#sl novel rambles

[stormdragon23]

Finally reading the official Solo Leveling novel translation on Tapas, so just going to post some of my thoughts here as I read and see what’s different from what I’ve seen in the manhwa and other places

(This is just a bunch of rambles and spontaneous thoughts, so some of it might not make sense)

Jinwoo cursing is something that should happen more often

I’m glad I read the manhwa first, or I wouldn’t know who Lee Juhee is. Her name is Yi Ju-Hui here. Like, it makes sense when looking at the Hangul version of her name, but I’ve never seen anyone spell her name like that

So smartphones can be used as flashlights in dungeons. Can’t people take photos and videos then? In case something goes wrong like with the lizards? Maybe I’m thinking too much like Jinchul

Juhee is turning twenty-one according to the novel, but she’s already twenty-two in the game. Song Chiyul is over sixty in the novel but is fifty-seven according to the game. Jinwoo’s age seems like the only age that stays consistent across multiple platforms

Double dungeons are discussed more in the novel than I thought. They say a small to medium guild found a double dungeon and grew into a large one basically overnight. I don’t really remember much about the System, but could those double dungeons have been the Architect trying to find a Player and made one of the members stronger but ultimately failed to? And the reason why the statues and people dying in the dungeons weren’t known is because the guild tried to keep quiet about it and had no proof? Maybe I’m thinking too much about that

Song Chiyul being blamed for leading the other hunters to their deaths makes a lot more sense now. It’s not completely his fault, but he was the one to encourage the other hunters to continue when they were starting to hesitate

So I read this somewhere though I don’t remember where, but in the novel, the other statues aren’t that much taller than the average human whereas in the manhwa the statues are much larger. I think I would’ve liked the novel version more personally. It makes more sense to be scared of something much bigger than you, but when it’s something around your size, it makes you feel more helpless

I’m not even past chapter 2 yet-

[lazycranberrydoodles]

its prosecutor jiang wanyin!!!! oh fuck!!! / gifs + au rambling below the cut / follow for more mdzs x aa crossover stuff :3

all the gifs i made (poses traced off franziska):

hes so similar to franziska when you think about it. theyre both deeply insecure tsundere adoptive younger sibling of successful main characters. who carry whips. something something edgeworth choosing death and wwx actually dying also

his share code is HWFEFF if you wanna use him in a trial! you can't share backgrounds but heres the scenery from the donghua i used.

the easiest way to put custom stuff into objection.lol is to send it in discord and then use the link from opening it in your browser :)

a whole lot of AU stuff

the art im making is for if mdzs was an ace attorney game, playing from WWX's POV to solve various mysteries/cases over the course of the plot. so this scene would be from turnabout goddess, which would loosely cover the dafan mountain mystery.

cases include:

Turnabout Revenge (Mo Manor, quick introductory first case)

Turnabout Goddess (Dafan mountain, the good times flashback)

Turnabout Saber (the man-eating castle (omg hiii nhs))

The Blind Turnabout (Yi City arc)

Turnabout Deviation (the Koi Tower conference, Empathy on NMJ ala turnabout memories or beginnings. opening cutscene is his qi deviation)

The Blood-Soaked Turnabout (second Burial Mounds siege, flashbacks: Xuanwu, Sunshot, YLLZ, Nightless City massacre)

Turnabout Lotus Seeds (testimony about JGY, tree scene, golden core reveal, bathtub scene. opening cutscene could be JGS' death but that would make it canon rather than ambiguous)

Turnabout Confession (Guanyin temple)

the problem with splitting novel!mdzs into turnabouts is that flashbacks are a huge chunk of the book but they don't have mysteries/ cases to solve so they've gotta be lumped together with present day stuff. imo? many of the flashbacks would likely have to be abridged so they could be retold ala DL-6, SL-9, or the fourth grade incident, where characters talk about it over some pieces of art. this is really difficult when theres a metric ton of unspoken, complex, and signifcant history between every character lmao

there's not as much of a problem with the cql timeline but i have not finished it. so.

the opening cutscenes in ace attorney always show the murder and/or the murderer plotting. the first cutscene of the game would be MXY summoning WWX, muttering about getting revenge on his family (it would also be good for him to mention the yllz being dead because that's how the novel starts.) cut to WWX's POV as he wakes up covered in blood and the investigation segment begins.

for investigations of monsters (goddess, saber, etc) the cutscene would be a scene of some poor throwaway cultivator getting their shit wrecked.

it would be cool to make a breakdown for JGY but again I need to review that scene cause I don't know who I'd base him on. maybe Vasquez or Dahlia.

tell me your thoughts!! i'm working off of a mdzs summary/ skimming the novel because i don't remember it too well so if i get anything wrong please yell at me

Jin Ling's sprites & Nie Huaisang's sprites / masterpost

[lutiaslayton]

So uh. Hi, I finally made a decision I probably should have made a long while ago thanks to talking a bit on Discord: for the sake of my sanity I will not be keeping up the weekly schedule after all 😔 Layton's Book Club updates WILL be posted exclusively on Saturdays at the decided time, instead of at any random time in the week, and I will likely make a few heads up when we're on a lucky week during which you'll get an update, but I will not force myself to make it happen every single week. Simply because at least right now, it is physically impossible for me to do so. (Chapter 1 Part 1 of Illusory Forest is going to be the end of me, and not just because I am still questioning if the author was under the influence of some Folsense gas while writing it.)

That being said, I believe this should actually be treated as good news, and not just good news for my personal health. Because, sure, the updates will not come out as often as I had originally planned to. But in the long run, I actually believe that since I no longer plan to force myself to only work on one thing (which has progressively been eating at my sanity on top of that because darn it this chapter is stupid and it just doesn't seem to END, + it'd be nice if I could finally get some content out that is my creation rather than somebody else's), it means that I will actually allow myself to post more diverse Layton stuff in the meantime.

Stuff like the Evan Barde post I made a few days ago, or other helpful-for-the-fandom stuff that isn't translation work, or… even maybe stuff like finally allowing myself to write SLS and draw random stuff again? Or even read other people’s fanfics and comics and AUs and stuff? (ok technically that last one would probably not lead to tumblr content but shush it means I would take time to look at YOUR content for a change)

The list of stuff I'd like to post in the future includes but is not limited to:

A tutorial on how I get my translation stuff done despite the fact that I do not actually speak Japanese. Best case scenario, this might even lead to some brave people among you to start helping me with this monumental task that is translating multiple novels and games from scratch while you're not even fluent in the language you're translating, and this would be a MASSIVE weight off my back. (spoiler alert: while I do use DeepL to check stuff and/or get inspiration, my work is NOT limited to simply copy/pasting sentences into it and then copy/pasting whatever it gives me back)

The Playthrough series! You had all forgotten about it, hadn't you? Yeah, me too.

Lore analysis stuff in general. I have a massive, absolutely insane project ongoing which is basically "Want to find some info about X? Just open that one (1) web page, enter a few tags such as a specific character's name or location, clich the Search button, and get a list of every single known fact which is related to all of your tags which is summarised down to the bare minimum fact, along with the exact source and quote directly taken from the source material."

Puzzle theory stuff. I've talked about it a lot, it'd be cool if I could finally get the stuff sorted and actually provide all the evidence supporting, refining or challenging it in one place. Above-mentioned lore analysis stuff should help with that.

More fancy shitpost such as the ones found in the #lutiasdraws tag. Let me join in on the fun pls it's good for my mental health to get some serotonin out of non-boring stuff. Heck, perhaps I might even do fanart/shitpost about some fanfics/AUs/others I find and enjoy.

That being said, I apologise to everyone who was hyped at the idea of Illusory Forest updating weekly, but I hope you'll still enjoy the stuff I'll be posting here. If not, blacklisting tags is a thing! I tag everything diligently so for example if you're tired of seeing me ramble about stuff (I do that a lot lately, sorry for that 😭), you can just block the #lutiastalks tag. Yes I finally decided to make #lutiasreplies exclusive to actually replying to asks or reblogs, and use #lutiastalks for random news stuff. yay to self-care and cleaning up my house, head, and tumblr blog.

[briapia95]

An analysis, many interpretations, and comments on the interactions between WWX and LWJ in Chapter 25: Malice —Part 3

I feel like this chapter [and the last couple of paragraphs from the previous chapter] is gold and all that happens between those two is so interesting and bittersweet to read. And it also gives me so many feelings because you can feel the yearning in-between the lines.

By this point, they’ve have reunited after LWJ went after the person running away from the man-eating castle and WWX has managed to run away from JC and transfers JL curse mark.

Just by the end of the previous chapter we are given this small piece: [consider that WWX is coming late to the meeting point]

[...] the white-robed figure stood at the end of the street, standing motionless with his head hung low.

Before Wei Wuxian made any sound, Lan Wangji looked up and saw him. After some hesitation, he walked over with a darkened expresion.

Wei Wuxian didn’t know why, but he involuntarily took a step backward.

He could almost see scarlet streaks of blood by the corners of Lan Wangji’s eyes. He had to admit... Lan Wangji’s face really did look quite scary.

So, it’s quite clear to me that LWJ was not angry but instead scared, and deeply scared as that. The novel has stated several times that WWX used to teased him so much and in such a high degree in the past because it was difficult to get a reaction out of LWJ. But now? Now it only took for WWX to take longer than it was expected to get such a reaction from LWJ.

And of course, the man is scared out of his life. The last time he left WWX behind in a hostile situation was also the last time he ever saw him alive, if it was any other character they would not have risked doing so again. But despite all of that, he chose to trust WWX’s judgment and go after NHS so as to not lose track of him while WWX took JL so safety, even when LWJ knew there was a high possibility that JC was around. [which turned out to be correct]

So now he sees WWX coming back to him and it’s such a relief that even in his stoicism WWX is able to gather that something was happening with LWJ [pity he misunderstood what emotions were going through LWJ at that moment]

Now to the actual chapter I was supposed to be talking about:

WWX, having being attacked with zidian and bearing the curse mark, staggers and almost fall if not for LWJ

[...] thightly gripped his wrist like what he did last time, back in Dafan Mountain.

Wangxian.mp3 playing in the distance.

So now we have two things that really made me laugh:

WWX being flustered because LWJ knelt in front of him to look at his wounds.

I love how even as WWX proclaims to have such a thick face, yet he still gets easily flustered by such small things.

And the famous “... I only left for a few [fucking] hours” phrase from LWJ.

I mean I’m pretty sure inside his head LWJ was screaming so many curses because yes. By this point, WWX has been with him for days and nothing has happened to the other man. Not even with the failed evocation at the Mingshi with NMJ arm. And now he has left WWX out of his sight for |this| short amount of time and look at what happened to him. LWJ is screaming and suffering internally. And WWX is downplaying the seriousness of his injuries. Please give the man a break WWX.

And just when WWX starts to walk towards the shop where NHS is located, we get this:

Lan Wangji stood behind him. He suddenly called out, “Wei Ying.”

Wei Wuxian’s figure paused. A second later, he pretended as if he didn’t hear the name, and answered, “What?”

Idk about you guys but if this is not a heavily charged moment idk what it would be. Because this is the first time LWJ directly calls WWX on his bluff. He’s literally offering him a hand. Tentatively he’s saying “I’m here, you don’t need to hide, you can rely on me”, but at the same time If WWX had chosen to ignore the call he could have easily done so because LWJ is not imposing. Yet WWX chose to tentatively reach back. And IDK, this part causes so many emotions in me, because, for all of what they both remember, their last interactions pre-WWX’s reviving were terrible hostile.

LWJ then states the obvious, 1) you transferred JL’s curse mark to yourself, and 2) you met JC.

And WWX delivers this harsh truth

[...] “As long as both of us are alive in this world, we’d meet for sure, sooner or later.”

Here WWX furthermore confirms his true identity but also I think he implies something quite sad. If he and JC are both alive they’ll keep meeting, they’ll keep hurting each other, and sooner or later one of them will end up dead. And LWJ is not stupid, he catches on quite fast, so he replies:

[...] “Do not go...”

And this little sentence is so many things in such a few little words at the same time. ‘Don’t go meet him, don’t leave me behind, let me protect you, you don’t need to die and leave again.’

And of course, WWX being who he is by this point of the novel, deflects. Because if he’s good at something it's to change the subject and joke around when he’s placed on a tight spot that involves opening-up to face harsh feelings.

[...] If I don’t go, how am I supposed to leave? Are you gonna carry me on you back or something?”

WWX said this because he knew it worked in the past, that LWJ has shot down similar requests in his first life. But, at LWJ’s lack of response, he knew his deflection didn’t really work as he planned to, maybe LWJ would leave the subject to rest but WWX would not be able to tease him into forgetting the conversation.

And LWJ totally does just that, he goes and tries to carry WWX, just like WWX did when they were teenagers, and now is WWX turn to be flustered again.

There’s a little part that stood out for me in this whole scene.

[...] Lan Wangji walked in front of him, as if he really was going to bend down, kneel, and carry Wei Wuxian on his back, despite his honorable status.

And is such a small throwaway line that almost goes unnoticed but it reflects one of the main obstacles WWX has to overcome. WWX does not think of him as an equal to LWJ. And how could he? First, he was the son of a servant, no matter how talented he was in contrast to the second Jade of gusu. Then he was reviled as the Yilling Patriarch, the scum of the cultivation world, in contrast to Hanguang-Jun, the light bringer. He was persecuted and killed and while LWJ was revered. It’s a sad life the one that WWX lived on his first life if you think about it. And WWX is totally aware of these differences in social status and the comparisons other people drew. He might be able to boast that in skill they're equals, but that's it. Outside that he was always regarded as the inferior, that's something I think plays a heavy hand in his belief that the only reason LWJ wanted to bring him back to gusu was to punish him.

As for LWJ’s part, we have this moment after WWX denies being carried

After a moment of silence, Lan Wangji responded, “But you have also carried me on your back before.”

Wei Wuxian, “Did such a thing ever happen? Why don’t I remember?”

Lan Wangji answered in an indifferent tone, “You never remember such things.”

First, we have a vulnerable moment when LWJ tries to reminisce a treasured memory and then goes to quietly exasperated with a dash of disappointment. Because as I stated before, I truly believe WWX did remember the time he offered to carry LWJ in his back, the phrasing is too deliberate to be a coincidence, and LWJ knows it too but also knows that indeed WWX tends to forget many things -read Wangxian.mp3 [the entire reason he figured who you were WWX omg]- so he also can't be sure if WWX is playing into the oblivious character he tries to pull or if he truly doesn't remember. So he doesn't press the matter further but also is not going to let WWX tease him into forgetting he's been hurt.

LWJ has evolved, he now actually can take WWX teasing and keep up with it too, that’s why he ends up carrying him bridal-stile. (To WWX further embarrassment). But being the tease we know WWX, he escalates his antics, starting to play with the front of LWJ clothes as he’s been carried -aka flirting, you are not fooling anyone here WWX- and LWJ just goes along with it. And, of course, he will! He waited 13 years for you WWX with no hope of ever seeing you again, he’s not gonna let this chance go to waste.

Then WWX decides to ask what’s been on his mind since Dafan Mountain, “how the [dolphin noises] did you know it was me? And even since the begging too!” And LWJ here chooses to answer him with a non-reply, the kind of when he's saying the truth but he knows the other person will not understand what's he's saying (his favorite form of communication).

[...] “You told me yourself”

I feel like mostly this is a way of defense LWJ uses when he's also avoiding telling people what he really wants to say, either because he does not care what the other interprets and/or is subtly insulting them -see his treatment of JC and JGY- but he will still be courteous when doing so or because he's afraid of the reaction the other person could have if he's being completely honest -WWX rejecting him if he links together that wangxian.mp3 = you've had feeling for me ever since then = I remembered I rejected you so I’ll reject you again. But also is a way of subtly letting WWX in, as if to say, ‘I know you rejected me but my feelings are the same’. And the moment WWX is unable to figure it out this happens:

It seemed as if something had sent ripples through Lan Wangji’s eyes. Yet, the slight waves faded immediately, and his eyes were a still pool of water again.

Oh LWJ you poor suffering fool, I don’t blame him since for all that he knows WWX rejected his feelings already. But also, this is why communication is important guys, non-replies are cool and everything but if LWJ had said something else, anything else that hinted at the reason he was able to recognize WWX, so much pining would have been spared. But alas.

This is getting longer than I expected but there are two more points I want to touch.

When they arrived in front of the door of the room where NHS is staying at and WWX ask LWJ to let him down so that he can open the door. It goes like this

Before he finished his words, Lan Wangji did something that was extremely impolite. It was possibly the first time in his whole life that he had ever done such a rude act.

Carrying Wei Wuxian, he kicked the door open.

And I really love this part.

I remember reading a while back a meta that said that in WWX’s first life LWJ had tried to be the bridge that connected WWX with the “righteous” path, that he was trying to bring him back to the “right and accepted” side, but in WWX’s second life LWJ pretty much says, ‘I’ll walk alongside you in any path you chose’.

And this paragraph is LWJ's character evolution in a nutshell. It was shown in little glimpses before like with the scene of WWX finding the secret stash of emperor’s smile at the Jingshi or the whip scars on LJW’s back. But nothing is so blatantly stated regarding this change in LWJ’s character previous this moment. The “I will stay with you and help you forge a path where we can both walk freely” is this small moment when LWJ prefers to keep WWX in his arms and just slam the door open than letting him on his feet to open the door because it's the proper thing to do that we know LWJ will always choose WWX and not try to find compromises as he did on WWX’s first life. Something that goes against everything he was taught about property probably. And he’s doing it without a single hesitation. If that’s not love and devotion I don’t know what it is.

And now, the last part I wanted to bring into attention; right after LWJ startles NHS when kicking the door open and walking with WWX on his arms:

Acting as if he didn’t see anything, Lan Wangji carried Wei Wuxian inside and put him in the bamboo mat.

LWJ just showing so much care for his beloved Yilling Patriarch. He will make sure that WWX is safe and comfy before continuing with this very serious investigation. All because on WWX’s last life, LWJ was not able to provide him this sort of affection and care he always wished for. But now he’ll make sure as hell that he’ll be able to bring comfort to his beloved, no matter the situation because he actually can do it and he sure is not going to be wasting this second chance.

And that’s it, I feel like this chapter is Wangxian in a nutshell. The chapter underlays the feelings, characterization, interactions, and arcs that will be explored through the rest of the book. And it’s why it gives me so many emotions while reading it.

Omg, this turned out so much longer than I thought. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk I guess xD

[more rambles]

[lookforthefuture49]

I'm back at it with FNAF. Great.

After this I'll try to talk about other stuff, but people seem to only be looking at my FNAF related posts.

So I think I've mentioned this in the post about it literally not being possible for Michael to be the Crying Child, and, as all of you people who like FNAF know, the series is quite well known for its extremely confusing, convoluted timeline and characters.

When I was just coming into this Fandom and had only learned Michael existed as of recent, it was extremely difficult to fully understand what was happening because everything was a jumble.

Like, my friend says Sister Location comes before FNAF 1, and people believe Michael is Mike Schmidt, but, this isn't possible. Michael has white pupils and pitch black Sclarae, and Mike has normal blue eyes. Once again, people still believe this? It led me to believe Sister Location came after the first game, which honestly would make more sense since the animatronics are more advanced in SL, and yet somehow it STILL comes before?

This isn't exactly a timeline talk anymore but everything just jumbled together so I'm gonna keep talking.

Speaking of confusion, I was also led to believe that the Crying Child was experiencing hallucinations in FNAF 4 due to the bite, but after a bit of research it appears that if basic cognitive function isn't possible without a frontal lobe, vivid hallucinations and easy movement like that couldn't occur. Unless their nightmares, but that wouldn't be possible either. Anyway I've since remembered the minigames and corrected myself, but, it still is, admittedly, confusing. I chalked it up to nightmares.

FNAF 4 as a whole is confusing mostly because it's the one I both least and most hear about. Weird.

Anywhom, my own misconceptions aside, I'll continue.

I've noted that there are almost no actual fleshed out characters in the FNAF series (I haven't read Fazbear Frights but were going to ignore those here). Charlie from the books and Michael from the games seem to be the only two actual characters in this entire series, since they have the most development. Not sure about William but he's probably a bit developed. Not counting that jerkwad though. I hate him.

How can a series with an actual story have only 2 fleshed out characters, one of which being from the books? Charlie's game counterpart's soul is in the Puppet, and last time I checked Puppet doesn't get character development.

That leaves 1 character. Uno. A single character goes through internal and external (did I just make a pun?) conflict, and that's it. I mean other characters have gone through conflict of their own but I'm pretty sure Michael's the only one we know well. All the rest are built off of assumptions the last time I checked.

How did we wind up here? With a single developed character?

Not sure, frankly.

I thought it was cool FNAF was shrouded in so much mystery but now that I've both run out of content to take in from the games and books for Michael and am pretty sure I know everything I need to, I just have to ask:

Why would someone make a cool story and stuff and then NOT take COMPLETE ADVANTAGE of said story?

I noticed that FNAF has nearly nonexistent dialogue, relying solely on hints and mjnigames to get its story across, and while this is cool, it got confusing fast when they got an actual character and not a bunch of silent protagonists.

I'm still hoping the new creator goes in some direction that is open to letting us actually know characters. I wanna be able to root for someone, like them, and know them. I was able to do it a little bit with Michael, and it's a good step that we actually get a full 3d model for Gregory that we get to SEE. That's a very good step in the right direction indeed.

Maybe I'm not expecting the right things, since I went into the series with a long history of both hating it and only reading fantasy related things, so my outlook when I realized there was an actual character was "Well he better be a good one."

I want something to like out of this since I'm not big on horror but rather mystery, so that's what I'm here for, but I also need a good cast to get attached to, and all I've learned so far is:

-Its hard to get attached to animatronics.

-William is extremely unlikable, not that I liked him much before I joined the fandom.

-The only two characters I like in Charlie and Michael both died weird deaths (Charlie an even stranger one to be frank).

-Carlton did not deserve to be in a horror novel.

-I got attached to Michael and he ended up a scorched corpse.

Sorry for rambling I'm gonna post about something else later.

[shysheeperz]

2.43 ep 12:

...so...is there a slight chance of a season 2 at all? Is this where the light novels (manga?) end? Are they still going? Idk. ????

They won! Yay!

Glad that subaru isn't giving up on volleyball.

Anyways, this is another 1 cour sports series that gives me mixed feelings.

Some ramblings:

I honestly can't say if i enjoyed this series more or less than skate leading stars bc they have pretty similar issues?

I do think 2.43 had more quality overall, but in terms of characters and stuff i actually feel more attached to the sls crew.

1. I liked that we got more slice of life drama, but i almost wish they could have found a better balance between the two bc once chika's issues got resolved halfway thru, that was basically the end of the drama that didn't revolve around their volleyball matches. I almost wish if they were gonna give us some serious stuff that they could have gone all in like stars align, you know what i mean?

2. Same issue as sls, lots of characters with little-to-no focus or development. We got 12 episodes and i still can't name half the seiin members. I know it's probably asking too much considering there's only 12 episodes to concoct a coherent story of some sort, but i really wish we could have gotten to know the other seiin team members a bit better.

3. Speaking of character development and focus...does anyone else feel like subaru took over the show in the back half??? Like, i appreciate that they fleshed out the main rival pretty well, but even in the final episode he almost got more focus than the seiin kiddos. He was kinda the best character imo, so i suppose he deserves the screentime :P.

4. The pacing in the first handful of episodes was kinda a mess. We went thru what felt like almost half a dozen timeskips of various lengths. Twas kinda wack imo.

Overall i can't say i got particularly attached to any of the characters and my favorite episodes were probably the first few despite the pacing issues, mainly bc they showed lots of promise with lots of juicy drama.

Anyhoo, another solid final episode. If sk8 sticks the landing we'll have a solid trifecta of last episodes for the sports series this season. Haven't checked out Wave yet (it's still airing right?), so maybe there'll even be a Quadfecta of solid endings????

One can dream.

[official-michael-afton]

Made a tier list of FNaF media!!! Not counting the activity book or the security survival log because those don’t really add anything, they’re just neat activities or summaries of game info

I explained the choices under the cut, equal parts personal bias and objective opinion, so if you think differently then hey, good on ya!

Going down to up XD

F

The Silver Eyes Graphic Novel: Do I even need to explain this one? Rushed art with countless mistakes, horrid coloring, samey designs, the important scenes come off as bland and even goofy instead of impactful. It’s clear Pinky wasn’t used to drawing humans, the colorist had no idea what they were doing, and no one on the team made a graphic novel before. It’s laughable how bad this was XD

E

The Fourth Closet: Does anyone really know what happened at the end? I... really don’t like what they did with Charlie in this one. I don’t like how William was able to get out of his Springtrap- it was SUPPOSED to trap him, and yet he just... is out of it... I think the whole thing with Baby being like this hot clown girl instead of what she is in Sister Location is very... ... it exists... Tbh I respect the bold direction it took, but I honestly felt it was too much of a stretch and just didn’t work.

D

FNaF AR, Special Delivery: Not bad! The character models and voice acting is where the game shines most. Other than that, there isn’t really much substantial to the game other than some lore with Vanny/Ness and Luis. The gameplay can get frustrating sometimes(I cant collect remnant, read my mail, or even work on my own animatronics without DING DONG SOMEONES HERE every 5 seconds), and all you do is spin in a circle until you get glitchy, look away if they get glitchy, or zap them when they run at you. Some people probably love this game and good on them for that, but I find myself not touching it for weeks at a time.

Freddy In Space 2: GREAT game for charity, great art, great music! ... That’s all it has going for it, though. It was clear that this was a quickly made game designed to be beaten in one sitting, and it did exactly what it needed to do! Other than being amazing how it was for charity, the game doesn’t have that much going for it(except introducing Lolzhax aka BEST ROBO), so overall not bad but also did almost nothing outside of being for the Charity Livestream XD

Fazbear Frights, Into The Pit: Again, not bad! A nice collection of short stories, almost like goofy campfire horror you’d tell to kids... like goosebumps! I felt each story was REALLY lacking in some areas, but I liked the general idea they were going for. That being said, they’re moreso neat scary stories with the name FNaF attached than anything else(except maybe the first of the three). It hints that they have an overarching plot that will be covered in future books, but as of right now, I feel no one’s missing out by not reading them.

C

FNaF 3: A satisfying end to the original trilogy story! Purple Guy gets justice, everything gets tied together with a neat bow, and the first arc in the series comes to an end. Also Springtrap, aka my favorite. This game is riddled with neat 8-bit minigames and bits of lore, but the gameplay itself is where I find it not as good as the S A and B tiers. The new setup with the system reboots are def really interesting, but other than that, each night is just... the same thing but harder. Most other games introduce different characters on different difficulties per night, but since Springtrap is the only deadly one, it’s just... him more aggressive each night and systems failing more often. Makes the gameplay pretty repetitive and frustrating after Night 3 or so.

FNaF 4: The beginning of what I like to call the Afton saga(4, SL, FFPS, UCN)! This is when the lore began to get REALLY good... and also really confusing. Props for it taking such a bold direction by taking place in a child’s bedroom instead of in an office with cameras, its a neat change of pace! That being said, the gameplay can get frustrating and there’s a high learning curve for needing to listen to each sound the anmatronics make. Also lore wise... there really isn’t much! Just mainly focuses on what happened to this poor kid. Also the box still being a loose end... yeah.

The Twisted Ones: I enjoyed this one! It had a very interesting direction that kinda kept me guessing on what was going on, and this is when Scott really started nailing in the foreshadowing for the reveal in TFC. The Twisted animatronics are SO cool, and the introduction of those little alteration chips provided new context to games like 4 and SL! That being said, I don’t remember it being... that memorable? I also didn’t like how Charlie’s and John’s relationship was... so awkward... It was neat, but honestly nothing to really go crazy over, in my opinion.

B

The Silver Eyes: Honestly, I adored this book when I read it back in 2016, before Sister Location happened. At the time I wasn’t trying to connect it to any lore, so it was really great just to see a sort of retelling of the FNaF story. A lot of people complained about how long it was... I might agree if I reread it but tbh it never bothered me before. It was delightfully creepy, yet had a simple plot and wasn’t NEARLY as out there as TTO and TFC. Especially TFC. I felt this book didnt need 2 sequels and would’ve been just fine on its own, but whatcha gonna do. Carlton is forever my fav, and it’s the first time we really learn about Henry AND it was the first time we got a name for our Purple Guy: William Afton!

Sister Location: I like this one for just how bold of a game it was. I’m also including SL’s Custom Night wrapped into this package. Jam packed with lore, our first (main) game with VOICE ACTING, and honestly the humor has no right being as good as it is. I love how this not only expanded on the crying child from 4′s story, but also gives us so much Elizabeth and Michael content. The gameplay has a lot of unbalanced features and feels a little too over the place at times, but I appreciate where it was going with it!

FNaF World: ... This one is pure personal bias. A lot of people don’t like it. I adore it. Honestly I love the cute overworld, I love beating up enemies as my favorite animatronics, I love the horror, nihilism, and lore shoved into this game alongside SO MUCH humor. Update 2 was nothing short of an absolute delight and... wait, no!!! FNaF World had our first voice acting!!! So many endings and nods to other games Scott’s made, a cool scene with Desk Man/Henry and Baby, just... muah. Good content. Also Scott 57 <3

A

Ultimate Custom Night: Name a better way to end the Afton Saga, I’ll wait. It’s so obvious how much time, thought, and care went into this one. I love how the game rewards you with funny cutscenes the higher scores you get, and I just! So much voice acting! I love how each preset- no, each character has their own moves so every time you do a certain mode, you need to learn to manage them all and get a good strategy. I like how it’s way more strategy and skill than the RNG that many previous games had. Also, Scott!!! You managed to put this into the LORE by making it William’s hell, MUAH, couldnt have done it better!!!

FNaF 2: This one might have bias for being the peak of the fandom, but it was one of the greatest times to be in that fandom. Freaking out over the trailers, theories galore, prequel vs sequel, and just... so good. 1 didn’t have much plot, 2 DID. 2 had more mechanics and strategy to it than 1, and gave us over twice as many characters! We finally got a “face” to our killer, Mr. Purple Man, and how could I ever complain about more Phone Guy~? This one also introduced the 8-bit minigames, which became a HUGE staple for the series! Perfect expansion of the first!

Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator: The PERFECT blend of old and new gameplay. The salvage scenes are intense, the nights had a great balancing mechanic of juggling doing tasks while also avoiding animatronics, multiple endings, and a neat tycoon segment to give the player a breather... but with LORE!!! Midnight Motorist is easily one of the best tracks in the series. Also has a GREAT canonical ending, when(with paired with UCN), ties the plots of 1-6 SO nicely with a neat bow. 

S

FNaF 1: Okay. From a personal and gameplay standpoint, I was going to put this much lower. Like B or C. That being said... this has to go in S. Yes, it has the least lore and arguably the worst gameplay(too much RNG for 4/20 mode), but this was the game. I can’t even exaggerate when I say just how much FNaF changed not only the gaming community, but especially the horror and indie communities. So many names got big from this: Markiplier, Dawko, Game Theory, The Living Tombstone, DA Games, SCOTT HIMSELF, just to name a few!!! And to think, this was originally going to be Scott’s last game! FNaF changed gaming HISTORY, and I think that alone makes this title deserving of S.

FNaF VR, Help Wanted: Okay, personal bias time, but I truly think VR deserves this S. Seeing Glitchtrap for the first time incited a panic in me that I hadn’t felt since FNaF 1 and 2. You get FNaF 1-4 in one, all in VR, WONDERFUL character models that you can WATCH MOVE!!! SO many minigames and fun challenges to play, so many neat knickknacks to collect, the Halloween update is FANTASTIC. The introduction of some great characters, such as: Glitchtrap, Vanny, Tape Girl, Dreadbear, Grim Foxy, etc!!! There’s also just- something so nice about being able to see every office and the pizzeria in 3D spaces where you can look around! Just from a gameplay and environment standpoint, this was an AMAZING addition and deserves the S.

... Thanks for listening to me ramble XD If you disagree... then good for you! I won’t fight anyone on this, I’m aware that this is a lot of personal bias. But if you made it this far... thanks for hearing me ramble!!!!

[stormdragon23]

Solo Leveling Novel Rambles Chapter 25-28 (chapter 11 part 1(?) of the original)

Okay, why was the spoon scene excluded? I definitely would have liked to see that happen in the manhwa. A lot of Sung Jinwoo's personality seems to be lost in the manhwa

So if a guild can't maintain the minimum number, it will be disbanded. Isn't that number three? It might be different in the novel, and I just haven't gotten there yet, but three doesn't seem like a hard number to keep

Oh, so Yoo Jinho's brother is 31 while Jinho is 22. You know who else could be 31? CHOI JONG-IN-Sorry, off-topic

Jinho's expressions are quite different from the manhwa. Both are good, just different

It's nice they went into more detail about how the 30 billion won building worked. I was confused about that in the novel since I wasn't familiar with the concept

It's also good to see what rank Yoo Jinho thought Jinwoo was. Apparently, he assumed Jinwoo was a B-rank or higher, so Jinwoo getting stronger at this point wasn't that big of a deal to him

The novel really goes into Jinwoo's thought process. While it's nice to see it in novel form, it makes sense why they took it out in the manhwa (Okay, but Jinwoo, stop giving the poor child a heart attack-)

Oh, the run with Jinah didn't happen? I guess it makes sense, but I thought it was a nice bonding moment for them. Until Jinwoo ran off on his own at least-

The novel also goes into detail about the blessed versus the cured random box too. I don't remember if the manhwa mentioned it, but I think it just glazed over it

Not saying Jinwoo in the manhwa is dumb, but he seems smarter in the novel

[hannah-deactivated20220725]

SlS Week I: astralis-elysian

Blog Name

@astralis-elysian

Genres Written

dark fantasy & science fantasy

Favorite Piece of Writing Link

Curses and Dreams

Writing Tags

#afits

# tftdaos

Types of Writing

poetry, flash fiction, short stories, and novel writing

Other Writing-Related Post Types

character introductions, rambles on worldbuilding & reblogged resource posts

[sorenfm]

           choi  san  .  cis  male  .  he / him  or  they / them  .  /  soren  shin  just  pulled  up  blasting  late  night  by  goldlink  ft.  masego  .  --  that  song  is  so  them  !  you  know  ,  for  a  twenty  four  year  old  socialite  and  illustrator  ,  i’ve  heard  they’re  really  -vexatious  ,  but  that  they  make  up  for  it  by  being  so  +  alluring  .  if  i  had  to  choose  three  things  to  describe  them  ,  i’d  probably  say  graphite  stained  hands  gripping  the  neck  of  a  bottle  of  remy  martin  louis  xiii  ,  gucci  sneakers  tapping  rhythmically  on  museum  floors  ,  and  unread  texts  and  unanswered  phone  calls  clogging  his  lockscreen  .  here’s  to  hopping  they  don’t  cause  too  much  trouble  !

           hmm  ,  yes  .  this  two  gif  thing  with  block  quotes  is  just  as  extra  as  i  was  hoping  it  would  be  🥰  .  that  being  said  ,  hi  babies  !  my  name’s  koa  (  pronounced  like  co - uh  )  ,  and  i’m  really  excited  to  be  here  !  my  pronouns  are  preferably  non - binary  ,  but  please  feel  free  to  use  she / her  as  well  .  i’m  not  going  to  get  upset  if  you  do  ,  promise  🥺  .  i’ve  been  dying  to  play  san  for  quite  some  time  ,  so  with  that  comes  the  birth  of  my  absolutely  vile  son  known  as  soren  !  he’s  like  ...  fresh  from  the  box  brand  new  so  i’m  working  out  kinks  and  stuff  ,  but  everything  mentioned  in  this  intro  is  pretty  much  set  in  stone  !  i  won’t  ramble  on  for  too  long  ,  but  i  can  share  my  discord  if  that’s  the  easiest  or  most  convenient  for  you  ,  but  i’m  also  down  to  plot  in  the  im’s  !

𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬  .

BIRTH  NAME  :  shin  jin - hyeok  .

PREFERRED  NAME  :  soren  shin  .

NICKNAME(S)  :  jinnie  (  by  his  mom  ,  only  )  .

BIRTHDATE  /  AGE  :  december  25th  ,  1996  /  23  .

ZODIAC  :  capricorn  .

HOMETOWN  :  atlanta  ,  georgia  .

GENDER  :  cis  male  .

NATIONALITY  :  korean  american  .

ETHNICITY  :  korean  .

HEIGHT  :  5′10″  .

LABEL(S)  :  the  artisan  ,  the  bellwether  ,  the  gregarious  ,  the  icarian ,  and  the  thespian  . 

ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION  :  biromantic  .

SEXUAL  ORIENTATION  :  bisexual  .

OCCUPATION  :  socialite  and  freelance  illustrator  .

LANGUAGES  SPOKEN  :  korean  ,  english  ,  and  conversational  spanish  .

POSITIVES  :  alluring  ,  veritable  ,  altruistic  ,  unconstrained  ,  and  urbane  .

NEGATIVES  :  domineering  ,  sardonic  ,  quick - tempered  ,  shallow  and  vexatious  .

𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝  .

it’s  nearly  impossible  to  think  about  the  atlanta  social  scene  without  the  shin  family  coming  to  mind  .  both  of  jin - hyeok’s  parents  did  not  come  from  money  ,  but  they  both  lived  comfortably  .  both  were  children  of  immigrants  from  south  korea  ,  and  that  is  what  caused  them  to  work  as  hard  as  they  did  .  woo - yong  and  eun - mi  met  one  another  when  they  were  both  accepted  into  the  same  culinary  school  ,  but  eun - mi  originally  had  no  interest  in  woo - yong  .  he  was  known  around  their  school  as  something  of  a  player  ,  and  for  the  longest  ,  she  always  shot  down  his  advances  .

eventually  ,  eun - mi  decided  to  go  on  one  date  with  him  ,  and  it  was  history  from  there  .  they  were  married  within  two  years  ,  and  they  eloped  at  the  city  of  atlanta  courthouse  and  their  honeymoon  consisted  of  getting  matching  tattoos  on  their  ring  fingers  because  they  couldn’t  afford  rings  at  that  time  .  the  couple  worked  hard  through  the  years  ,  and  they  eventually  opened  the  first  location  of  their  korean - american  fusion  brunch  restaurant  .  the  restaurant  opened  to  strong  success  ,  and  they  brought  in  over  a  million  in  profits  in  their  first  year  ,  which  turned  their  lives  for  the  better  .

the  day  they  went  to  finally  purchase  their  wedding  rings  was  the  day  eun - mi  told  woo - yong  that  they  were  having  a  lil  squish  .  said  lil  squish  came  seven  months  and  two  weeks  later  in  their  master  bathroom  tub  (  because  jin - hyeok  refused  to  be  in  there  to  full  term  )  and  it  was  the  happiest  day  of  their  lives  .  throughout  jin - hyeok’s  childhood  ,  the  couple  continued  to  pursue  their  restaurant  dreams  ,  and  opened  four  more  locations  in  buckhead  ,  sandy  springs  ,  morningside  ,  and  brookhaven  by  the  time  he  was  ten  .  

while  growing  up  ,  jin - hyeok  always  took  a  liking  to  his  creative  side  ,  and  it  was  mostly  due  to  his  parents  being  creatives  themselves  .  when  he  wasn’t  in  the  kitchen  with  them  ,  he  was  reading  webtoons  and  mangas  ,  which  sparked  his  own  interest  in  drawing  .  he  was  100%  self  taught  ,  and  used  to  spend  hours  watching  videos  on  how  to  do  do  certain  things  .  by  the  time  he  started  posting  his  art  on  the  new  platform  that  was  instagram  ,  jin - hyeok  had  begun  going  by  the  name  of  soren  shin  since  he  kept  his  art  mostly  to  himself  at  the  time  .  to  get  an  idea  of  what  his  art  looks  like  ,  check  out  my  favorite  artist  laia  lopez  on  instagram  !

he  went  to  the  coveted  scad  (  savannah  college  of  art  and  design  )  where  he  studied  fine  arts  .  he  graduated  in  the  spring  of  2018  , and  he  continued  posting  his  art  on  instagram  before  he  was  approached  by  a  publishing  company  to  create  a  book  of  his  own  art  !  he’s  released  a  few  of  them  leading  into  this  year  ,  and  has  drawn  the  illustrations  for  a  few  graphic  novels  throughout  the  years  .  moved  to  los  angeles  for  the  big  dreamz  but  in  reality  he  doesn’t  do  a  damn  thing  but  post  on  his  personal  account  and  go  to  fashion  shows  .  he  still  does  art  and  everything  ,  but  his  life  as  a  socialite  is  more  prominent  for  him  at  the  time  .

𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬  .

baby  is  an  artist  !  despite  him  having  no  interest  to  hold  down  a  day  job ,  he  mainly  focuses on  his  art  throughout  the  day  .  he  definitely  doesn’t  like  to  be  interrupted  when  he’s  drawing  so  if  he  answers  the  door  with  an  attitude  ,  then  you  know  why  .

he  does  not  answer  the  phone  and  don’t  expect  him  to  !  he  will  intentionally  leave  you  on  read  and  watch  his  phone  ring  until  it  stops  .  really  ,  he  doesn’t  know  why  he  needs  a  phone  outside  of  social  media  ,  but  if  you  want  to  get  in  touch  ...  dm  him  .  he  might  answer  .

his  favorite  food  is  sushi  so  for  the  love  of  everything  that  is  holy  don’t  let  him  pick  where  to  eat  because  he’ll  say  sugarfish  or  nobu  every  single  time  .

he  wears  all  black  ,  but  like  ....  expensive  all  black  .  he  will  wear  his  berets  and  his  garrett  leight  glasses  and  his  cartier  bracelets  and  his  fancy  clothes  literally  every  day  .  don’t  ask  him  about  casual  clothes  .  they  don’t  exist  .  his  casual  is  a  silk  pajama  set  .

drives  a  white  audi  q7  and  lives  in  the  hollywood  hills  .

don’t  ask  him  to  go  on  a  date  because  he’ll  just  wanna  go  to  art  exhibits  ,  art  festivals  ,  and  museums  .  ya’ll  will  go  to  dinner  and  he’ll  talk  your  ear  off  about  it  ,  but  he’ll get  all  shy  and  rosy  cheeked  when  someone  asks  about  his  own  art  since  he  doesn’t  really  share  it  that  often  .

owns  every  piece  and  collection  of  the  fenty  beauty  line  .  curly  bangs  in  his  eyes  25 / 8  .

𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲  .

i’ve  pretty  much  said  everything  in  the  headcanons  ,  but  he’s  really  a  charmer  at  heart  but  he’ll  also  make  you  panic  .  since  he  doesn’t  answer  the  phone  people  tend  to  think  that  he’s  fallen  of  the  face  of  the  earth  or  god  forbid  he’s  gone  missing  ,  but  chances  are  he’s  in  his  house  ...  ignoring  you  lol  .  he’s  really  about  his  looks  and  won’t  leave  the  house  without  making  sure  that  he  looks  impeccable  ,  and  he  will  go  home  if  he  feels  ugly  .  he  can  be  really  sarcastic  and  it  doesn’t  take  much  but  a  couple  of  words  to  put  him  into  a  sour  mood  ,  so  he’s  a  real  testy  one  .  above  all  else  ,  though  ,  he  really  likes  to  have  fun  and  he’s  really  social  so  please  come  join  him  at  his  house  for  some  reality  show  viewing  with  wine  and  junk  food  .

𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝  𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬  .

idk  why  i’m  envisioning  this  ,  but  someone  he  drew  inspo  from  for  the  manga  he’s  working  on  .  they  could  either  m  ,  nb  ,  or  female  of  course  and  it’s  more  so  based  on  their  looks  than  anything  else  ,  but  he’s  always  going  to  them  and  wanting  to  show  the  progress  he’s  making  !

i’d  die  if  he  had  an  angsty  ex  boyfriend  kinda  thing  because  honestly  👀  i  wanna  have  my  wig  snatched  thank  u  .

a  best  friend  !  

someone  that  tries  to  make  him  workout  but  in  reality  he’s  sitting  and  eating  a  bagel  on  the  weight  bench  .

some  generic  tingz  like  neighbors  ,  friends  with  benefits  ,  confidant(s)  ,  good  or  bad  influence  ,  one  night  stand(s)  ,  a  current  fling  ,  enemies  with  benefits  ,  and  frenemies  !!!

honestly  i’m  a  sl*t  for  angst  and  everything  that  comes  with  it  so  please  hand  it  over  or  i’ll  start  crying  .

[theonyxpath]

So we end the year of 2018! So odd that Dec 31 is on a Monday Meeting day, so we’re really just squeaking the meeting in before everybody goes hither and yon to their New Year‘s celebrations.

Amazingly, almost everybody was there, and so I have a few points we discussed before ending this year’s worth of MMN blogs with our Onyx Path crew’s New Year’s Resolutions. Let’s get to it!

In the usual explosion of Kickstarter Updates we sent out last week, I started with a very special one to our Scarred Lands PG backers. The SL Kickstarter had an uphill climb to resolution having to recover from my good old friend Stewart Wieck’s death before the books were shipped.

So it was only fitting, and in my thinking positive, that I could announce to them that the next Scarred Lands project (and Kickstarter) would be the Scarred Lands Creature Collection for 5e and that Onyx Path would be working on the project with Handiwork Games – founded by another buddy, Jon Hodgson.

Jon and his team at Handiwork will be writing, art directing, and laying out the project, as well as running the Kickstarter, and we are thrilled to be able to bring their creative talents and energy honed after many years working for Cubicle7 to what is possibly the signature Scarred Lands book.

For those of you not aware of the history of the first Creature Collection book, it was published in an audacious move just as D&D 3rd Edition released the legendary d20 and OGL licenses. We heard that first they’d be publishing the 3e Players Guide and then later the 3e Monster Manual, and jumped in, wrote, illustrated, and published Creature Collection just before the 3e MM was released.

So, it’s a project near and dear to my heart, and I think that Jon’s crew are going to do amazing and beautiful things with it!

Changeling: The Lost 2e Jumpstart art by Tilen Javornik

Rather than boost more of our mentions in podcasts, or articles, or our Onyx Pathcast, or Kickstarters, I’m going to be pulling all those items down to The Blurbs! below, and for this next year I’ll be aiming at utilizing this space as a way to talk more directly to you about what’s up with Onyx Path.

That was how we got started with it just one day short of 7 years ago, so I’d like to get back there after this last year of reorganization.

And in The Blurbs! below you’ll already find information about our latest Kickstarter, They Came From Beneath the Sea!, which has done a lot better over the Christmas holiday than we expected, and now I’ve added a new section called Onyx Path Media for descriptions and links to the Onyx Pathcast, and other Onyx Path vids, as well as to Actual Plays, etc. from other folks enjoying our worlds.

Roll of Good Dogs and Excellent Cats art by Pat Loboyko

Herein lieth our Onyx Path crew’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2019:

From Mirthful Mike Chaney: “My big one for 2019 is to add more artists to the Ex3 pool and clear the log jam in that line’s production process so we can get 4 titles a year out for Ex3.”

From Monica Valentinelli: “I’m trying something new this year, because resolutions tend to fizzle before the first signs of Spring. For 2019, I’m changing my resolution to a one-word mantra: movement. From shipping manuscripts to rolling dice, there’s a lot of ways I can see this word applying to what we do at Onyx Path. Onwards to 2019!”

From Matthew “The Gentleman Gamer” Dawkins: “My new year’s resolution is to give a little more time to myself in 2019! My video game and reading time was way down in 2018, and I need to amend that in the coming year. Taking advantage of my leisure time rather than spending a lot of it on social media would go a long way toward making a more satisfied Matthew.”

From Dangerous Dixie Cochran: “In 2019, I want to, as Neil Gaiman said, “make good art.” More than that, I want to encourage others to make art, whether good or no. (Funny story, making bad art is the first step on the road to making good art.) I’ve always joked that I’m a support class in real life: I edit what others write, I help folks with problems, and I enjoy building people up and helping their voices be heard. I want to do more of that in the coming year. I want to work on helping people who are underrepresented into spotlights, and continue to showcase the current slate of amazing talent we have now. I want to work with amazing creators to figure out how to best polish their work, not just for them. I want to work on dozens of new and interesting and phenomenal books, and I want to see creatives in our field (and others) shine that maybe haven’t had the opportunity before.

I also want to meet more of you, the folks who keep us going. If you have live streams or events or podcasts, I want to hear about them! I also hope you come to the conventions we attend and say hello! Essentially, I want 2019 to be about community and coming together for the betterment of all parties involved. Happy New Year!”

From LisaT: “I’m going to try to establish a more permanent workspace in order to facilitate keeping better track of my broadening work responsibilities. And to establish some new skills in Excel and other programs to improve bookkeeping.”

From Jaunty James Bell, our Kickstarter Concierge: “2018 had a lot of transition for me – health challenges for my parents and new activities (and jobs!) for my children redefined my role as a son and father, keeping me busy. In 2019, I’m going to try to help family and friends as best I can, avoid the anger and despair from social media as much as possible, fall in love with each new kickstarter project, be organized, communicate clearly, and play more games!”

From Impish Ian Watson: “For 2019, I’d like to take more time to play games, and do some recreational reading. I enjoy both, but lately I’ve been spending my spare time on YouTube or whatever and not enough time with novels or game books.”

From Fast Eddy Webb: “In 2019, I resolve to make a second creator-owned property. It may not see the light of day in 2019, but I’d like to be in a place where I can start designing by the end of the year.”

From Mighty Matt McElroy: Well, Matt didn’t get me his resolution as he’s on a well-deserved and oft-postponed vacation (I hope!). So we won’t bother him, but I’ll give him an easy one based on past years’: “I’m going to drink all the coffee, and work crazy hours, and do seventeen person’s jobs.”

From RichT: “Gonna do more hands-on art and just be more hands-on with our projects this coming year. I participated in Inktober, and doing a piece of illustration a day was a marathon, but also was a joy that reconnected me to my art-creating roots.”

Happy New Year as we move into our eighth year as a company! Thanks to you all for your support in 2018 (and earlier) and talk to you next year all about our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

They Came From Beneath the Sea! (TCFBtS!) funded on Kickstarter in less than 48 hours and we’ve passed through the first couple of Stretch Goals of getting Larry Blamire to illustrate a horizontal scene usable on a screen, the beginning of a book of additional Threats, and we are rising up on the next goal!

TCFBtS! has some very different additions to the Storypath mechanics we’ll be explaining during the KS that take an excellent 50’s action and investigation genre game and turn it to 11! You can see the actual play here:

Check out the teaser:https://youtu.be/kxLydk4t76s

Hope to see you there back in the 50’s, fighting watery menaces and cracking wise!

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Illustration by Michael Gaydos

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features an interview with SuperFan Jacob Burgess recorded at PAX Unplugged where he and Eddy ramble on hi-lariously, for quite some time I hear, all about his Bloodlines actual plays, his writing on Book of Oblivion, and maybe some hints about what he’ll be doing for us in 2019!

https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

The Story Told RPG Podcast have recently provided coverage of Scion Origin and Scion Hero, both of which will help anyone looking for insight into those two games. The same podcast will be launching actual plays of Exalted and Scion in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to their channels!

Origin: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/episode-16-scion-2nd-edition-origin-overview

Hero: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/episode-17-scion-hero-overview 

The fine fellows at Caffeinated Conquests have started up the first streamed play of They Came from Beneath the Sea! Here’s the link to part one: https://youtu.be/pTpeQVIbv08And here’s the link to their Twitch channel so you can tune in to this game, and their other games, live: https://www.twitch.tv/caffeinatedconquests

The excellent team of Niveau Suivant are running a Scion actual play on YouTube and Twitch, and already have a log of videos should you wish to catch up on old episodes! You’ll need to be a French speaker for this one, or at least someone who enjoys the French accent: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWC9p0HmTWK5C6FUpBQQSZnbakH5u1cTx And here’s their Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/niveausuivant

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! http://bit.ly/2w0aaEW

And we’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This week, we’re offering PDF and PoD versions of the Promethean 2e book, Night Horrors: The Tormented on DTRPG!

CONVENTIONS

Start getting ready for our appearance at MidWinter NEXT WEEK in January in Milwaukee! So many demos, playtests, secret playtests, and Onyx Path Q&As you could plotz!

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Geist2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Let The Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Redlines

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Ready Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)

Development

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Manuscript Approval:

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Editing:

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Adventures for Curious Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development:

C20 Players’ Guide (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Indexing:

Scion Origin (Scion Second Edition)

Scion Hero (Scion Second Edition)

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Dystopia Rising: Evolution – Finals coming in.

The Realm 

Ex3 Monthly Stuff – more art going over to WW.

Chicago By Night – Contracting next bits.

C20 Player’s Guide – Finals coming in and going in for WW approval.

Aeon Aexpansion

They Came From Beneath the Sea! – KS ready.

EX3 Lunars – Some KS finals coming in.

Signs of Sorcery – Just need fulls to come in this week.

In Media Res – Contracted.

Hunter: The Vigil 2 – KS art in progress.

Shunned By the Moon – Awaiting notes.

Marketing Stuff

In Layout

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) – With Meredith.

Geist 2e

Proofing

Scion Hero – Indexing.

Scion Origin –  Indexing.

CtL2 Jumpstart – Shutting down errata.

M20: Gods and Monsters

Pugmire Roll of Good Dogs and Cats – 2nd Proof sent out.

Trinity Core – Gathering errata.

Trinity Aeon – Gathering errata.

Ex3 Dragon Blooded – Gathering errata.

At Press

Wraith 20th – New cover proof approved. Everything else is printing.

Wraith 20 Screen – Printed.

Scion Dice – At Studio2.

Lost 2e Screen – Shipping to shipper.

Scion Screen – Shipping to shipper.

Changeling: The Lost 2e – Going out to backers. PoD proof ordered.

Fetch Quest – Manufacturing continuing.

PtC Tormented – ON SALE this Wednesday on DTRPG!

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: 

Happy New Year! May 2019 be better than 2018 for all of you in every way!

[navigatorvega]

I think I’ve figured out what my issues with ZTD as a whole are. Spoilers below.

First, let me say that I’m incredibly tired, so I apologize if this is a little hard to follow or if I ramble. Now then, onto the substance.

Okay, so it’s no secret that I feel like ZTD is the weakest entry in the series. For a good while I’ve not quite been able to put it into words why, but I think something helped me realize exactly what it is: a visual novel called Root Double: Before Crime * After Days.

Now, what does that have to do with anything? Well, to put it simply, it feels almost like what would happen in the ZE universe if Espers became common knowledge. I won’t go into detail here so as to not spoil anything, but basically most of the story is told in a lockdown that threatens to take the lives of nine people (given the fact that the director of this game used to work with Uchikoshi, I get the feeling there was at least some inspiration there). And it is really well done. It feels very Zero Escape-y while at the same time able to stand on its own. But, then I got to thinking about it and I realized that ZTD DOESN’T feel the same.

How can that be? It’s because ZTD feels more like a Danganronpa game.

Now, I must preface this before I give anyone the wrong impression: I don’t dislike Danganronpa; as a matter of fact I quite like the series, and the only reason I haven’t posted a lot about it is because I haven’t caught up and thus am avoiding spoilers.

Anyways, Danganronpa, the series that has a lot in common with ZE, but has just enough different that it was able to set itself apart and become incredibly successful. But how exactly does it set itself apart? Well, for one thing, it’s set in high school, with characters suffering from the problems teenagers face on top of the whole closed circle, death game stuff. It also has a mascot character and social link-esque events that you can use to learn more about the characters. But what really prominently sets itself apart from Zero Escape is this: in ZE death is a threat, but in DR it’s the goal.

Now obviously I don’t mean that’s the player’s goal; in DR 1&2 neither protagonist actually kills anyone to escape. But, when you look at how the “school life” works and compare it to the Nonary Games, the structure is almost completely opposite. In Danganronpa, the only way to escape is to kill someone and hide the fact that you did it so well that no one suspects you. The main characters only escape due to a loophole in those games. Compare that to 999 and VLR however, where the only way to reach the true endings is by getting everyone you can out alive by following the game’s rules without too much unnecessary infighting.

But, fast forward to ZTD and things are very different. The way out of the Decision game is by killing others. The game’s true end only exists due to a loophole. Even the fragments themselves often feel like the sl-esque events Danganronpa uses, with them explaining character backstory independently from the main plot. 

Other similarities include the mastermind regularly interacting with the cast, having numerous characters whose backstories have nothing to do with the main plot (Seriously, Eric is only there because he’s dating Mira; Junpei is there because he was stated to be; Carlos, much as I love him, is completely and totally unrelated to anything involving Delta, the transporter, or Crash Keys), and characters being actively given motivation and/or means to kill someone else, among other things.

Now, are any of these bad? Absolutely not. But they are very different from how a ZE story is usually told and I believe that is the reason for why ZTD gives so many people such a weird feeling. It DOESN’T feel like it’s apart of the same series. Change a few character’s names and I would struggle to see how it relates to ZE at all. Hell, even terms the previous games use, such as Morphogenetic fields or espers, are only used once or twice if at all, instead using new distinct terms, such as Jumps now being called SHIFTs.

Even things such as how one-note the characters seem feels far more Danganronpa-y (I’d like to note that that’s not necessarily a bad thing; one note and simple characters aren’t inherently bad as they allow for larger casts that feel distinct and more varied situations, to name a few positives), with characters filling a niche rather than being more multifaceted.

Root Double on the other hand shares much more in common with the first two ZE entries. And I can’t help but wonder if that has to do with the fact that the game’s director worked with Uchikoshi pre-999 and it was released just before Danganronpa became big (July of 2012, vs RD’s Japanese release date of June of that same year) while ZTD came out long after DR had changed the game when it comes to closed circle survival stories.

[snootch]

I made a post a while back about how I felt Xue Yang's big mistake with his last interaction with XXC was in not understanding his naivety/fragility but

I was forgetting a key factor: XXC's reputation. I just saw another post breaking down how XXC is described in the novel and one of the things that stuck out to me was describing him as someone who was unaffected by bad things, rolling off him like water off a duck.

And while I Kinda said it in my post, I didn't realize how much that would've been taken as Law to XY. He would've known XXC's reputation, whether by overhearing other people talking about him, or by obsessively researching this Great Rival. He would've known that about him and likely made it a Challenge to get XXC to react, to be bothered, to not let it roll off him, but didn't anticipate it working That Well.

You can read the scene as XY not realizing how important XXC was to him until he died, but I don't think that's necessarily the case. I think he loved XXC very dearly, was hurt very deeply, and lashed out as a result, leaning back into that original goal of wanting to see XXC bothered, and either sorely overestimated XXC's emotional resilience or sorely underestimated his ability to cause pain.

Or maybe even more likely, he underestimated how much Song Lan meant to XXC. XY isn't someone who Has emotional ties to other people like that. XXC and A-Qing were literally his first and only family and that was not built on any genuine foundation of love and trust and sentiment. He had no grounds for basis in even beginning to understand the effects Song Lan's death, especially at his own hands, would have on XXC. Especially if we do look at their relationship as having been romantic, with XXC being in love with SL (if not having been an established relationship at some point in time).

Anywho that's my weekly XueXiao ramble. I'll tie back around to what I said in my original post. I think XY is someone who, firstly doesn't understand human relationships At All, and second, is a strong believer in a neverending cycle of hurt and revenge. He lashed out at XXC fully anticipating him reciprocating tenfold. If he couldn't keep him as a friend/lover, he'd take him back as an eternal rival. Ultimately though, his inability to understand the world and how other people work got him neither- just a couple of corpses, an angry ghost he couldn't bring himself to shatter, and a fruitless seven year long obsession ending in death.

[lokilickedme]

Every author needs a little love! Send this on anon (or not!) to 5 of your favorite authors that have impacted you in some way and you think deserve a reminder. 💖

Thank you so much sweetheart :)

I don’t read fanfic regularly (and rarely in this fandom) but I’m going to list some of my friends in here who are writers, and that I know would appreciate some love:

@elvenfair1 - My very first tumblr friend!  She’s a prolific TH writer with an enviable skill for putting together longfic espionage/mystery/suspense fics - and she’s back on AO3 now :)

@prplprincez - an absolutely lovely soul, always full of encouragement when I get all complain-y...writes Evans, Stan, and TH, and from what I understand has an awesome biker fic featuring all of them.

@tinaferraldo - I love it when Tina pops up on my messenger to discuss my updates, I literally squee when I see her name come up because I know I’m going to get to ramble about all the in-between stuff that didn’t go in the chapter. A real encouragement :D  Writes Loki fics.

@devikafernando - I haven’t known Dev long but her reviews of my updates are always motivational and make me feel good, especially when I’m not completely sold on how good my chapter was :)  Writes TH fics (and Evans I think)

@icouldkillyouwiththistray - Used to be @morgan-de-gorlois - excellent RP writer with a very well established mythological/modern day OFC, writes Loki/Morgan fics.

@thehumming6ird - If you’re lucky enough to have Hum read your fics, you’re in for the treat of a writer’s lifetime - she writes the best, most prolific, most encouraging reviews ever!!  I look forward to her comments so much and actually wait in anticipation for when I know she’s about to come online and start reading lol...and she writes Loki fics :)

@fictions-stranger (who I don’t think writes fanfic but I know is working on a novel) - a lovely person, so kind and full of encouragement!

@ladyninasayers-ish - I don’t know what she writes but I know she writes lol (sorry Lady!) and a good friend, always pops up at just the right time to say something encouraging :)

and @vivianstark, who does the majority of the art/manips for my SL/SM series and deserves all the love because she’s just wonderful

These are the only active writers I can think of right off the top of my head, I know there are many others but I’m doing good to remember these few tonight :)

[stormdragon23]

More SL Novel rambles for chapters 21-24 (chapter 10 for the original)

The way Jinwoo reacts to Jinho saying he'll take his secret with him to his grave is interesting. In the anime, Jinwoo glares at him while in the novel, Jinwoo's like "Uh, no, that's not necessary-"

Ohhhh, so Hwang Dong-suk was planning to film Jinho killing Jinwoo and use that as blackmail to get money. That actually makes a lot more sense, especially with the gate closing since they were about to get the mana crystals or magic gems from the boss

I’m 90% sure I read the part about Jinho begging Jinwoo not to kill him in some fanfic, but I don’t remember which one… (Maybe it was the cooking channel one)

“Maybe, after planting the fear of god into the kid first” Jinwoo, please-

It’s nice to see the anime incorporating some novel elements that the manhwa left out. It would have been nice to see more of the conversation between Jinwoo and Jinho though

Tax is 40% for individuals?? No wonder Jinwoo wanted his own guild. I would be mad paying that much in taxes too

I’m going to cry- Why didn’t they show Jinwoo’s and Jinah’s relationship this much in the manhwa akshsjkaalka

A little short, but it’s been a while since the start of the chapters have lined up, so I wanted to end it here

[stormdragon23]

Solo Leveling Novel Rambles Chapters 17-20 (~chapter 9 of the original)

They went into a lot more details about Jinwoo distributing the points to his stats. Lol Jinwoo wanting his stats to end in a 0 or 5 is relatable though

Okay, I just checked the manhwa to confirm, and they really did completely cut out the cell phone part. I think he answers through a landline in the novel, but in the manhwa and the anime, it seems he answers on his cell phone.

Awww the landlord seems so nice in the novel, telling Jinwoo to take of him first and not push himself too hard. They also didn’t raise the rent for him

So some S and A Ranks do use their status to get more money, even though it’s extremely rare. Maybe this is what Lee Minsung was doing

Oh, your rank can be too high to work for the Association? But your abilities could also be too low to join a guild? This seems so realistic that it kind of hurts-

Jinho calls Jinwoo “hyung” right away akshkasja He’s so precious. Jinwoo, don’t be rude-

The novel doesn’t seem like it mentions Jinho’s armor in the beginning like it did in the manhwa. It might be mentioned later, but I guess they couldn’t have kept it hidden with the characters drawn

Might have mentioned this before, but there seems to be a lot more world-building in the novel than the manhwa. Personally, I find the novel more enjoyable after reading the manhwa since I get to focus on the world-building and characters more than the story since I already know what will happen

It's interesting how Jinwoo already knew what the Lizards were going to do earlier on yet seemed confident and in a good mood while in the manhwa, he seemed annoyed. It also looks like he knew about the Lizards and went along with them because he knew what they were

Hwang Dong-Suk's brother also isn't mentioned earlier like the manhwa did. Well, he's not the great anyway-

Jinwoo in the novel is so much more sarcastic than in the manhwa lsdkjfasd