement a customer loyalty program to incentivize repeat purchases and foster long-term relationships. Reward customers with exclusive discounts, early access to new products, or referral bonuses to encourage brand loyalty. 3.3 Strategic Pricing: Monitor market trends and competitor pricing strategies to ensure your products or services are competitively priced. Consider implementing dynamic pricing strategies to optimize profits and maximize sales during peak periods. 4. Harnessing the Power of Networking: Networking within the e-commerce industry can open doors to collaborations, partnerships, and valuable insights. Here's how you can leverage networking to drive financial success: 4.1 Attending Industry Events and Conferences: Participate in e-commerce industry conferences, seminars, and networking events to connect with fellow entrepreneurs, potential partners, and industry experts. These events offer a fantastic opportunity to learn and forge meaningful connections. 4.2 Joining Online Communities: Engage in relevant online communities, forums, and social media groups focused on e-commerce. Share insights, exchange ideas, and collaborate on joint ventures. Building relationships with like-minded professionals can foster growth and open doors to new opportunities. 4.3 Collaboration and Influencer Marketing: Forge strategic collaborations with influencers or complementary businesses in your niche. By leveraging their existing audience and expertise, you can increase brand exposure and drive targeted traffic to your e-commerce store. Conclusion: Succeeding in e-commerce requires a well-crafted strategy, SEO optimization, effective earning strategies, and strategic networking. By implementing these strategies, continuously learning, and adapting to the ever-evolving e-commerce landscape, you can unlock the full potential of your online business and achieve financial success. If you're interested in ways to Earn Money or exploring various methods to Earn Money, feel free to check out our website now! You can discover numerous opportunities to increase your income and learn how to make money efficiently. Don't miss the chance to explore exciting earning options on our platform. Read the full article

[clone-fighter]

Separated Blastober releases

...Under the cut, due to post length.

2022: Halloween

Mind you, this was back when I was just going to do spooky themed songs for every Blastober... and also back when I used the YM2151 instead of the 2612. Yeesh, this sounds old...

Natural spooky themes - I mean, it's the halloween level. I pretty much had to start off Blastober with this!

Originally intended to be a gloomier song, turned into a Hide And Seek-type beat. This Zone is actually forever doomed to be UNUSED in SRB2, so I guess there's the haunted factor.

Instead of going a traditional way, this taps directly into Sonic's worst fear - drowning. Although very cheery on the surface, long-term fans of Sonic will know that this Zone is to be dreaded.

2023: Corrupted Autumn

The turning point. There just aren't that many spooky songs in Sonic games. Sure, I could go for a Mystic Mansion remix, but that's boring... why not mix it up for each year?

Starting off with a Cyberdime Realm track. Cliche corruption, and the track sounds autumn-y enough to me, hence the arrangement. Gotta admit, this track's a bop even in its original form.

This track covers a different form of corruption: physical terrain corruption. As in, how Eggman took over Green Hill Zone, making it mechanized entirely during Sonic Chaos. Also a pretty good track anyway, and I got partially inspired by NicoCW's arrangements of it for Sonic Hysteria.

HUE HUE HUE HUE. Also taps slightly into the same corruption form as MGHZ - even as far back as the Past sign allows us to go, there are signs of Eggman's takeover of the section. Heavily inspired by Tee Lopes's amazing remix of it for Sonic Mania during certain parts.

I just had to. Cliche digital corruption again, this time tapping into it fully compared to Sunrise Uplands. Heavily recommend listening to Fen's original version of it, too! And this is also the only non-looping track so far in Blastober.

Happy very very late Halloween, guys.

[p5x-theories]

Plot Summary Masterpost

(last updated 9/25/24)

While not strictly story content, this info post on the "phantoms" phenomenon present in the story is useful for following along with what characters are talking about in the story!

Main Storyline

Prologue + First Arc (note that this post erroneously implies the open beta is just another beta test)

Second Arc

Third Arc (currently only up to the boss fight was added in Version 2.2, but bear with me as I update this summary!)

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P5 Collab

Chapter 1, the "Castle Chapter" (set during the first Palaces of both P5X and P5)

Chapter 2, the "Museum Chapter" (set during the second Palace of P5X, but the third Palace of P5)

Chapter 3, the "Bank Chapter" (set during the second Palace of P5X, but the third Palace of P5)

Chapter 4, the "Pyramid Chapter" (was added in Version 2.3.1, please stay tuned for me to get this update and make a post!)

Chapter 5, the "Space Base Chapter" (Will be added in Version 2.3.3)

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Other

Summer Event, from Versions 2.1.1, 2.1.2 (set after Riko Tanemura joins the team)

[cmr-insights]

Assistive Technologies for Visually Impaired Market Size, Share | Global Report 2030

Assistive technologies for visually impaired market to Recover post COVID-19 Pandemic

Initially, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a marginally negative effect on the market for assistive devices for the blind. The assistive devices for the visually impaired market had a minor slowdown in growth following the COVID-19 outbreak. The implementation of lockdown and the emphasis of COVID-related and only critical condition treatment were the main causes. The risk of COVID-19 infections during the pandemic decreased the frequency of visually impaired patients or children visiting blind schools, hospitals, etc. Their consulting and visual help came to an end as a result. Teleconsultation and online courses for visually impaired patients and students helped them handle their problems and needs despite the pandemic’s extensive distribution.

Global unlocking, vaccination accessibility, and COVID-19 control cases allowed patients with visual impairments to resume their treatment regimens and gain access to support in the post-pandemic era. In response to and recovery from COVID-19, governments from many nations have released a variety of guidelines for older citizens and people with disabilities. The recommendations stressed the importance of supporting in-person learning for children with impairments by using the proper tools and resources. As a result, the COVID-19 epidemic slightly hampered the market’s expansion during its early stages. The reopening of blind schools and the regular visits of visually impaired patients to blind schools, hospitals, and clinics around the world are additional factors that are anticipated to contribute to the market’s continued steady growth.

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Increasing Prevalence of visual impairment and blindness to Boost Peptide Drug Conjugate Market

The market is expanding because to the increased prevalence of visual impairment and blindness worldwide. Almost 2.2 billion individuals will be living with near- or farsightedness worldwide in October 2022, predicts the WHO. Global geriatric population rise will also spur market expansion. A number of vision-related illnesses and even vision loss are symptoms of ageing. Aging is linked to dry eyes, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and glaucoma, according to the National Institute on Aging. The WHO estimates that there are currently 1 billion people aged 60 and older, and by 2030, that number will rise to 1.4 billion. Innovative assistive technology for the visually impaired has been introduced by market participants. For its two products, the handheld OrCam Read and the wearable OrCam MyEye, which are both aimed towards those who are blind or visually challenged, OrCam released its most recent software, Version 9.10, in August 2021. The most recent software would provide a better user experience and easier access to the hands-free voice command features.

Hence, growth in the studied market is predicted throughout the course of the analysis period due to the increasing prevalence of vision impairment and blindness as well as the growing geriatric population. The expensive price of electronic visual assistance solutions, however, is probably going to limit market expansion.

North America to Spearhead the Assistive Technologies For Visually Impaired Market

North America is the fastest-growing segment in the assistive technologies for visually impaired market due to several factors.

Due to an increase in the number of people suffering from low vision problems brought on by chronic diseases and viral infections, North America will continue to lead the growth of the global market for assistive technology for the visually impaired throughout the course of the forecast period.

In addition, an increase in the number of elderly people who are susceptible to eye problems has created new growth opportunities for the local industry.

The easy accessibility to better healthcare facilities in nations like the U.S. and Canada, as well as the presence of major players in these nations, will also significantly contribute to the growth of the market for assistive technologies for the visually impaired in North America.

Competitive Insights

Companies operating in the assistive technologies for visually impaired market have adopted several growth strategies to expand their market share and increase their revenue. Key players in the market are Amedia Networks, Inc., VFO, Cambium Learning, Dolphin Computer Access Ltd., Access Ingenuity, American Thermoform, LVI Low Vision International, ViewPlus, Humanware Australia Pty Ltd., Freedom Scientific, Inc., Nippon Telesoft, Co., Ltd, and OrCam Technologies.