#such a big day in fire emblem history

[larachelledrawsfe]

A very, very late FE anniversary scribble.

[zapreportsblog]

Soulmate au! Time😆😆

Jason Vorhees X Reader

Time soulmark: where there is a timer on your wrist that shows when you meet your soulmate face to face. Once they meet their timer goes to 00:00:00 and will sting a bit.

Plot: the reader and a few of their friends decided to be counselors for Camp Crystal lake. And although it’s supposed to gain some money, readers friends doesn’t seem to take it seriously though.

One day one of the readers friends got on their nerves so she decides to walk in the forest by themselves, while walking they didn’t seem to see where they were going because they soon bump into a tall guy, that guy is Jason, and also is their soulmate.

Awww my baby getting love finally <3

❝time seemed to stop when I met you❞

✭ pairing : Jason vorhees x reader

✭ fandom : slashers

✭ summary : you thought camp this year was going to be the same as all the other years but it seems it won’t be

✭ slashers masterlist

The mid-morning sun streamed through the windows of (Y/N)'s cozy apartment, casting warm patterns across the floor. (Y/N) sat at her kitchen table, sipping her coffee and browsing through her mail. Bills, advertisements, and then a peculiar envelope caught her eye. It was slightly worn, as if it had traveled a long distance, and it bore the emblem of a pristine lake surrounded by lush greenery.

With a mix of curiosity and excitement, she carefully tore open the envelope. Inside, neatly typed on creamy paper, were the words that would alter the course of her summer: an acceptance letter to be a camp counselor at Camp Crystal Lake.

Her heart raced as she read through the letter. Camp Crystal Lake had always been known for its picturesque landscapes and storied history. The idea of spending a summer surrounded by nature and working with children was certainly enticing.

Eager to share the news, (Y/N) picked up her phone and dialed her best friend's number. After a few rings, the call was answered.

"Hello?" a cheerful voice greeted her.

"Hey, it's me," (Y/N) said, her excitement evident in her tone.

"Oh, hey! What's got you all fired up this early?" her best friend replied.

"I just got a letter," (Y/N) exclaimed. "Guess what? I've been accepted as a camp counselor at Camp Crystal Lake!"

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then a burst of enthusiasm. "No way! That's amazing! Congratulations!"

(Y/N)'s heart warmed at her friend's genuine excitement. "Thanks! I'm pretty excited about it too. But, you know, it's a big commitment. I'd be spending the whole summer there."

Her friend's voice was thoughtful. "True, but it sounds like a fantastic opportunity. You've always loved the outdoors and working with kids. Plus, Camp Crystal Lake is legendary. It's a chance of a lifetime."

(Y/N) nodded even though her friend couldn't see her. "You're right. It's just... It's a big step, and I'd be away for a while."

"Well, think about it this way," her friend suggested. "It's a chance for you to grow, experience something new, and create memories that'll last a lifetime. And I promise, I'll be here when you get back, ready to hear all about your adventures."

A smile tugged at the corners of (Y/N)'s lips. She was lucky to have such a supportive friend. "Thank you. I needed to hear that."

"You've got this," her friend encouraged. "And if you're worried about missing home, just remember that you'll have me and all your friends cheering you on."

Feeling a renewed sense of determination, (Y/N) took a deep breath. "You know what? I'm going to do it. I'm going to accept the offer and become a camp counselor at Camp Crystal Lake."

Her friend's excitement was palpable. "That's the spirit! I'm so proud of you. This is going to be an incredible adventure, (Y/N)."

As they continued to chat about the possibilities and plans for the summer ahead, (Y/N) felt a wave of excitement wash over her. She had taken the first step towards a new chapter in her life—one filled with adventure, growth, and the promise of unforgettable memories.

(Y/N) stood in the middle of her bedroom, surrounded by an array of clothes, camping gear, and essentials she'd need for the summer at Camp Crystal Lake. The excitement she felt was tinged with a touch of nervousness. This was a big step, a journey into the unknown, and she couldn't help but wonder what the upcoming weeks would bring.

She carefully folded her favorite hoodie and tucked it into her bag. Glancing around the room, she realized she had packed everything she needed, but there was something missing—an item of utmost importance. She walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer, revealing a small, intricate mark on her wrist—the soul timer.

Running her fingers over the delicate design, she traced the numbers that were etched into her skin. The soul timer was a unique phenomenon in her world. It counted down the days until the moment she would meet her soulmate, the person destined to be her perfect match. It was a constant reminder that love was out there, waiting to be discovered.

Today, as (Y/N) touched the mark, the numbers were crystal clear: "1 day." Her heart fluttered with a mixture of excitement and curiosity. Could it be possible that her soulmate was somehow connected to this new chapter of her life at Camp Crystal Lake?

With a fond smile, she closed the drawer and shouldered her bag. The anticipation was building, and she was ready to embrace whatever lay ahead. Leaving her apartment behind, she headed to the bus station.

As the bus rumbled to life and started its journey, (Y/N) found a window seat and settled in. The scenery outside changed from cityscape to countryside as she gazed out at the passing landscape. Her thoughts wandered to the adventure awaiting her, the friends she would make, and the memories she would create.

During the journey, her fingers occasionally strayed to her soul timer. The numbers remained constant—1 day. It was a countdown to not only the day she would meet her soulmate but also a reminder that each day was a step closer to the unknown.

The hours slipped by, and eventually, the bus pulled up to the entrance of Camp Crystal Lake. A surge of excitement mixed with nervousness coursed through (Y/N) as she stepped off the bus and took in the picturesque surroundings. The air was filled with the crisp scent of pine, and the lake shimmered in the sunlight.

Camp counselors and campers bustled about, preparing for the summer's activities. With a deep breath, (Y/N) walked forward, ready to embrace the adventure that awaited her. As she moved among the lively atmosphere, her fingers brushed against her soul timer once more. The numbers were a constant reminder that change was in the air, and perhaps her soulmate was just around the corner.

As the day went on, (Y/N) settled into the rhythm of camp life. She met fellow counselors, learned the camp's routines, and felt a growing sense of belonging. But beneath it all, that one-day countdown remained in her thoughts.

In the evening, as the sun set over the lake, (Y/N) found a quiet spot to sit by herself. The sky was painted in hues of pink and orange, and a sense of calm settled over her. She closed her eyes and touched her soul timer once more, feeling the connection to her own destiny.

With a smile, she whispered to herself, "One day. Just one more day until our paths cross." And with that thought in her heart, she embraced the tranquility of the moment, ready to embark on a summer that held the promise of adventure, friendship, and the possibility of finding the one person who would make her soul timer's countdown truly worthwhile.

(Y/N) had spent the past few hours at Camp Crystal Lake trying to immerse herself in the counselor experience. She had met a few fellow counselors and had expected them to share her enthusiasm for the camp and its mission. However, it quickly became apparent that some of them were taking the opportunity rather lightly.

As she watched them goof around and neglect their duties, (Y/N) felt a growing sense of frustration. She believed in making a positive impact and taking her responsibilities seriously. Unable to contain her irritation, she decided to take a walk in the woods, hoping that the embrace of nature would help clear her mind.

The forest, lush and serene, seemed to welcome her with open arms. The rustling leaves and the gentle sound of a distant stream had a calming effect on her racing thoughts. Lost in her own world, she walked deeper into the woods, not noticing that she had strayed from the well-worn paths.

Suddenly, she collided with a solid figure, nearly stumbling backward. She looked up, expecting to find another counselor, but her heart lurched at the sight before her—a tall, imposing man wearing a hockey mask. Fear flickered in her eyes as her instincts kicked in, telling her that something was off about this encounter.

"Who are you?" she managed to stammer, her heart racing.

The man remained silent, his eyes hidden behind the mask, but there was an eerie intensity to his gaze that sent shivers down her spine. He didn't seem to be a camp counselor, not dressed like any of them. She took a step back, ready to make a hasty retreat, but something held her in place—a strange sensation that seemed to tingle in the air.

Then, a realization struck her—she couldn't hear the familiar ticking of her soul timer. Panic gnawed at the edges of her mind as she glanced at her wrist. The numbers on her soul timer, which had counted down for so long, were frozen at zero. It was as if time itself had come to a standstill.

Trepidation mixed with confusion as she looked at the man before her. His soul timer was also frozen, the numbers stuck at zero. She couldn't comprehend what was happening. Was he her soulmate? The man who had been elusive and unknown until this very moment?

"(Y/N)," she whispered to herself, her voice a mixture of awe and disbelief. The soul timer, which had been a constant companion, was now a still, unchanging mark on her wrist.

The man took a step forward, and (Y/N) felt a mixture of fear and curiosity. Who was he? What did this frozen soul timer mean?

Before she could react, he reached up to touch the mask on his face, revealing more of his features. But it was his eyes that held her attention—the depth of emotion in those eyes was something she couldn't quite place. There was pain, there was something hauntingly human in his gaze.

As he stepped closer, (Y/N)'s heart pounded in her chest. She could feel a strange connection, an unspoken bond between them. Time seemed to stretch as they stood there, a silent understanding passing between them.

In that moment, (Y/N) realized that her journey at Camp Crystal Lake had taken an unexpected turn—one that defied all logic and reason. As she stood face to face with this mysterious man in the hockey mask, a cascade of questions flooded her mind, and the mysteries of their frozen soul timers entwined their fates in ways neither of them could have foreseen.

[sevlinop]

20 Fic Questions

Thanks for tagging me @angelosearch! I've tagged a lot of people recently, so instead of tagging anyone specifically I'll just leave this open for whoever's interested!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 36!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 67,772.

3. What fandoms do you write for? So many. I'd say Final Fantasy, Persona, and Fire Emblem are the big ones though. I'd like to write more Zelda soon!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? -"Nighttime Escapades" (219), "Maya and Tatsuya Offline" (104), "Link Visit's Sidon" (73), "Clumsy Frieren" (66), "A Port In a Storm" (64).

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes, always! I love reading them, and they make my day! :) Only exception is occasionally I'll get spam or something.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? "From Up On Her Throne" Is my darkest fic so far. An Ultimecia character study, so not exactly uplifting lol.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Most of what I write is happy or uplifting. One of my Frieren fics, "Anytime, Anywhere". Is probably my fluffiest happy one.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Almost never, only time was this person (or bot.) who kept posting bible verses on any fics with LGBT pairings. Was mostly annoying because the comments were so damn long it took forever to scroll down to the delete button lol.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? That's most of the fics I've written! At the moment though I'm gravitating away from it, kinda burned out.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? No offense to anyone who likes them but I just really don't care for crossover fics for the most part, hahaha. The most I may do someday is like, a crossover between two FF games or something. Which barely counts in my book.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes!! I recently had my Apothecary Diaries fic, "Nighttime Escapades" translated into Russian. Still so happy about that!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I haven't, closest I've had is a beta reader. I'd be open to trying it though!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? Zelink or Cloti! Though I'll admit shipping isn't the primary reason I write fics.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Too many to name honestly. I've written plenty of stuff I've never posted, most of what I've posted the past few months I've been back on Ao3 is stuff I wrote a while ago.

16. What are your writing strengths? The big picture part of writing is where I think I shine. Like establishing the main theme of my story, a character's central conflict, interesting broad ideas I want to explore, etc. I'm definitely a discovery writer mores than a planner.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Honestly I struggle with stuff like descriptions, making a scene progress naturally, giving characters unique voices. All the stuff that's more nitty gritty, it doesn't come naturally to me. Oh, and plenty of grammatical mistakes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I probably would try to avoid it! I only speak English and wouldn't want to just use google translate or something. So unless I know someone who speaks the language, I wouldn't include it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? I think Naruto on FFN years and years ago, or The Legend of Zelda.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? It's very bold to claim since it's not far along at all, but already love "A Poisoned History."! Though "Maya and Tatsuya Offline" is my best smut fic, since I did a good job with writing the buildup.

[nagargent]

toa anniversary munday!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Nic

Pronouns: they/them

Birthday (no year): 14th July

Where are you from? What is your time zone? The UK (BST)

Roleplay experience: I started around like '06 via msn or stuff doing Harry Potter or Naruto rp with my friends.

Got any pets?: Catcat!

Favorite time of year: Summer - I hate the heat but like, I need the sunlight to keep myself together

Some interests and things you like: Reading, writing, languages and linguistics, astrophysics, mythology, history, animals uh... I find almost everything interesting and it definitely keeps me awake a lot.

Some funfacts & trivia about you: I fell asleep at a scout camp once in the toilets and didn't hear the tannoy that was sent out for me. My grandfather taught me how to stroke bees. I love water/the oceans/seas/rivers but never learned how to swim. Peas scare me. I'm pretty good at -- and rather competitive about trivia games and quizzes.

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play?: The Sims! Dragon Age, Persona, Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, Stardew Valley, Wildermyth

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Fire or Fairy and I just think Dreepy is very endearing.

How did you get into Fire Emblem?: I saw a review of it on a news channel and decided to try it out. Then I became obsessed and haven't looked back since.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? I've watched playthroughs and read scripts for all but I played about half of fe5, fe7 (lyn and eliwood modes only though), fe8, 3/4 of fe9 before my emulator crashed, fe10 and everything post Awakening.

First Fire Emblem game: Fates

Favorite Fire Emblem game: Either Genealogy, Radiant Dawn or Three Houses

Any Fire Emblem crushes?: Ayra, Mercedes, Camilla, Lucia, Diamant, Jeorge, Sonya and oh my god I hate myself for this but Sylvain.

If you’ve played the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Chrom but now I'd probably opt for Libra or Henry? - Fates: Takumi before I knew what an S support was. Kaze as a neutral pick, Subaki for Hoshido and Niles for Nohr - Three Houses: Dimitri or Mercedes ? - Engage: Yunaka was my first!

Favorite Fire Emblem class: DARK FLIER. but also any pegasus class is so chefs kiss for me

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class? I'd want to be a pegasus knight or a mage but I could see myself being an armoured unit tbh

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? LION PRIDE LETSSSSSGOOOOOO

If you were an Engage character, which Emblem would you Engage with? Micaiah :D

How did you find TOA? I just searched the fire emblem rp tags on a whim one day and found the group. Had a nosy around and was really impressed and excited to join :)

Current TOA muses: Elincia, Goldmary and Julia

Who was your first TOA muse? If you don’t have them anymore, could you see yourself picking them up again? Lincie! :D

Have you had any other TOA muses? I've had quite a lot um... Eirika, Ares, Orochi, Mercedes, Mae, Manuela, f!Shez, Macuil, Lana, Forrest, Constance, Tana & Celine

Do you think you have a type of character you gravitate towards? I do feel a big pull to healers usually? Or pegasus knights.

What do you believe you enjoy writing the most? Character's bonding and forming relationships.

Favorite TOA-related memory: Unlocked 2021 Cha Cha Slide

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔 Usually like noah but with a t but sometimes i call it twaaah just to be silly.

Got any delusions that didn’t see the light of day that you’d like to share? 😉 Tatiana, Safy, Rodrigue, Altena and Yunaka all have either blogs or partial apps. Of them Tatiana and Rodrigue whilst still outliers could potentially hit me with a steel chair at some point in the future.

[ofdusk]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

tagging: you.

Name: alina

Pronouns: they/she/he

Birthday (no year): octrober 4th

Where are you from? What is your time zone? georgia, EST !

Roleplay experience: since i was like? nine?

Got any pets? two dogs & my cat, melon!

Favorite time of year: spring or autumn

Some interests and things you like: cosplay, sleeping

Some funfacts & trivia about you: ive been wearing glasses since i was three :'D (my prescription is a +7.5 for those who Know)

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? league of legends (sigh), devil may cry, hsr and (formerly) genshin, nier -- i've dabbled in a little bit of everything

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: big flying enjoyer, but i like a lot of them. i also have a number of favs but my horsegirl years have left ponyta & rapidash with a very special place in my heart

How did you get into Fire Emblem? watched over someone's shoulder when i was an young child (i think they were playing POR..?) and now. well.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? i've played every game post awakening (+ sacstones), though i've read the scripts & watched playthroughs for fe4, 5, 6, 7, 11, & 12

First Fire Emblem game: that i played? honest to god i do not remember (probably awakening)

Favorite Fire Emblem game: narratively, genealogy, but my heart belongs to conquest

Any Fire Emblem crushes? girl i do Not want to talk about it we will be here all day

If you’ve played the following games, who was your first S support? - Awakening: chrom- Fates: azura...leo every time after tho- Three Houses: dimitri- Engage: diamant

Favorite Fire Emblem class: I FUCKIGN LOVE PEGASUS KNIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class? probably a bow knight... low stat growth archer that everyone benches by chpt 3

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? i live and die blue lions godbless

If you were an Engage character, which Emblem would you Engage with? take a guess man (corrin)

How did you find TOA? i was going through it and reaaaaaally missed rping so i just. took to twitter in search of fire emblem rp groups and... at six am.... i sent in a reserve......

Current TOA muses: f!corrin, lucina, and priscilla

Who was your first TOA muse? If you don’t have them anymore, could you see yourself picking them up again? probably the greatest outlier in all of my toa muse history, my first muse was sylvain! honest to god if i picked him up again i pray somebody would call in a wellness check for me LMFAO

Have you had any other TOA muses? i have written sylvain, rinea, eirika, ash, erinys, nyna, and tailtiu within toa so far (sobs)

Do you think you have a type of character you gravitate towards? women.

What do you believe you enjoy writing the most? i really enjoy writing complex relationship dynamics, and find i have the most fun picking apart the way a character's experiences shape their view and approach of other people

Favorite TOA-related memory: if i'm being completely honest, i don't think i could pick one. perhaps my very first arena when my team discussed a hypothetical grocery store trip between our muses for some reason (team ralf i love you)

Got any delusions that didn’t see the light of day in TOA that you’d like to share? :3

[artvmisia]

TAG GAME

GET TO KNOW ME :) or don't lmao

I was tagged by @lovememadly92, thank you for the tag!

NAME:

I prefer not to use my real name on the internet, so you can abbreviate my url and call me artemis.

PRONOUNS:

She/her

STAR SIGN:

I'm a Libra and I love having my birthday during spooky season.

FANDOMS:

I have a lot of interests but would only say I'm a true fan of certain series. When it comes to TV/movies, my current obsession is with The Boys in the Boat, I also enjoy Band of Brothers a lot (I had a whole BoB sideblog for 6 months in 2013). I watch the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions at least once a year. I have really enjoyed House of the Dragon (I'm a big fan of the ASoIaF books and read Fire and Blood), The Queen's Gambit, The Mandalorian, Andor, and A Series of Unfortunate Events (major childhood favorite), to list some shows from recent years. My favorite movies of all time are both Wes Anderson movies: Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

I'm also a gamer, and Kingdom Hearts, The Legend of Zelda, and Fire Emblem are among my top favorites.

FAVOURITE COLOUR:

Pastel pink, and black.

FAVOURITE SONG:

I don't have a singular favorite song (does anybody?), but I do have ones that always put me in a good mood: Baby Good Night by B1A4 (kpop) and Bitter Song to Sugar Step by Unison Square Garden (jpop)

FAVOURITE AUTHOR (OF ANYTHING READABLE - BOOKS, FANFICS, ZINES, WEBTOONS, WHATEVER!):

I don't really have a favorite author these days but if I had to answer, Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler is the one whose writing style I admire the most and has continued to influence my artistry from childhood on.

FAVOURITE FIC TYPE:

Mutual pining? One-sided is also good although I don't read many fics.

FAVOURITE HOLIDAY:

Halloween and Christmas.

HOBBIES:

Gaming, reading, occasionally making art. I call myself a writer but haven't written anything in over a year so I need to get on that.

FUN FACTS ABOUT ME:

I've technically been on tumblr since 2011/2012, but after around 2016 I gave up my original blog and jumped around a few others. Back to multifandom/personal blogging now and hoping it'll stick.

I was never a tumblr content creator until now, the first and last time I made a gif was in 2013. Boys in the Boat fandom, you're welcome.

Non-fandom interests of mine: ornithology, historical costuming, Victorian/Gilded Age/Edwardian social history

Tagging my bitb mutuals, @foxhollow18, @sidraofthewildflowers, @dustyjumpwjngs, @gnfard, @xxluckystrike

[omgkalyppso]

19, 20, and 21 for the fire emblem asks please!

o(*￣︶￣*)o Thank you for the ask! adskfjhalkd You really picked The Hard Ones, it looks like.

19. Come up with an idea for a new FE game!

Hm. What story elements of these games do I like? asjdgfajsdhg

I want to play a dragon again, is that allowed? Oh, and a bit like Esc/aflowne. How about Fire Emblem: Ancient Knight?

We have a village of manaketes, dragons in the sky, humans on the ground, and maybe 6 characters introduced. The protagonist, two of his friends (red and green knight coded), his sister who is a queen or high priest or something, a short old man who is mostly there as exposition, and his uncle who is a red dragon so we know he's probably going to be evil.

It's the protagonist's birthday, twenty or a hundred, pick a fun coming of age for a manakete.

You can train with your friends ahead of a ceremony where you'll be granted a Special Dragonstone because of your association to your sister, you can explore the temple where tales of a great manakete of ages past defeated three great armies to protect your people. This manakete had some symbol associated with themself, and their powers of divination. They foretold that one day, some thousands of years from the time of their prophecy, that a dragon would have this same symbol upon their face at the time of their coming of age, and would spell the doom of their kind. The champion of the past often lamented that there was nothing they, themself could do to stop it, and so they spent all their many years bringing their people to prosperity.

Your sister confided in you that when your uncle was born that many suspected he would be the one to portend this fate, but it hadn't been so.

Your friends will ask if you're worried about it.

And well, you should be. You have your ceremony and this symbol either glows in the air or marks itself on your skin, and your uncle in an effort to save your people will try to take your life. Your sister will sacrifice herself to save you, pressing Her Dragonstone into you (mouth, open wound, magically into your chest? whatever we're comfortable with), and when you take a step, the earth around you falls away. You can hold your friends to you as you go, you watch your uncle dive into the blackness after you.

And then we're several thousand years in the past. Help the leader of some country make peace with the local manaketes while fighting off invaders, preparing for the armies you know will come / that you prophesize, realizing that you are the ancient knight, and that the greatest of your enemies will attempt to crush you with the aid of a red dragon.

One of the outposts you find is a volcanic, harsh territory, and here you recognize the shapes of the temple where you were once a boy. Where you will build your altar and rest your heart / Dragonstone after your passing, for yourself to find. Your people were never doomed, you have no idea what they're doing without you. Given the opportunity, would you go back? Who would these people, and generations of your kind have to look to, if not to you and the legends you're capable of.

At least one big failure because tails get embellished in history. You don't always know what the future will bring.

You can change your class, but only manaketes can see through the fog of war and maybe some other neat tricks.

20. Any ideas for crossovers or aus?

I still want something like an awakening sequel if I'm honest. With as few as possible character references or cameos. I just want to go back to Ylisse and Plegia and find out the future of the Taguel people!

That's not really an answer. Um. Fates AU where the time travelling trio have plot relevance.

21. Characters from different FE games you would like to see interact? How do you think it would go?

I'd like to see Panne interact with someone from a beast race whose people are thriving. I liked @recurringwriter putting Virion and Lorenz in the same orbit, they make good friends / rivals. I'd like Mustafa and Nader (and Seteth) to sit down for tea. I'd like Eir to meet a bunch of the three houses cast, I sometimes think of her x Lorenz.

[mariacallous]

Earlier this month, OpenAI’s board abruptly fired its popular CEO, Sam Altman. The ouster shocked the tech world and rankled Altman’s loyal employees, the vast majority of whom threatened to quit unless their boss was reinstated. After a chaotic five-day exile, Altman got his old job back—with a reconfigured, all-male board overseeing him, led by ex-Salesforce CEO and former Twitter board chair Bret Taylor.

Right now, only three people sit on this provisional OpenAI board. (More are expected to join.) Immediately prior to the failed coup, there were six. Altman and OpenAI cofounders Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever sat alongside Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo; AI safety researcher Helen Toner; and Tasha McCauley, a robotics engineer who leads a 3D-mapping startup.

The specifics of the boardroom overthrow attempt remain a mystery. Of those six, D’Angelo is the only one left standing. In addition to Taylor, the other new board member is former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers, a living emblem of American capitalism who notoriously said in 2005 that innate differences in the sexes may explain why fewer women succeed in STEM careers (he later apologized).

While Altman, Brockman, and Sutskever all still work at OpenAI despite their absence from the board, Toner and McCauley—the two women who sat on the board—are now cut off from the company. As the artificial intelligence startup moves forward, the stark gender imbalance of its revamped board illustrates the precarious position of women in AI.

“What this underscores is that there aren’t enough women in the mix to begin with,” says Margaret O’Mara, a University of Washington history professor and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. For O’Mara, the new board reflects Silicon Valley’s power structure, signaling that it’s “back to business” for the world’s most influential AI company—if back to business means a return to the Big Tech boys’ club. (Worth noting that when it was founded in 2015, OpenAI only had two board members: Altman and Elon Musk.)

Prominent AI researcher Timnit Gebru, who was fired by Google in late 2020 over a dispute about a research paper involving critical analysis of large language models, has been floated in the media as a potential board candidate. She is, indeed, a leader in responsible AI; post-Google, she founded the Distributed AI Research Institute, which describes itself as a space where “AI is not inevitable, its harms are preventable.” If OpenAI wanted to signal that it is still committed to AI safety, Gebru would be a savvy choice. Also an impossible one: She does not want a seat on the board of directors.

“It’s repulsive to me,” says Gebru. “I honestly think there’s more of a chance that I would go back to Google—I mean, they won’t have me and I won’t have them—than me going to OpenAI.”

The lack of women in the AI field has been an issue for years; in 2018, WIRED estimated that only 12 percent of leading machine learning researchers were women. In 2020, the World Economic Forum found that only 26 percent of data and AI positions in the workforce are held by women. “AI is very imbalanced in terms of gender,” says Sasha Luccioni, an AI ethics researcher at HuggingFace. “It’s not a very welcoming field for women.”

One of the areas where women are flourishing within the AI industry is in the world of ethics and safety, which Luccioni views as comparatively inclusive. She also sees it as significant that the ousted board members reportedly clashed with Altman over OpenAI’s mission. According to The New York Times, Toner and Altman had bickered over a research paper she published with coauthors in October that Altman interpreted as critical of the company. Luccioni believes that in addition to highlighting gender disparities, this incident also demonstrates how voices advocating for ethical considerations are getting hushed.

“I don’t think they got fired because they’re women,” Luccioni says. “I think they got fired because they highlighted an issue.” (Technically, both women agreed to leave the board.)

No matter what actually spurred the conflict at OpenAI, the way in which it was resolved, with Altman back at the helm and his dissenters out, has played into a narrative: Altman emerging as victor, flanked by loyalists and boosters. His board is now stocked with men eager to commercialize OpenAI’s products, not rein in its technological ambition. (One recent headline capturing this perspective: “AI Belongs to the Capitalists Now.”) Caution espoused by female leadership at least appears to have lost.

O’Mara sees the all-male OpenAI board as a sign of a swinging cultural pendulum. Just as some Silicon Valley tech companies have been working to correct their woeful track records in diversity and consider their environmental footprints, others have recoiled against “wokism” in various forms, instead espousing hard-nosed beliefs about work culture.

“It’s this sentiment around, ‘OK, we’re done being touchy-feely,’” she says. “Whether it’s Elon Musk’s ‘extremely hardcore’ demands or Marc Andreessen’s recent manifesto, the idea is that if you’re calling for people to take a pause and consider potential harms or complaining about the lack of representation, that is orthogonal to their business.”

OpenAI is reportedly planning to expand the board soon, and speculation is rampant about who will join. Its conspicuously all-male and all-white makeup certainly did not go unnoticed, and OpenAI is already looking at prospects who might placate some critics. According to a Bloomberg report, philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were all considered but not selected.

At the time of publication, OpenAI had not responded to repeated requests for comment.

For many onlookers, it’s crucial to choose someone who will advocate balancing ambition with safety and responsibility—someone whose line of inquiry might match that of Toner, for example, rather than someone who simply looks like her. “The sort of people that this board should be bringing back are people who are thinking about responsible or trustworthy technology, and safety,” says Kay Firth-Butterfield, executive director of the Centre for Trustworthy Technology. “There are a lot of women out there who are experts in that particular field.”

As OpenAI searches for new board members, it may meet resistance from prospects wary of the real power dynamics within the company. There are already concerns about tokenization. “I just feel like the person on the board would have a horrible time because they will constantly be fighting an uphill battle,” says Gebru. “Used as a token and not to really make any kind of difference.”

She’s not the only person within the world of AI ethics to question whether new board members would be marginalized. “I wouldn’t touch that board with a ten-foot pole,” Luccioni says. She feels she couldn’t recommend a friend take that sort of position, either. “Such stress!”

Meredith Whittaker, president of messaging app Signal, sees value in bringing someone to the board who isn’t just another startup founder, but she doubts that adding a single woman or person of color will set them up to affect meaningful change. Unless the expanded board is able to genuinely challenge Altman and his allies, packing it with people who tick off demographic boxes to satisfy calls for diversity could amount to little more than “diversity theater.”

“We’re not going to solve the issue—that AI is in the hands of concentrated capital at present—by simply hiring more diverse people to fulfill the incentives of concentrated capital,” Whittaker says. “I worry about a discourse that focuses on diversity and then sets folks up in rooms with [expletive] Larry Summers without much power.”

[redd956]

I wanted to know if you are interested in writing worldbuilding prompts for naming months and weekdays? I am creating holidays for a peninsula of a fictional continent and I didn’t want to just use Earth months or weekdays since it’s not set on Earth. I don’t see a lot of guides for writing modernized fantasy setting names either, they were all “old fantasy” in nature. I just wanted to ask since I am stuck on naming months. Thank you!

Yes I do have worldbuilding prompts and advice for naming months, weekdays, and holidays!

To be honest there isn't much of a difference in naming in them between "old" and modernized fantasy.

Humans aren't very creative at thinking up names. You'd be surprised how many names are just what that place is twice (Sahara Desert = Desert Desert), and one quick Google search will reveal many of the atrocious American and British cities.

Names themselves often have a bit of history, big or small. I personally like to use language or cultural aspects of a society to decide up the names for seasons, months, and weekdays. But I don't always follow the expected norms, the dystopia I'm worldbuilding named all their months after their world's pop culture references after they grew tired of the originals.

Anyway sorry for the rambling beginning out. I'll give you the prompts and worldbuilding questions

Prompts & Worldbuilding Questions: Seasons, Months, Days of the Week

First figure out what that society counts as days and nights. Do they even have days or nights?

Decide how long the years are and how many months, days of the weeks, and seasons there are.

Are there themes in naming them? (The original westen calender months went by numbers, but later a few months named after Roman figures were added)

Are the months named after their average weather or conditions? Are they named after important figurines, great inventions, or wars? Have their names changed overtime?

Are the days named after societal value? Are they numbered? How do the weekdays differ in schedule? (Saturday is not the same as Monday to us)

Names don't have to be traditional they can be really formal or different. Fire emblem has interestingly named months.

Are their names and formations in relation to their year? What decides the year?

Who originally decided upon the names? Did religion or science of the time play a role?

How does language (or past languages) affect the calender names? Is their slang for the days or months?

Did any outside influence affect the names and placement? Are there different words for different regions?

I like to think what happens usually on said month or day in the society and go from there.

Sometimes there doesn't have to be much thought to name at all, and you can just say because I like it. Sometimes the name comes first to me, than the named creation.

I hope this suffices, I'm not really sure about what else I could add, I may make some more prompts or posts about it later though if something better strikes me

[featherquillpen]

Vassal and Liege: A FE3H Meta

"So please call upon me when you walk alone at night. And even when you go out in the day, please tell me where you are going, and whom you are meeting."

—Dedue to Dimitri

"And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God"

—Ruth 1:16

I wanted to compare and contrast the two vassal-liege relationships in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Dimitri/Dedue and Edelgard/Hubert. They have some obvious commonalities: Dimitri and Hubert follow their lieges everywhere, they're overprotective, they're ride-or-die for life. But there's a lot about these two fealty relationships that's very different.

Consent

A huge difference between the two fealty relationships is how consensual they are. Neither of the relationships are 100% consensual in their power dynamic, but Edelgard/Hubert is far more consensual than Dimitri/Dedue. I don't mean that Dimitri is forcing Dedue into a power dynamic, by any means. Rather, for both Hubert and Dedue, the world and the culture that they live in has placed them into a vassal position, but that coercion is much stronger in Dedue's case than in Hubert's.

In Hubert's case, there's some amount of coercion he was raised from an extremely young age to be Edelgard's vassal. But when the Insurrection happened, we can infer that he was freed from that obligation as far as any of the nobles in Enbarr were concerned. At that point, I don't think anyone expected of him to be the left hand of a princess who was just a political puppet anyway. It's very clear in his supports with Edelgard and his B support with Dorothea that Hubert is free to leave her service at any time, and he chose to walk this path with her out of personal devotion because he believes in the vision she laid out before him.

I think for this reason, Edelgard is able to accept Hubert calling her Lady Edelgard and Her Majesty all the time and all his other little acts of service, in a way Dimitri struggles with; she understands he's choosing it. There's almost a BDSM feeling to it, where they have chosen their roles in this dynamic. The other Black Eagles all call her Edelgard without repercussion (contrast the Blue Lions who all feel pressure to call Dimitri "Your Highness"); Hubert chooses to call her Lady Edelgard and Her Majesty, much like a submissive may choose to call a dominant "Mistress" as part of a scene to symbolize the power exchange.

This is not to say that the relationship between Hubert and Edelgard is 100% consensual. Up until Hubert was ten or so, he was coerced into this dynamic with her, and it's hard to deny that that history plays a role in his choice to recreate that dynamic later.

But with Dimitri and Dedue, it's totally different. Dedue is being forced into the vassal role from multiple directions. Most importantly, he's liable to get hate crimed to death the moment he's no longer Dimitri's vassal. There's also the fact that Dedue owes Dimitri a life debt, and there's all manner of Faerghan culture he's internalized about what that means. Dedue hardly has a choice other than to follow Dimitri, and I think that that is a big part of why Dimitri is very uncomfortable with how Dedue treats him, with formality and constant service. Dedue didn't freely consent to this dynamic, and neither did Dimitri. It's very clear that they both wish their relationship were one of equals instead.

[description: Dedue says, "Are you dissatisfied with me, your Highness? Please do not hesitate to correct me."]

It's hard to imagine Hubert ever saying this to Edelgard. He is her vassal, but he exercises his own discretion about how to carry out her orders, as he explains in his B support with Ferdinand. Dedue and Dimitri both know that Dedue doesn't feel the same freedom to exercise his own discretion; later in their C support, Dimitri says he "gives leave" for Dedue to go. In his A support with Edelgard, Hubert is able to say that their relationship is not about titles, just about personal devotion, present tense. In his A support with Dimitri, Dedue says that titles and roles are essential in their relationship, but he dearly hopes that that will one day change, future tense.

Justice

Both Hubert and Dedue, like I said, were coerced to different degrees by the system they live in to become vassals. They both deserve justice for what was done to them. The other big difference between them is what their lieges are able to do to give them that justice.

Dimitri clearly wants justice for Dedue. They discuss in their A support that they both want to see a world where Duscurians and Fodlaners stand as equals. But while Dimitri's intentions are completely honorable, his methods can never actually achieve that goal. Dimitri aims to find the true culprits behind the Tragedy (the Agarthans), get revenge, and show the whole Kingdom the evidence that Duscur was innocent. That's not a bad step, but it's far from enough. The Duscurians lost their most fertile land to Faerghus in the genocide against them, and the Church still teaches that only Fodlaners are blessed by the goddess. The only way to achieve true equity between Duscurians and Fodlaners, and thus between Dedue and Dimitri, is to give the Duscurians their land back, and to end all the xenophobic doctrines of the Church. Dimitri shows no indication that he understands those things are necessary, let alone any intention to do them. But without them, just protesting Duscur's innocence, even with clear evidence, is slapping a bandage on a gushing wound. It's tragic because Dimitri has the power to enact the real change that would help Dedue, but not the perspective to know how to use it.

Hubert was raised to be a vassal because of the noble house he was born into: the Vestras are the Crestless, landless counterparts to the royal, Crested line of Hresvelgs, raised from earliest childhood to serve them in vassalage. Hubert never asked Edelgard for justice for how he was raised. But Edelgard gave it to him anyway. Her goals include dismantling the nobility and ending the supremacy of Crests. Without nobility and Crests, there's no noble House Vestra, and no need to raise any more Vestras to be vassals. Edelgard is out to break any semblance of a shackle binding Hubert to her, and her vision for Adrestia and Fodlan is one where no child ever again has to be raised for servitude the way Hubert was.

[cat-denied]

i think the best fire emblem game names are the jugdral ones, i.e. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War and Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. let’s break this down.

1. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

this one rules firstly because it’s really long and weird. in a series with game names that evoke fantasy tropes and magic (like “blazing blade” and “shadow dragon” and “sacred stones”, or even something like “path of radiance,” or “mystery of the emblem,” which could be a nancy drew novel title), this game name easily stands out the most in the list. like okay, fantasy, fantasy, mystery, magic, artefacts...Genealogy. you know what i associate genealogy with?? my mom looking at ancestry dot com for fun and trying to collate our family history a few years back. i do NOT associate it with magic boys with swords and tragedy and pseudo-medieval political machinations. too bad that’s what you get!

secondly? it’s fully accurate. i mean i know game names are usually relevant to their games (because otherwise whats the fuckin point) but like. “shadow dragon and the blade of light” specifically calls out 1 character (the shadow dragon) and 1 magic artifact (the blade of light). three houses is about 3 houses but you only pick one of them and the only relevance it has to the story is “you pick between 3 groups” and “there are 3 groups in the game that fight each other.” big deal. that’s also true of, like, arguments i have with my family over what game we want to play at thanksgiving.

genealogy of the holy war? you cannot escape the fact that this game is a genealogy of a holy war. 100% of the game is dedicated to being a genealogy of a holy war. (if you’re not familiar: the first half of the game follows a dude named Sigurd as he gets embroiled in political conspiracy as a scapegoat by an evil cult that’s manipulating the government. the second half follows his son (and the kids of all his friends from the first generation) some ~20 years later as they go and fight the evil cult that’s now fully taken over the government.) you wield weapons blessed by your gods and use them to defeat a cult that wields dark magic and a weapon blessed by their (evil) god. this war is really fuckin holy. and hey two generations (AND the pairings in the first generation alter the stats of kids in the second) where it matters who your parents are - thats a genealogy baby! we did it! that’s the name of the game! and it’s Everywhere.

2. Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

what the fuck. what the fuck is this. “thracia”?? that isn’t a real word. all the other fire emblem titles are real words. why is 776 there?? is it seven hundred seventy six?? is it 7:76, the worst time of the day?? is it like 7.76?? it’s the fifth game in the series!! not the 776th one!! no other fire emblem games have numbers in the titles!! what the fuck is going on!?!?

10/10. no notes.

[card-queen]

You have a lot of fun and colorful OCs! Which one is your favorite? Which one is the earliest one you came up with?

Why thank you! My favourites tend to flit as there's aspects that really strike me as refreshing at all different times!

My current soft-spots are the main character from my detective game. Fun, flirty and utterly chaotic Stella:

...and Cas, the main character from my fantasy project. Who's a good-natured black sheep that kinda wants to challenge the world but prove he's a good person.

As for who came first... I've kind of been working on all different projects (and never completing them~) for many, many years now. Of these current projects, the two brothers, Cas & Conoric are my oldest and most worked on. They've changed a LOT over time as the story has evolved and my needs changed.

Back in it's early stages, I had a more straightforward Fire Emblem style story. Cas was Cullen back then, a Prince from Ethelia. The problems within the country were less well-defined back then but they didn't need to be because he was the Prince and would feel a strong measure of guilt and duty any time his people suffered. Eventually, after some arguing too, I came around to the line of thinking that making him a Prince was a bad call. Not for any Fire Emblem-y reasons, but more because you couldn't really escalate problems much higher than that. He had and still has an older brother, Tristan, who would take all the heat for securing lineage and whatnot, but he was still a Prince. Who could reasonable get in his way or tell him no?

I dialed things back a great deal and ended up with working on the country of Ethelia, the conflicts within and without, the role the country played on the world stage, relations with other nations and recent history for the world and each country. From there, I developed a job within Ethelia that would be a kind of sheriff's department, keeping the country safe from all the monsters & magic, and handling the safety of people within their regions and settling disputes. The country had recently put to bed a civil uprising that ended uncleanly: the rebel leaders were not confirmed dead and were rumoured to be in a neighbouring country, safe and biding time. So unrest still remained and people who worked these peacekeeper jobs would start dwindling in number as the jobs started to be too many and too unrewarding. The more adventurous would go overseas to fight in the Crusades (which is an endless war against a constantly regenerating monster threat in a desolate area), join their family business that they were far too good for a few years earlier, or join the many growing factions still loyal to the rebels.

Prince Cullen and his version of Ethelia's story was about guilt, accepting responsibility and making things right. He was someone inadvertently at fault for harm but not directly. This SUCKED because it meant that any retribution might be unfair to him because he wasn't really at fault. How can a character grow, learn and make things right if they aren't really responsible for the bad they do? It was too muddy -- it had to go. Cas has a more simple story: he idolised his brother but his brother wanted to go to war. His brother was denied the option of going to war because he was too young, so he spitefully waited to be old enough to join the Crusades. He tells a young Cas where he's going, promises to return but never does. The 11-year old Cas starts lashing out himself, wanting his big brother back and ends up falling in with a street gang that has strong connections to a thieves brotherhood. The gang grooms him into becoming a member, using Tristan as bait and offering him the chance to follow after his brother. Cas runs with the gang for a few years, being a spy and thief in his hometown. One day he's caught and his world comes crashing down. Good fortune intervenes as an injured beast collides with the wagon transporting him and the other thieves that have also been caught to the county's prison. His gang friends take the opportunity to escape, while Cas is more focused on the wagon's driver and horses, who are hurt. The man hunting the beast joins Cas in helping the wounded, and it becomes a turning point for him. From this point on, he vows to be a better person and do right. He wears gloves all the time to hide the brand on his right hand, a sign worn by all members of the thieves brotherhood. He has been painfully open about his past ties but it more often than not, draws suspicion and derision. He is constantly battling with himself and his reputation, trying to make things right and prove that he is more than his childhood mistakes.

Conoric has had a similar reworking but the theme has always been the same: he doesn't belong. Cas and Conoric has never been fully brothers. They were step-brothers in the first iteration and Conoric is adopted in this newer iteration. They have been opposites but close nonetheless. Conoric has always been quiet and introspective, and in the first version of the story, Cullen was also introspective but more of a people-pleaser. It was hard to right them because it often meant that one or both of them was brooding. Now, the more boisterous and lionhearted Cas is a counterpart and companion to Conoric. He gives Conoric space and time to think and brood on subjects while he himself goes out into the field to see things for himself or take in new information. They have a strong partnership and understanding that comes from growth -- they didn't understand each other when they first met and honestly couldn't stand the way the other was. Now Conoric can be frail, jealous, and snide but also hopeful, mentally resilient and quick-witted to counter Cas' boisterous, reckless, charismatic and determined nature.

Something I try and put into all my stories because I LOVE SEEING IT is conversations that are quick-paced back-and-fourths about discussing ideas, possibilities and just theory-crafting.

Stella & her gang are at the heart of a murder mystery plot that may be related to her past, the events that shook the town many years ago or an alleged serial killer who may or may not be a dead man.

Cas & Conoric find themselves tumbling into a deeper mystery as they find an abandoned campsite full of dead men that wasn't there yesterday, a woodcutter's house undisturbed except for the three dead hidden in a garden ditch, an attack that happened on a manorhouse outside of Cas' old hometown during the night and a few other things that all happened within the space of two days.

Okay, I'm done talking now.

I'd love to hear about your story & character too! Please share your own favourites and how they've evolved over time!

[francostrider]

Random Encounters in RPGs

Every once in a blue moon, I want to play a Japanese style of RPG. It is kind of hard to explain why, considering the hit or miss history I’ve had with the genre. Final Fantasy VII was not only my introduction to JRPGs, but to a lot of terms in RPGs in general, from leveling up to turned based systems and so on. But after hearing about the more western styles of RPGs, and how you could create a character and backstory and so on, I remember one night playing FFX thinking to myself “I really wish I was playing that.” But then games like Chrono Trigger, the Fire Emblem series, Golden Sun, Tales of Vesperia, and some of the Dragon Quest games have become some of my favorites.

But there is one aspect that I have been wanting to accept, but never really could: Random Encounters. Come to think of it, many of the above examples do not have them (even the versions of Dragon Quests VII and VIII do not have them). There is something kind of pure about them, as the combat runs on dice rolls and it would only make sense for encounters to follow suit. It can also be a good test of resource management, having enough potions and recovery items and deciding whether or not to use any right now. Yet, it tests my patience more than the actual combat system itself. I am fine with a standard turn based system. It’s kind of like how Doom is still very playable despite its age; it’s standard, but easy to pick up and play and still fun. But when I am barraged by them endlessly, it starts to get numbing after a while. The ultimate goal is to make these fights easier with leveling up, but that does not make it any less dull. I am here for challenge as well as story, after all.

And this is a shame, because this is a barrier to a lot of highly regarded games. Breath of Fire, Phantasy Star, most Dragon Quest games, have random encounters, and I want to play them, but I am growing more and more impatient with them. And it can be anxiety inducing, running through a maze, just trying to pick up an ite-- BAM THE 70TH SLIME IS OUT TO GET YOU. This one dungeon seems to have an infinite number of these creatures.

And that last point is really what opened up the true issue I have with these random encounters. You are given no context to why they are in that spot. A lot of this has to do with graphical limitations and there is only so much you could put on a map back in the day. But a lot of JRPGs still hold onto this tradition. Big empty room, and suddenly this 20 foot behemoth comes out of the blue.

The big counter point for this is the Tales series, namely the ones I’ve played through, Vesperia and Arise. I have given Arise grief, but it does encounters well. Now, we are not talking about whether it is turned based or not, merely the way you enter these combat encounters. The enemies you see in the exploration map will be the ones you face.

Now, Dragon Quest has also played around with enemies on the map in recent years. Often they appear and disappear at random, and wander around in random directions before they run at you. While this is preferable to the classic method, what Arise does better is take it another step. They’re not just milling about, there are set encounters placed on the map (reappearing when you leave and enter the area) and have some context. Giant wolves around an overturned wagon, Airborne monsters in a high place, bonus bosses in their given lairs.

The way they are distributed in Tales of Arise serves a couple of purposes. One, as noted, giving them context. Two, giving you a feeling that you cleared an area for the moment, that defeating the monsters has made the place (albeit temporarily) safe. Three, it makes the hunt for monsters in a given side quest into a search and not just bumbling around waiting to be struck.

Lastly, it also makes entering an encounter into a decision making process. Do you destroy every single one again for the exp, and possibly lose precious resources? Or have you done this room already and would like to take the path of least resistance to find your way to other treasures or a boss? This makes the interaction with these encounters more engaging.

While this is subjective, I stand by my statement that this is a more fun method. As for the supposed “purity” I am looking for, it probably is not what I think it is. On a tabletop, most DMs won’t have you barraged with fight after fight, since there isn’t enough time for that in a given session. And usually, an encounter is made for a story reason, not just to throw more goons at you. Simply put there is a lot more potential in having set up encounters on the map than random encounters. In my personal opinion, it is perhaps one of the many grandfathered systems (like gear grinding and constant number inflation) that needs a thorough re-evaluation.

[lady-layton]

hi! so I was combing thru ur PL tag, and I noticed u have a large collection of dvds/cds. i hope this doesnt come across as rude or imposing, but do you think it would be possible for you to "burn" and upload the videos/audio to youtube? highest priority has to be the interviews, esp with the seiyu, i don't think i've ever seen that ANYWHERE. even if most people can't understand the japanese, having an archive of this content allows us to archive the games, their development, and the fandom. second priority would probably be any commercials featuring cutscenes from the 3ds games, as they were never released in HD to this day. besides that, i have been able to find most of the CD releases online, but i was curious about the premium cd layton theme cover song. if you are worried about copyright law or just don't want to, that is understandable 👍 but as it stands, there is more and more layton content completely lost to time (like the flip phone exclusive official art and games) and without its preservation, the less and less there will be to celebrate as the anniversaries continue... i hope that's not too dramatic. as far as i can tell when it comes to copyright strikes, i uploaded layton game content to YouTube and never got any (i got one immediately over the utena anime) so i believe it is safe, but there are alternatives like gdrive etc. "burning" (copying) dvds is also very simple if you have a computer.

I REALLY really hope I don't come off as demanding. Ultimately it is 100% your decision. But the layton fandom of today (in its tiny size) would thank you. It also would be a nice way to look back in time, as I personally played all the games only in 2020. I'd love to know more about the process behind the development of the games in general, but as the fandom even at its peak was never huge (and bc its been 15 years...) very little of that has been recorded in western fandom, vs big IPs like Zelda or even Fire Emblem. It'd also be really cool to hear the thoughts of someone who was there when things WERE happening!

Regardless, I will respect whatever decision you make. Game (and game-adjacent) preservation matters a lot to me, but I do know how to take a "No". I hope you can understand my perspective however. 😔 While I don't think the fandom will ever fully revive (unless maybe we got a switch port of each trilogy like Ace Attorney), I hope the new generations of Layton lovers can appreciate each other as well as the old fandom they built upon. Thank you for hearing me out!

Hello!

First of all thank you so much for this ask (o´∀`o) To be honest my plan with buying these commercial DVDs in the beginning was to preserve a part of Professor Layton history. There is so much about Professor Layton that have disappeared over the years, since some fansites and blogs have shut down long ago. So I really want to save as much as I can of what is left.

I've been looking into transferring the trailers, interviews and such to some online archive in some way. Sadly I have not had the time to properly sit down and research how to do it more exactly, but I do have a close friend of mine who is willing to help. If I get them uploaded somewhere I will absolutely share the links through this blog! It would be even more fun if a subgroup would be willing to help out with texting some of the clips as well. I have managed to collect quite a lot of these DVD's since I last updated my collection, but I should have the following:

3 different DVDs for Curious Village

4 different DVDs for Pandora's Box

2 different DVDs for Lost Future

1 promotional DVD for Eternal Diva

3 different DVDs for Spectre's Call

3 different DVDs for Professor Layton VS Ace Attorney

1 DVD for Layton Brothers Mystery Room

1 DVD for Professor Layton and the Phantom Thief

1 for Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

1 for Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy

1 for Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy DX

I also have this one DVD from Code NEO from 2007 that I remember purchasing because it said to have some Layton content. But it got to me just now that I have never checked it out. Perhaps I should do so, so I know what is on that disc haha.

About the premium CD I have been pondering over uploading it as well. I'm not so sure how comfortable I am with sharing MP3s online, but since it's from quite an old era by now and not released outside of the premium disc I could perhaps make an exception.

[bellmo15-blog]

From one si fi body suit I have a massive kink for to another, my sona in a Zero Suit which I've made no secret is kind of the thing that got me into this kink in the first place. This is also another one of my fav comms I've got.

Original description: Well people, I’ve finally done it. I’ve gotten a Zero Suit… Well, a pic of my sona in a Zero Suit and it’s drawn by ChaosCroc but it still kinda counts. Right?

Putting that aside some of you reading this may already know about me and my love for Zero Suits, others might not. Well, you are in luck if your one of the latter because let me tell you a story! We all have our genesis as to why we are into the fetishes we are today. For many with a snake coil and hypnosis fetish that comes from Kaa from The Jungle Book, myself included. The Disney animated Jungle Book specifically. No really, there’s actually multiple versions of The Jungle Book and Kaa’s not the same across all of them. Someone who’s into Belly Dancing may of gotten it from Shantae which surprisingly she alone ISN’T actually the reason I got it but rather her and Olivia from Fire Emblem Awakening due to me playing that before any Shantae game. And then you got of course, tight body suits. This one differs from person to person but for me I got mine as a result of Zero Suit Samus. Specifically, it was her appearance in Super Smash Brothers Brawl when I was 13 years old. I actually had played a Metroid game before but it was when I was really little and wasn’t any farther than the opening. It was Super Metroid if anyone was curious. So the knowledge of Zero Suit Samus was a mystery to me until I played my first Smash game in 2009. Back then however I wasn’t actually that into it at first. But as time went on and I got older and A LOT more wiser (I was a really dumb kid back then) I actually started to be a lot more into it. And soon I started to see other characters dressed in this sexy bit of space wear and well the rest is history.

Really though how could I not be as into this suit as I am? It’s got a great si-fi design, it fits well onto any character even if it’s not the normal blue coloured suit and similar to the Plugsuits of Evangelion it manages to look both sexy and cool. Now some of you who may know about Zero Suit Samus in Smash may already know about this but there’s actually two different version, the Prime 2 model which is used in Brawl whereas Smash for Wii U/3DS and Ultimate uses the Other M model of the Zero Suit. And who knows, with Metroid Dread we might even get a new design. Personally I do love the Other M suit a lot more just purely because of how it looks though the Prime 2 suit I do still have a fair bit of nostalgia for. Plus the Other M version is the more popular version anyway which is kinda ironic because Metroid: Other M is the one game in the Metroid franchise most diehard fans love to rag on the most. Who knows though, maybe I will get a pic of myself in the Prime 2 version one day. Maybe not by the same artist but still, it is a possibility. Or maybe I will for the sake of consistency. Who knows.

Oh and for those wondering, yes this pic does *kinda* tie into The Greater Universe storyline since I like to imagen the way my Self Insert got this suit is that some time after the fourth Super Smash Bros tournament and he was growing that love of this kind of suit he actually asked Samus Aran if it was an outfit anyone could wear regardless of gender and if she had a spare one he could keep. After all, if you wanna wear a suit like this it might as well be an authentic one! And reluctantly she said yes but only on the condition that they faced of in a fair brawl. He only just bailey won. Samus is a trained bounty hunter after all. And then the Zero Suit was his. “But what about that pic of Rottytops in a Zero Suit?” That I didn’t really think two much about. I didn’t really have this big cross over universe planned back then. “What about other characters you will get in this suit?” Umm… a fashion designer somehow got there hands on the material used to recreate it and sell it? Yeah, let’s go with that.

Artist is ChaosCroc: https://www.deviantart.com/chaoscroc Also I’m only just realising I commissioned this a few days after Metroid Dread was announced.

[crapmagak]

Engage Drip Marketing: Alear

Edit: Don't know why but my brain farted and thought the characters name was spelled Elear. Oof.

Oh me, oh my. Oh yee, oh ha! A new Fire Emblem’s been revealed at long last, and it seems like we’re already getting drip marketing. So, I feel like posting my thoughts about it.

Alear

Their design… is a little silly, but otherwise fine. The fandom came around on Corrin, it came around on Byleth, it’ll probably come around on our new minty fresh protags as well. And aside from their hair color, I actually dig both of their outfits quite a bit.

As for FireEmblemJP’s tweet about them, here’s a rough translation…

The main character of this work is the divine dragon "Alear". (CV: Hiroshi Shimono, Aya Endo) A thousand years ago, after the Fell Dragon was sealed. I was asleep in the sacred land "Ritos", but one day I suddenly woke up. I can't seem to remember who I am because I've been asleep for so long.

So, we have another amnesiac Avatar. I actually think it’s a good thing. The player is a stranger to Elyos, so it makes sense for the avatar to reflect that, as cliche as it may seem. Another thing that caught my eye was a name for the Holy Land, Ritos. I don't know if this’ll be the English name or not, and I can’t seem to find anything the name would be a reference too. Either way, I feel this confirms the game starts out in the Holy Land.

Another tweet says…

You can choose from two appearances for the main character. The default name is called "Alear". Red and blue hair and eyes are impressive.

Well, it seems like customizable appearances are out the window. Figured as much considering the cutscene quality. Chances are the theories about joycons determining hair are also not gonna pan out. I’ll admit, I was curious to see how Alear would look with my green and pink joycons, but oh well.

Finally, we have the tweet detailing Alears class and crit animation…

Alears initial class is "Dragon Child". A descendant of a dragon clan that has lived since ancient times, and can use divine dragon swordsmanship.

So, it seems the avatar is sword locked, at least at the start. Apparently they use a special school of swordsmanship though. Ordinarily, I’d assume their “descending from a divine dragon” bit was similar to how various cultures have claimed their royal families descended from gods throughout history, and just that. However, in the ui his class is listed as “Dragon Child/ Dragon”, implying wyrm slayers will deal bonus damage. This makes me wonder if Alear will be able to transform into at all later on, perhaps via promotion or a story event. If so, I'm eager to see their dragon form. 

Now before I finish this post, I wanna examine the crit animation clip, and what will likely be the game's first map. It seems to be a small map, taking place in a valley outside. We’re up against some corrupted, all ax users. The twin characters are green units, and Alear and Vander seem to be rushing to their rescue. However, the top half of the map is completely empty. As such, I think after you talk to the twins and recruit them, more enemies will teleport in, and give you tutorials on mage and healer units.

Considering there's a cutscene where Framme and the others seem to see corrupted for the first time, I think the story will be that once Alear wakes up, they and the others will journey outside the castle. After some brief introductions and worldbuilding, the corrupted will arrive to become fodder for tutorials.

So, all in all, Alear seems to be a pretty basic but functional Avatar. And while I don’t hate them as much as others, I’m still pretty lukewarm.  Hopefully their swordsmanship will stay flashy, and they’ll transform later on. That’s all I’m really hoping for. As an aromantic individual, I find shipping the units with each other more enjoyable than shipping my own character with one, so the Avatars of the series will never really be a big deal to me. 

Now, what I’m really excited to learn about are the other characters.