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yournextflame · 2 years

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Elden Ring Sigils and Color Theory

Elden Ring magic sigils sorted by color. Long post about their lore, meanings of certain colors and what it can reveal about the story of Elden Ring under the cut.

In this post, I will be going over why it is important to have a good understanding of color and meanings associated with color in the context of lore. In a game, color is used by developers for more than just drawing the world, it’s about creating visual language, a bridge between writers and players. There are countless articles about usage of colors in videogames, but in this post I will try to reverse-engineer the process and find out the meaning behind visual symbolism and combine it with game’s equivalent of heraldic symbols - magic sigils.

In Elden Ring magic sigils have been used to represent origin of sorceries and power sources of incantations, usually they give us hints what kind of deity is worshipped by people or who created the spell. They are an invaluable source of information on history on the Lands Between. I’ve been already playing with idea of color sorting when I did the same thing with remembrances, but sigils revealed even more secrets about story and lore. How about origin of life on the Lands Between? Origin of the outer gods? But let’s not rush.

The first category, Blue Sorcery as I called it, already shows how color sorting method is supported by the game itself. With a help of descriptions we can place the sigils in the chronological order and track the change in design over the course of story such as replacement of flowing weapon in the sigil of Eternal Cities to Carian sword. Their sigils are incredibly similar to each other, solidifying connection between Nox and Carian royal family; both factions are associated with silver, sorcery, artifical life, moons and stars.

This talisman represents the lost black moon. The moon of Nokstella was the guide of countless stars (Memory Stone)

The young astrologer gazed at the night sky as she walked. She had always chased the stars every step of her journey. Then she met the full moon—and, in time, the astrologer became a queen (Stargaizer Heirloom)

Moons played a central role in Nox and Carian culture, the circle is a base shape for both crests, however, while Raya Lucaria sigil shares similar elements with Eternal Cities and Carian emblems (glintstone sorcerers are the descendants of astrologers, a fact that the Carians remain aware of, - Preceptor's Long Gown), this part was drastically redused in size and moved on top; the central place is taken by the star and framed by a pair of cuckoos. The hue of sigil is also significantly different from cold blue tones of Nox and Carians emblems, the warm greenish tint is close to the color of primeval current spells, which were banished once Rennala became rector of the Academy.

These scholars, who sought to master Carian sorcery, instead learned to see the moon as equal to the stars. This robe, in the hue of the full moon, signifies their heresy (Lazuli Robe)

(Cuckoo Greatshield) Boasting high magic damage negation, this shield is used to hunt down mages. "Our enemy is none other than Caria itself."

So far I’m not going to delve deeper in the roots of the conflict between Carian royal family and Academy of Raya Lucaria, it’s a mere demonstration of a method and how it works. But in next paragraphs I will use it as evidence for a few theories about worldbuilding.

(thanks for clarification about Malenia’s Crest, I rewatched fight on youtube and, yes, it’s a normal Raya Lucaria sigil)

Golden incantations is the biggest group on the list, in a way I can say that history of the Lands Between is a history of gold. Here we can see a symbolical depiction of the Erdtree, the central piece of the game both in a metaphorical and literal sense; we can track how portrayl of the Erdtree changed during Marika’s age until it was replaced altogether by the abstract emblem of the Golden Order Fundamentalism. I have a lot of to say about this group and currently working on post with a more detailed investigation, so far I will touch only basics: such as origin of life gold.

Gold in Elden Ring is more than than shine metal or a color, it’s prima materia of the Greater Will, a force of unknown origin (it’s never called 神 god or an 外なる神 outer god anywhere in EN or JP script and before jumping to conclusion wait until I’m going to observe confirmed outer gods) which is responsible for the creation of Elden Ring. From the description of Elden Stars, the most ancient incantation in this category, and Elden Remembrance we can figure out keywords associated with the Greater Will:

It is said that long ago, the Greater Will sent a golden star bearing a beast into the Lands Between, which would later become the Elden Ring/It was the vassal beast of the Greater Will and living incarnation of the concept of Order (I’d like to point that it’s “Order”, not “The Golden Order”).

(I believe we still can see remnants of the golden star in a form of meteorite ore in Divine Towers and Sealed Tunnel near Erdtree)

In other words, the Greater Will is about gold, Order and everything Elden. However, a common mistake is to tie the Greater Will to the Golden Order, despite the name the latter is not representative of it, even more so... original gold from the golden star wasn’t yellow.

From dialogue with Sellen we can learn that stars are containing amber, but golden stars are kind of special:

Golden amber contains the remnants of ancient life, and houses its vitality (Sellen)

And Hyetta’s speech supports futher that the Greater Will is responsible for creation of life in one way or another:

…すべては、大きなひとつから、分かたれた分かたれ、産まれ、心を持った

けれどそれは、大いなる意志の過ちだっただから、戻さなくてはならない

All that there was divided from the One Great. Divided, born and given heart. But it was a mistake of the Greater Will (Hyetta)

So, Miyazaki pretty much unitied theories about meteorites being consensually considered to be involved in the origin of life and primordial soup:

Meteorites could have been responsible for delivering the basis of life's genetic code. Analyses of three meteorites suggest that nucleobases, the crucial components of DNA, could have formed in space and then fallen to Earth to provide the raw material for the origin of life itself

For nearly nine decades, science's favorite explanation for the origin of life has been the “primordial soup”. This is the idea that life began from a series of chemical reactions in a warm pond on Earth's surface, triggered by an external energy source such as lightning strike or ultraviolet (UV) ligh

Now if we check descriptions of Crucible Aspects and Crucible Knights items we can find out that original gold had rent tint.

Holds the power of the crucible of life, the primordial form of the Erdtree. Strengthens Aspects of the Crucible incantations (Crucible aspects incantations)

This sword is imbued with an ancient holy essence. Its red tint exemplifies the nature of primordial gold, said to be close in nature to life itself (Ordovis Greatsword, the name itself is a reference to Ordovician Period, part of the Paleozoic era, a rich variety of marine life flourished in the vast seas and the first primitive plants began to appear on land)

Ancient Erdtree/Crucible emblem is slightly reddish too, however, the modern gold is more pure and yellow, the gold of the Golden Order. The sigil changed the color too and lost the root part just like the Elden Ring itself if we compare modern depiction with Farum Azula mural:

The Golden Order was created by confining Destined Death. Thus, this new Order will be one of Death restored

But a gold is a gold, even though it’s different, but as Turtle Pope said heresy is not native to this world and everything can be cojoined:

The worship of the ancient dragons does not conflict with belief in the Erdtree. After all, this seal, and lighting itself, are both imbued with gold

Yes, the Greater Will governs everything what is golden.

And yet, the young Miquella abandoned fundamentalism, for it could do nothing to treat Malenia's accursed rot. This was the beginning of unalloyed gold

I can already hear the raise of pitchforks from certain kind of Miquella fans, so let’s talk about outer gods and what exactly they are.

With a surprising exception of emblem from the Scepter of the All-Knowing (Gideon, I have a few questions for you) all sigils in Red Group are assigned to the deities: outer/ancient god of Rot, outer god Formless Mother, Rykard’s immortal serpent and Fell God, who is bit tricky, it’s ambitious if 古い火の悪神 “ancient” is applied to the god or fire. The only confirmed outer gods, who didn’t made it here is an outer god of Deathbirds and Frienzied Flame. Considering theory that removal of the Destined Death from Elden Ring drained color from the god-slaying Black Flame and eclipsed sun of outer god of Deathbirds, I can suggest that original color of their sigils was red too.

Long story short: sigil of the outer gods and other unwelcomed deities are represented by red color and they are all related to the death, Formless Mother is about bleed, fell flame is burning, rot is decay, etc.

However, as stated in the description of Ordovis Greatsword, primordial gold of the Crucible had a red tint that was lost when Marika estabilished Golden Order by sealing away red Rune of Death; and this knowledge eventually leads to conclusion that...

Outer gods aren’t aliens. What a surprise.

They are natural powers that were screwed by the removal of Destined Death, when they got outed from the Golden Order. They are red tint of the primordial gold.

Once the concept of Death was banished from the Lands Between the elements and effects linked to it - death, decay, combustion, bleed became outer to the newly estabilished Order. There is a clear thematic difference between celestial Greater Will, who isn’t even presented on the Lands Between, and actual outer gods, who can be sealed or banished, more over there are no outer god of water, sunshine or happiness, they are all linked to the side-effects of death. When death was excluded from the Order, they were affected as well.

The thing is that gold in Elden Ring is a magical substance and changes the tint depends on the currently running Order, which is shown in the endings when Golden Tree (黄金樹 that’s how Erdtree is called in JP) acquires different hue. It’s another overlooked element of visual storytelling.

This Golden Order is something that the Elden Ring may have once represented, but not directly. It’s more about how you apply those rules and how you enforce them on the physical world and what effects they have on it, - Miyazaki in interview to gamesradar

(Golden Order isn’t direct representation of the Greater Will/Elden Ring as it was said by Miyazaki himself, it’s only one temporary set of rules)

Elden Ring consists of runes and even newly discovered mending runes (concepts) can be added to the system (regression is the pull of meaning; that all things yearn eternally to converge) ot removed and the gold will respond to it by changing the color and reshaping reality according to the Order (causality is the pull between meanings; it is the connections that form the relationships of all things). Elden Ring - Rune of Death = yellow gold and banishment of ancient gods, who were associated with death, Elden Ring+mending rune of a choice=see example aboive.

For futher evidence that gold changes metaphysical properties and in the current state (Golden Order) preserves things from not only from dying, but decomposing too, I want to bring a few descriptions:

Fresh beast blood, glinting with gold. Material used for crafting items. Found by hunting carnivorous beasts.This glimmering blood never rots or decays ( Beast Blood)

Someone's excrement. It has a golden tinge. Material used for crafting items. Gold-tinged excrement is a highly stable substance; it doesn't dry out, nor does it lose its customary warmth or scent. For better or for worse, it remains as it is (Golden Dung; I can’t believe I’m using description of literal sh/t to prove my point)

However, from what we know only Rune of Death was sealed, and while outer gods’ influence was seriously weakened, it still existed. This is why Miquella abandoned Golden Order and was working on development of his own gold, even more pure and untainted, before he got mohgged:

Unalloyed Gold Needle: An intricately crafted needle of unalloyed gold. A ritual implement crafted to ward away the meddling of outer gods, it is thought capable of forestalling the incurable rotting sickness.

Now let me clarify: community’s favorite boogieman “influence of the evil alien outer gods/the Greater Will” isn’t a thing in a sense that there is a group of invaders from the outer space trying to enslave the Lands Between. Even thought 外なる神 is used in Japanese media culture for lovecraftian beings, we should remember that history is fabricated by the Golden Order in Marika’s favor; "outer gods” are alien to the current Order”. Same goes for the influence of the Greater Will, it was never about mind-control or whatever was projected onto it, the influence of the Greater Will is simply how Order and gold are changing course of the nature.

Last thing I want to add is that influence of the outer gods isn’t always about destructive powers (Order of Rot is about decay and rebirth), but I’ll leave it for a dedicated post.

In Mixed Group I put sigils with unique or unknown colors.

In my first draft Dragon Communion was placed in the Red Group for the intense hue of sigil, but upon futher research I decided to move it here. The power of Dragon Communion incantations doesn’t stem from any patron god or the assigned star (unless I missed something); they are scaling from arcane, an inner force of the caster.

Violet is an interesting choice for Gravity sigil because this color, albeit with the less intence hue, is used for sleep status and associated items.

I like how yellow color of Frenzied Flame is similar to the gold of the Greater Will, carrying the theme of duality, yet the shape of the sigil is distorted and assymetrical. In fact, designs of the ancient sigils usually is far less complex than intricate shapes of newer ones (with a few exceptions). Just to be clear, even though influence of the Flame of Frenzy can be cleared by Miquella’s needle, the game never calls it an outer god. It’s a matter of semantics, but I guess that unlike crew from the Red Group it was never booted from the Order since Chaos and Order can’t naturally coexist, but there are a lot ot of to speculate about, considering drastic changes in Frenzied Flame quest and lore.

Golden star in the centre of Bestial sigil reminds of Cinquedea dagger (Short sword given to high ranking clergymen of Farum Azula. The design celebrates a beast's five fingers, symbolic of the intelligence once granted upon their kind), which shows beast’s arm holding golden slab.

So, Death spells. I believe that both Black Flame incantations and Death Sorcery of Deathbird outer god were affected by confining of Destined Death.

The black flame could once slay gods. But when Maliketh sealed Destined Death, the true power of the black flame was lost

Storied sword and treasure of Castle Sol that depicts an eclipsed sun drained of color.The eclipsed sun, drained of color, is the protective star of soulless demigods. It aids the mausoleum knights by keeping Destined Death at bay. Mausoleum Knight Armor: The wing-shaped ornaments on its back evoke the Deathbird

And, as I’ve been already pointing in a different post, death of Godwyn brought back forgotten death sorcery that almost ceased from existance during age of immortality, but was rediscovered

Death in the Lands Between is incredibly complex subject and deserves a series of posts, even though I believe there should be DLC because so far all lore related to it seems to be incomprehensible.

Unmarkered sorceries don’t have background sigil, but they all share something in common. They originated from the Mountaintops of Giants:

Zamor Ice Storm: Ice sorcery of the Town of Zamor.Strike the ground with the staff to create a freezing tornado. Charging enhances potency. Cloaked in icy tempests, the knights of Zamor have challenged the Fire Giants since ancient times.

Briars of Sin : An aberrant sorcery, discovered along with red glintstone by those exiled to the north for their crimes.The Academy reviles this sorcery, which draws its power from faith

Founding Rain of Stars: The eldest primeval sorcery, said to have been discovered by an ancient astrologer. A sorcery of legendary status.The glimpse of the primeval current that the astrologer saw became real, and the stars' amber rained down on this land. Sword of Night and Flame: Astrologers, who preceded the sorcerers, established themselves in mountaintops that nearly touched the sky, and considered the Fire Giants their neighbors.

Another interesting details to consider is that they are all in some ways are unwelcomed or straight up heretical. It reminds me of relationships between Golden Order and remnanats of the Crucible. Aberrant sorcery is a mark of sin, primeval current was banished and cold sorcery is veiled in occult mystery:

The snowy crone taught the young Ranni to fear the dark moon as she imparted her cold sorcery.

I guess Ranni’s secret mentor is called snowy crone for a reason.

That’s being said, everything I wrote is a subject to change as DLC may reveal more details or I will reconsider some parts under futher research. But overall I think it was an interesting experiment.

読んでくれてありがと

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lookinghalfacorpse · 7 months

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pandora's vault as a point-and-click horror game.

the objective is always at the top of your screen: "get the revival book." you can access a map that will take you to a few different places on the server, but once you click on the prison, the map icon only appears when you're near the entrance. when you get further in, you're trapped.

you can go to the arctic. philza is there, always peaceful and always sewing, sitting on a nice rocking chair. you can present items to him and he'll give you some clues about how to use it. you have a hunger bar, and if you're low, you can get food from him. technoblade is in the background, cooking. you can't interact with him.

you can stop by some other places too, like mcpuffys, and get a burger if you gather enough gold to buy it.

wandering the prison is confusing. it's a maze, and the more you click, the more the prison shifts. interact with too many items that make a lot of noise and you'll upset sam, and he'll kill you quickly. the warden walks in a pre-determined circle around the prison, and you can't interrupt him unless you have an item that interests him. following him is your best bet to navigate the prison, but he's hard to track. you have to learn his pattern.

take too long, and the prison shifts faster. doors close on their own.

you can summon technoblade once to save you from sam. he'll buy you time and de-aggro sam, but then he disappears, and you'll see him in the background with philza again when you tp there.

make too many mistakes, and you'll be transported to the main cell.

dream is there, starved and thin. he's curled into himself. hover your cursor over him and he'll kill you-- he doesn't want to be seen.

you have to be patient. keep your cursor on the wall. wait. eventually, dream says "...what do you want?" and a dialogue options shows up. he'll chat, but he won't give up the revival book. you click everywhere. you find no way out. new objective: "get out alive."

there are different items you can collect on your way to the cell that will affect your chances. you can gather food from chests you find, but you should preserve them and give some to dream to get on his good side. if you present shears, he'll kill you, no matter how good you're doing with him. you can collect status effects, and if you get "sir," he'll obey faster. but he's never particularly helpful.

the screen flashes into images of blood and gore across the cell.

try to kill dream, and sam stops you. you hear dream sigh.

really, the key is endurance. you have to make sure you have enough resources when you enter the cell to stay on dream's good side and survive until sam decides to let you out. a bit of experimentation.

or, if you make it to the main cell without sam putting you there, you can get out at will. but that's very difficult, and you won't achieve that your first run, but the status effects help. you'll gather more of those as you play. with "sir," sam gets less agitated with you.

get dream's favor, and you get a new objective: "get both of us out alive"

there's an item called "hope"-- a stuffed cat. if you present it to philza, he'll say "…someone else could use this more, mate. you shouldn't leave it here with me."

get back to the main cell.

What do you want to do with "Hope"?

>>Give to Dream Destroy Nothing

if you give it to him, big tears will roll down his face-- an animation you've never seen before. he'll give you a piece of his bloody shirt in exchange.

take the bloody shirt to philza, and technoblade will move from the background. there's an animation where he rushes out the door, and philza follows him. that's the good end. objective complete.

you can also keep with the first objective, if you want. you can go in every day, if you want. you can gather weapons and shears and experiment with how dream responds, if you want. perhaps, somewhere in the code, there's a way for you to get that book. maybe THAT'S your good end.

#this is 3nderm1tes fault #i got more to say maybe idk #dreblr #point-and-click #cdream #c!dream

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count-lucio · 5 months

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lucio headcanons because i can't help myself. just a warning that these are rather canon divergent, so keep that in mind while reading! anyway, with no further ado-

my objectively correct lucio 'headcanons' (i am normal)

- he has chronic nerve pain from the constant pain + stress his body was under while he had the plague - even after he comes back. he walks with a cane most days, and claims it's for 'fashion' (it very clearly isn't)

- the whole "missing an entire arm" business is a MUCH bigger deal than the way the game shows it- it's a genuine disability, not just a fun character trait. i'm begging you all to consider lucio needing (and wanting) to spend time with his prosthetic off. lucio phantom limb syndrome and phantom pains. lucio struggling to do things that require both hands on occasion and having to relearn everything after getting his prosthetic. lucio being too rough/too strong/etc with his left arm because he can't feel what he's doing. as much as he loves the gold he can't help but feel terribly insecure and incapable because of it sometimes.

- lucio is not even a tenth as stupid as the writers make him out to be for funny haha villain points. he's actually incredibly intelligent and a big fan of studying + reading "just because." he's very literate and articulate, just overexcitable (and maybe slightly over-emotional) and doesn't always express his intelligence in the best way (or stop and think before doing things). he's also fairly talented, and rather proficient in writing and playing piano - the grand piano in the foyer belongs to both him and nadia!!

- same thing goes for what an incompetent leader he's portrayed to be in the game... it's absolutely nonsensical that he alone was in charge of vesuvia for multiple years and that entire time knew nothing and learned nothing about being an effective ruler. perhaps he's not the most responsible leader at all moments and maaaybe he can be a bit. harsh. but i can't see military-tactical, hand-selected-to-rule-vesuvia-lucio being an INCOMPETENT leader.

- also, the previous count, count spada, took lucio in and taught him everything he knew - the game hardly touches on this and it's an absolute crime because i think the two of them had such a close (dare i say father-son) relationship and spada effectively took lucio under his wing and gave him the necessary training to be an effective leader before naming him his heir. the two of them were very... my parents hate me and i don't know what parental love feels like x i never married or had children and i regret it immensely, yknow ?

- his relationship with morga is much more strained than what's portrayed in canon - both her and his father were rather abusive throughout his childhood and he hides in the palace every time she visits vesuvia and makes nadia deal with her for him (i use 'makes' loosely - nadia would do it even if lucio didn't ask. she's not very fond of morga either and is sympathetic to lucio's fear of her).

- speaking of nadia, the two of them really don't hate eachother all that much. their relationship is much more complicated than what's shown in the game (everyone's is, really, it's all a lot more blurry and queerplatonic than what was written to make it work as a romance game) and while they most definitely butt heads quite often, she by no means hates him and they do, actually, get along a fair amount of the time. they have quite a bit in common and work well together. most of the time.

- contrary to popular belief, mercedes and melchior are not unruly and untrained- they're both trained impeccably, just in lucio's native language, making him the only person capable of controlling them. however when it is him in charge, the three of them are a force to be reckoned with (especially when out hunting) and mercedes and melchior move flawlessly alongside him, nearly predicting what he wants without him even having to speak it aloud. they're impeccably behaved- just for him and him alone.

- on the topic of languages- lucio was raised speaking something different than what is spoken throughout the game. there is no direct real-world equivalent but it's... scandinavian in nature. he has the faintest hint of an accent (and no, it isn't a jersey accent) but he's been speaking other languages for so long it's not quite as noticeable as it was during his mercenary days - although it is quite a bit more noticeable when he's drunk, and he's very prone to cursing in his native language.

#the arcana #the arcana game #count lucio #the arcana lucio #these are all objectively correct because i said so #nobody understands lucio the way i do.

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oleanderfox · 8 months

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Palia Tips

Some things I have learned that might help others. 🩵

Game Controls

You can put away your tool by pressing X.

If you get stuck, type /unstuck in the chat window and you’ll be teleported to the nearest stable surface.

Right clicking with a tool equipped will let you switch between different types of ammo (for bug catching and hunting).

You can cancel without wasting ammo after entering "aim" mode by pressing the Shift key or right mouse button (h/t @sharky857 ).

You can climb ivy in addition to cliffs. (Like inside the lighthouse..!)

You can cancel climbing/drop from a cliff face by clicking X. (h/t @lazyadmiral )

You can jump (space bar) while climbing cliffs to climb faster.

You can hold down the mouse key when mining, tilling, and chopping down trees rather than clicking for each chop.

Camera & Photos

Press K to enter camera mode.

There’s a 🔁 button in the corner if you want to swap to a front-facing camera/“selfie mode”.

If you want to see your photos while in the game, you have to save them to the album. However all photos taken, even if you don’t do that step, will be saved to your computer’s hard drive.

To find your photos, open Windows Explorer and enter %appdata% in the location bar. From there navigate to %AppData%/Local/Palia/Saved/Screenshots. You should be able to pin this folder to your quick nav/favorites to find it again easily.

Time

One hour of real time = one entire day in Palia. That means an hour in Palia passes in only 2.5 minutes of play.

You only get "credit" (for building friendships) for chatting with villagers once per villager per day.

Many bugs, fish, and plants can only be found at certain times. Time in Palia is divided into: ‣ Morning: 3-6am (rooster crows at 3) ‣ Day: 6am-6pm ‣ Evening: 6pm-9pm ‣ Night: 9pm-3am (owl hoots at 9)

Time in Palia is the same across all servers. Midnight (a new day) will always be on the hour in real world time, so 6am in Palia is at X:15, noon is at X:30, and 6pm is at X:45.

6am is a "new day" for crops, but midnight is a "new day" for chatting with villagers. Midnight also seems to be when the furniture in Tish’s shop refreshes.

Gifting runs on real world time, not Palia time. You can only give a villager one gift every 24 hours in the real world, and "Weekly Wants" are valid for one real world week. The week currently resets on Mondays at 12am Eastern.

Once you get a villager's key, you can talk to and visit them even when they are "asleep".

Mail is delivered and picked up (shipping bin sales) at 6am and 6pm.

To find rare spawns, arrive in the area 15-30 Palia minutes before the start of its catch period and clear all the common critters/plants. This will make it more likely your rare will spawn when the clock chimes.

Inventory & House

Furniture does not take up inventory space!!

A gold star on an item's icon means it's "star quality." Starred items fetch higher sales prices and are required for some quests.

Starred items will not stack with normal items.

Only star quality food can be placed in your house/lot.

More storage chests = more storage slots, but you are capped at 8.

You can hang items on the exterior walls of your home - including wallpaper!!

When in placement mode, you can rotate items using Q and E. You can turn off “grid mode” by pressing z, which allows more flexible item placement.

Leveling

Your character level is a combination of your level in each of your skills.

Eating food increases your "focus," which applies a percentage bonus that will make you level faster.

You can increase that bonus by visiting the Dragon and Phoenix shrines and spending Renown to increase the percentage (Phoenix Shrine) and the amount of focus you can accumulate.

You can only "carry" 1,000 Renown at any time. If you're not spending it, you're throwing away Exp.

Renown is also needed to expand your housing plot (by buying "Writs").

Event

You can get "displayable" food from Reth and Delaila, but it's based on RNG. Just keep buying the item until you get a star quality one.

The quickest way to get Chapaa Chase tickets is by completing the Achievements; some require you to party with others.

The drums are not obvious, but you only need to go back and forth between a pair of them interacting as they light up. Eventually the big fireworks will trigger and you will get the achievement and reward. (Do this 2 more times for the second achievement!)

The event achievements are on the Event tab, not the achievements one.

Skill-Specific Tips

Fishing: If you don’t click in time and the fish disappears, don’t panic — the same fish will keep trying again! And if you change your mind, you can pull your line in/cancel and you won’t spend any bait. This means you can wait to be sure you’ve hooked the fish you want before reeling it in so you don’t waste all your precious glow worms! The one caveat is that sparkle pools (and the guaranty of a star quality catch) disappear if you don’t catch the fish on the first nibble.

Hunting: The Proudhorn Sernuk can teleport and the Azure Chapaa can make an illusion of copies of itself that disappear when shot. They're both very difficult to hunt until you learn to make Dispel arrows. If you’re still struggling to have enough resources for everything, learn the lowest quality arrow that can kill something in one shot and hunt with those. (Kilima chapaa can be killed with a makeshift arrow while regular Kilima sernuk require a standard arrow. Bahari chapaa need at least a standard arrow while elder sernuk in Bahari will cost you several fine arrows.)

Looting: For hunting, mining, and chopping down trees, everyone who gets one "hit" in gets loot, and the loot is not diminished by sharing. So working together to find pallium nodes or hunt rare critters rewards everyone. :) (Note that you need to have the required equipment quality to be able to share, though - if you get a message saying “sorry, you need to upgrade your equipment” then you won’t get any loot.)

Mining: On the topic of Palium, it’s not as rare as you think. It has very specific spawn points, which it only shares with stone - you’ll never find palium where you found iron before. This means you should mine all the stone sharing those points to encourage palium to spawn for your next visit. Palium can be found in the caves hidden around the perimeter of Bahari and in the Pavel mines.

Foraging: Purple glowing trees are flow trees, and require more than one player to chop them down. Again, everyone gets "full" loot, no matter how many people get a swing in. For small trees, let them heal after each hit if needed to make sure everyone present can get a hit. If you’re looking for a specific resource, say, sweet leaf, look up what it shares spawn points with (in this case, morels) and pick three as well so sweet leaf has a chance to spawn. Also, brightshrooms are typically found in ruins right up against the structures so they can be easy to overlook or mistake for glowing bugs at night.

Cooking: You can find recipes in villager's homes, by fishing them up in bottles, lying around the wilderness, and completing quests or bundles in addition to buying them from Reth.

Cooking together: Like with looting, everyone gets the full reward, even if you don't contribute any ingredients.

Lore & Fun Stuff

There is a mysterious beast in the Elderwoods.

The mine's haunted.

Sooo much queer rep: All the romanceable characters don’t care about the player’s “body type.” Sifuu, the Duchess (Kenyara), and Eshe are canonically wlw. Chayne was raised by two dads. The former lighthouse keepers in Bahari Bay were a gay couple. 🏳️‍🌈

Critters that have been mentioned but don't have in-game models or released concept art yet so we just have to speculate: ‣ Kitsuu: Sacred companions, according to Hassian. There is a kitsuu constellation which has "floppy ears" and horns. Possibly the "fennec fox with antlers" creature drawn in the Vault of the Waves? (Confirmed by the official Discord emotes!) No longer unreleased as of 0.3.6. :) ‣ Peki: Palian version of chickens, or at least they lay eggs and have feathers, and according to Nai’o “there are at least 72 unique color and pattern combinations for peki breeds.” ‣ Riffroc: Palian mounts. Nai'o has a beloved one named Sugarfoot; Kenyatta’s is named Sundrop.

Bug Reporting, Suggestions, and Help

Report problems here.

Give feedback and request/suggest features here.

If you're stuck on a quest or where to find an item, there's an "Official" wiki and an "unofficial" wiki.

#palia #palia open beta #palia tips #hey s6 please please please please please let me romance hodaddy okay thank you

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wyllsravengard · 1 month

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mutuals i know you don't know arthur morgan and a lot of you never will but i really need you to know how Moving and Compelling the cowboy game is like im being deranged of course and i do hyperfixate so often but arthur morgan is such a well written character he has such an amazing arc and genuinely it makes me sick thinking about him for more than a single minute. his entire story is based in this inevitable doom and its obvious from the beginning of the game that things are starting to go wrong. you learn about arthur slowly, and at the start - he's exactly the kind of man and protagonist you expect. he's cold and he's uncaring at least seemingly and he's awkward and he's badass and what every man who plays a game like this would want. but then he isn't. you start to play the game and you look at arthurs journal and you get to see him introspect and you get to view the sort of tenderness he sees the entire world with. he is so tender he is so thoughtful he is so considerate of nature and he takes so many things to heart. he has something to say and introspect of everyone he meets. he cares deeply about this world he's in and struggles so much to find a place with in. he admonishes himself and praises characters like charles who seem to be so good naturally. he believes deeply in his own evil and acts on, and he has a code sure - but he never feels good about what he does and it causes him such deep strife. he clings onto the life he has because its all he knows. being an outlaw is all he has ever known of himself, been like that since he was fourteen. just a boy and the two men who adopted him into his gang. he clings so desperately onto this belief that even when things fall apart, all arthur can hope for is that he can save those he cares about. its what he has always wanted deep down. its who he is which is someone who is sensitive and careful and wants deeply to live in a good world and be apart of a good world. the gang falls apart and everything goes to shit and where does that leave arthur? when young men and good men die? the man he admires as his father dies and whats left of them becomes the worst version of himself and so arthur, after all of this time, becomes his own man. at some point, he realizes what matters most to him is his brother and the woman he has a child with. and he realizes that he is simply afraid but what of exactly? of believing that he was good all along. of accepting that he has changed and that he was always good. its all so very complicated and shit starts to go down hill so quickly and just when you think it can't get worse - arthur goes to the doctor. hes sick. its tuberculosis. ailment that he received when he beat a man who couldn't pay his debts and committed a sin so great. arthur is going to die. he's sick. its not a bullet that will kill him but the weakness in his body. the same thing will happen to him in some crazy tragedy. arthur will give his life up for john and he won't regret it. he'll tell the shell of his father figure that he gave up everything for him. he will die alone in the mountains and see a stag bathed in yellow gold. but he will believe in goodness at the end because of a nun in saint denis and the woman mothering his little brothers child. he will believe deeply in the kindness of the world because he chooses to. arthur will die because he is doomed to die. there's nothing he can do except go, and he will never live to know what an impact he had on those around him. every life he's ever touched so profoundly effected by him and he never gets to find out. the man he used to admire so much, charles, buries arthur somewhere where the sun always rises. even in death he haunts the world of the game like a ghost. arthur morgan is dead and you'll hear him every where you go. john inherits his dead brothers journal and his guns and everything else and he learns a side to him he never knew. arthur morgan is dead and the world rippled in his absence like a drop of water pulsing through a lake. and he loved. most of all he loved the people around him. he loved.

#z.gen #arthur morgan #rdr2 spoilers #I HAVE TO KILL MYSELF

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theresattrpgforthat · 8 months

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TTRPGs that are played specifically through the framework of the Discord app? I'm reviewing a work in progress game that's being set up to work like that and I wanted to know if there are others!

THEME: Discord RPGS

Hello there friend, I know you mentioned This Discord Has Ghosts In It in another ask, but I’m going to mention it anyways - along with some other awesome options that exist out there!

This Discord Has Ghosts In It, by Will Jobst.

You’ve been invited to a haunted house. That haunted house is a Discord server.

Find your greatest fear, spill your worst secrets, and get to the thrilling seance in This Discord Has Ghosts in It.

I played this game for Halloween one year and it was great! In this game there are two roles: investigators and ghosts. All of the players will hang out in a voice chat, but only investigators can speak. Meanwhile, ghosts are the only ones who can type inside the game channels - and they are allowed to add new rooms to the house, upload pictures, and alter the text.

I definitely encourage players to use Lines, Veils, and the X card for this game, as it’s a horror game and you’re often met with images, not just descriptions.

MUDSLURP, by Will Uhl.

MUDSLURP (Multi-User Discord Server Lore-Universe Role Play) is a roleplaying game about asynchronous communication, intersecting storylines, and carrying a piece of your characters with you in everyday life. Everyone involved controls at least one character and participates in a shared text chatroom integrated into a fictional setting.

MUDSLURP is also compatible with other tabletop RPGs - bring a new dimension to your story with a chatroom for all your characters! Host server events, build out the world, and learn more about each other. MUDSLURP even supports multiple tabletop campaigns sharing the same chatroom, including guidelines for avoiding & resolving canon disputes.

This is something that really intrigues me, as I run a Discord server myself and I’m always looking for options that incorporate more people and give people multiple ways to interact. Since this is compatible with other tabletop games, I’m assuming you can have real-time sessions alongside something more like a play-by-post format - although I haven’t bought the game yet so I can’t say for sure.

Tournament Arc, by SystemxEmotion.

Tournament Arc is a text-based, real-time, head-to-head, fighting roleplaying game. Most importantly, Tournament Arc is a game where you create any character you can think of (or steal from your favourite media), and fight your friends.

When you play Tournament Arc, you will create a powerful fighter and you’ll try and beat other fighters in arena combat. Fighters can be anything you can fathom, from talented martial artists to alien creatures from other dimensions, and from off-duty superheroes to ordinary people granted arcane powers by elder beings. The one thing that they all have in common is that their powers come from spirits. Spirits are strange entities that recently appeared in the world, and are as diverse as the fighters themselves.

As a text-based game, Tournament Arc depends on a third, neutral party for each battle. This third player is called the Conduit, who will judge both attacks and determine an outcome. I can see this being a great game for large groups, especially because each person gets to pick up the GM role at some point. You create move sets using different abilities that might be active or passive, and the book comes with advice on how to make the combat dynamic and interesting. If you are playing with a group that likes feeling powerful and enjoys big action scenes, this might be the game for you!

Eccentric Millionaire, by nickwedig.

Somewhere in the wilderness, an eccentric millionaire has buried $50 million worth of bearer bonds, gold, historic artifacts and art treasures.

You’re going to hunt for it, from the comfort of your own homes.

There are a lot of other people also searching for the treasure, too. Work with them for more clues, but don’t trust them. If they get the treasure first, they get millions of dollars. Second place gets nothing.

Eccentric Millionaire is an online game of logical deduction and social deception. One player acts as the host and organizer of the game. They will also play the role of the Eccentric Millionaire. The other players take on the role of treasure hunters. The game is played online, through chat systems like Discord or Slack, and via online map tools like Google Maps. Gameplay takes place over days or weeks, as the treasure hunters uncover more clues and zero in on the location of the treasure. Eventually, one player will find the treasure and win the game.

I love games that use innovative online tools, and this game's use of Google Maps is a great example. This is also great for large groups, of up to 25 people! I caution you though, the organization for a game like this definitely requires a lot of set up - you might have to customize a Discord Server before you are ready to play.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Subway Runners, by Gem Room Games

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #online games #discord

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hoodharlow · 19 days

Text

Know My Name, Ring a Bell

AN: I saw a reel about women soccer players and thought "what if Miriam didn't get injured and she still played" so here y'all go. Ty to my faves Ezra, @heavyhitterheaux , and Cherry for saying yes 🤭🤭🤭

Warnings: Jack embarrassing himself, Mateo yelling at Miriam (tw to those that have parents issues), rude people, and a resolved misunderstanding

Requested: me and my faves

Word Count: 4.9k words

Jack choked on his hot chocolate, feeling the cocoa powder remnants on his throat. It was the first and last time he was buying hot chocolate from a concessions stand. He tossed the drink in the trash, $5 down the drain.

He was going to a Racing Louisville FC game, Louisville's women's team. His childhood friend, Larissa played for the team and for once Jack was free so he went to see her play. They were playing Angel City FC.

The stadium didn't get as full when the women played, much less when they played early in the morning. So Jack took advantage and roamed around without any security. He jogged down the steps towards the front. There was only one other person sitting in his section. They had an iPad and tripod set up. Jack wondered if they were from FIFA. Larissa told him they were scouting for the US team because it was their year playing at the World Cup.

Their phone rang and the person removed the large hood from their winter coat, revealing none other than Mateo Dominguez. He was Jack's favorite soccer player. It took everything in Jack not to interrupt his phone call. He'd met Mateo a few times in passing at events but he'd never had a full on conversation with him.

“No, I haven't told her. I'm waiting until after the game. Amor, you know how Miriam gets. I want her to concentrate on the game.” Mateo said.

Jack grabbed his phone and texted Urban that their fave was sitting three seats away from him. He then busied himself by checking the weather app so it's obvious that he's not eavesdropping on him talking about his youngest daughter. Miriam Dominguez-Miller was a force to be reckoned with. Jack learned about her through following Mateo on instagram and briefly through Larissa because they played together in college. Miriam played for UC Berkeley and after she graduated she went to Brazil to play for their women's league in Rio until this past December she was bought by Angel City FC. From the 3am rabbit holes he went on, according to the reddit threads he read, Miriam wasn't liked by her team. Apparently they thought her dad bought her place because he had connections with the team. He and Isabela, Miriam's mom, sponsored a little girls league for underprivileged girls to play for free.

Jack seen a few games and he could see the hostility between Miriam and her teammates. While Miriam was naturally good, it didn't help that she had a bad temper and played aggressively when provoked.

“You're Jack Harlow, right?” Mateo asked. “I'm Mateo. We met a few times.”

“Yes, that's,” Jack's voice cracked. He coughed. “‘Cuse me, yes that's me. I remember you, sir. It's always an honor to see you, even more so now because you're in my hometown.”

“My baby is playing today.” He said, rubbing his hands nervously.

“Nervous?” He asked Mateo.

“There's a lot riding on this game for Miriam.” He looked over to Miriam.

Her team was stretching a few feet from her with their backs to her so she couldn't join their circle. Jack watched her look down at her wrists and mumble something under her breath. Miriam got up and scanned the stadium. Her eyes met Jack's but then skipped over to her dad. She jogged to him.

“Papi, can you hold these?” She removed two gold bracelets from her wrist.

“Ay, Miriam.” Mateo shook his head, stuffing them in his coat pocket.

“Sorry, I got–”

“Go, you're wasting time.” He cut her off, motioning her to go back to her team.

Miriam glanced over to Jack and he pretended to be entranced with the way his apps were organized. Though, he didn’t miss that dirty look she gave him before walking away. He frowned, confused why she would even look at him like that. He only interacted with her once at the Met Gala last year. She was dressed by Givenchy like him and they spent the entire evening talking. She gave him her number and everything. Then a few days later when she went back to Rio, she posted herself working out to NUN FREE on instagram but she blocked him when he slid in her dms.

The game started a few minutes after. Right away Miriam's teammates forgot she was also on the field. She yelled at them that she was open but they ignored her. If the ball did get near her one of her teammates would intervene before she could even touch the ball. As the game progressed Jack could see the frustration get to Miriam. The referee blew the whistle, indicating half-time. Louisville was winning 2-0.

Jack not so subtly watched how the shorts hugged Miriam’s ass as she jogged to the one teammate that kept taking the ball. Jack couldn't hear from where he was sitting but they were having a heated argument. The player got in Miriam’s face so the logical thing Miriam did was put her hand in front of them to create space between them. Her teammate took it the wrong way and shoved Miriam. She stumbled back a few steps, but caught herself. She went after her teammate and pushed her to the ground. The ref saw their exchange and pulled out a red card on Miriam, ejecting her from the game. Beside Jack, Mateo cursed and packed up his set up.

He turned to Jack before going up the steps and defeatedly said, “Guess we'll be seeing each other more.”

Miriam was fuming, but her dad was even more pissed. The entire ride to the hotel Mateo was silent. Miriam hated getting aggressive. She didn't mean to push her teammate; it was an act of self-defense. Her teammate got in her face and took the frustrations of losing out on Miriam. All Miriam told her teammate was to pass her the ball so they could try to score at least. Her teammate took it personally and got in Miriam's face, calling her a bunch of rude names.

As they made their way to their shared suite, Miriam turned on her phone. The second it came to life her phone flooded with notifications. Texts from friends and families, her Instagram was blowing up with comments, and lastly the Google alert she had on herself also went off. One particular article caught her attention. ‘MIRIAM DOMINGUEZ-MILLER TO BE TRADED, TEAM TBA.’ She tried to scroll down but the website bombarded her with ads.

“I'm being traded?” She asked her dad.

“Yes.” He said, nonchalantly.

“Wha– why?” She frowned.

“Because you don't fucking listen to me, Miriam.” He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “You're a fucking liability. You and that fucking attitude can only get you so far with my help.”

“I get attacked by my own teammate and I'm supposed to stand there?” She snapped.

“You fall into their traps cada pinche vez, Miriam.” He yelled back. “Do you think I don't know what it's like to know your teammates don't fuck with you? I dealt with that shit for years and didn't let every little comment get under my skin.”

Miriam felt herself get small. She sat on a chair and pulled her knees up, hugging them.

“Today was your last strike. They told me that if you got aggressive you were getting traded.” Mateo said, grabbing a water bottle from the mini fridge.

Miriam frowned. “Why didn't you tell me? I would have kept calm or–”

“I know you, Miriam. You would've tried to keep it together for a few games then blow up. You have to deal with the consequences. I've told you countless times to stay focus on the game and not–”

“It's not fucking fair that when my teammates provoke me, I'm the only one dealing with it. I never instigate anything.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Miriam hated crying in front of her dad. She didn't want him to think she was weak.

“I know you don't, Miriam.” He patted her shoulder.

“Where am I going to go now? Nobody fucking likes me.” She sniffled.

“I've been making calls and Racing Louisville has an opening. Lucky for you, one of their players is pregnant and they don't want to go through tryouts.” Mateo said, not looking up from his phone.

“You want me to stay here? In Kentucky? Papi, no.” She whined.

“It's this or we look for international teams.” He shrugged.

Miriam sighed. As much as she loved playing in Rio, she couldn't move abroad. She missed her family way too much. Kentucky may be far from LA but it didn't compare to her being in a different continent.

“Fine.” She agreed defeatedly.

Mateo nodded. “Excellent, you have three weeks to move here before they officially announce you joining their team.”

***

“Dude, I'm not inviting her.” Larissa told Jack.

“It's my birthday.” He pleaded. “I have to give it back to her.”

After the game, Jack found one of the bracelets Miriam gave her dad before the game for safe keeping on the ground. He figured it must've fallen when he was rushing to deal with the few sports reporters. Jack tried dm'ing Mateo but he never responded.

“Or you could just give it to me. I don't see why you're doing the most when I could just return the bracelet to her.” Larissa arched an eyebrow at him.

“I have to talk to her. We're going to be seeing more of each other now that she moved here.” Jack explained.

“We live in a decently populated town not some small town where everyone knows everyone and who's fucking the deacon. Besides, she has her reasons why she doesn't fuck with you.” She mumbled that last part.

“You know, don't you?” He asked.

Larissa shook her head. “I'm not getting in the middle of whatever you have made up in your head.”

“Riss, c'mon.” he sighed.

“I gotta go get ready for my hot date. I'll see you in a few days.” she waved before she left his place.

Jack sighed once more and plopped on his couch. Larissa was right. He could just give her the bracelet and everything will be fine. But the people pleaser in him couldn't let go of why she didn't like him. Not to toot his own horn, but he was liked by many. So Miriam not liking him bruised his ego. He couldn't process how one minute she's laughing and holding onto his arm as he tells her another joke. Then days later she blocked him.

It took him a few days to work up the courage to dm her. To his luck she posted one of his songs and used it as an in. He wanted to hear her laugh again. It had been a while since he made anyone laugh like that. The last time was probably in Brazil when he was performing at Lollapalooza. He and a few friends were invited to Anitta's birthday party. He ran into a girl who spoke English and spent the entire time talking to her and making her laugh. One thing led to another and they found a guest room.

Jack closed his eyes and his mind went back to that night. It was pretty hazy. He was jet-lagged from all the traveling and performing. But he did remember the soft brown he stared into as he came twice. His mind slowly expanded those eyes into a face.

“Miriam!” He yelled to himself.

He had hooked up with Miriam. He cursed himself. How could he forget that he literally was inside of her. But that still didn't answer why she blocked him days after the Met Gala. If the sex was bad, it wasn't, she would've been prompted to block him then. But she didn't. Something must've happened but for the life of him he couldn't remember. The days after the Met Gala he spent them promoting his album. This entire thing was going to bother him.

His phone began to buzz from the coffee table. Jack walked over and checked who it was.

“‘Sup Zack.” He answered.

“Hey man, I landed a while ago but I wanted to ask if I could invite a friend. She moved here recently. She's pretty chill and gets the whole private party thing in case you're worried about her posting.” Zack said.

“Yeah, just give me her name so I can have Neelam add her to the list.” Jack said, pulling up the Google doc.

“You probably know her since you're into your home teams. Her name is Miriam Dominguez-Miller, she just started playing for the women's soccer team here.”

Miriam twisted her wet curls into a bun and quickly got dressed. She just completed her first week of practice with her new. They were a 180 from her previous team. They were kind and were nice to her. They treated her like the team player that she was. She found a groove with her new teammates and they let her be herself.

She started a bit after every practice she would sing a song for their tiktok and Instagram reels. Her song choices ranged from Bad Bunny to showtunes to Glee covers. The other day she sang 96000 from In the Heights and Lin Manuel Miranda reposted it. Her old team tried to shade her by doing their own singing but it backfired on them because they weren't good singers. Miriam was and her comments were filled begging her to use her nepotism privileges to get into singing or on Broadway.

For a minute she almost got into music and even recorded some demos with an old hookup but she focused more on soccer. Maybe in the future once she retired from playing then she would pick it up. But for now all her focus was soccer and getting into the USA team for the World Cup in the summer.

Dione, one of her new teammates, passed her the mini mic when they walked to the parking lot. “It’s now time for song of the day-yyay-ay with Miriam.”

Miriam pressed shuffle on her phone and Hot Girl by Megan Thee Stallion began to play. She set her bag down and performed for them. A few teammates joined in and danced along to her rapping. They all belted out ‘Don't get mad hoe, get a bag hoe!’ chorus. Miriam dropped her winter coat, wearing only her cropped workout top and its matching leggings that made her ass big. She lifted one leg on the back bumper of her car and twerked with one leg as she finished the song. She bowed and handed the small mic to Dione. They went their separate ways after. Miriam stayed in her car for a bit.

She scrolled through her pictures and picked a picture of her and Larissa at UC Berkeley, then one of her in her new away jersey and from a few days ago of her and Larissa at practice. She added a cheesy caption and posted it on Instagram. Her comments began flooding in. She exited out of the app and went to spotify and played some Bad Bunny for her drive home. She started her car and reversed out of her parking spot.

She was belting out Un Ratito when she got an incoming text from Zack Bia. He was a friend, well he was her siblings friends and she would tag along here and there whenever she was in LA. They weren't really that close but they ran in the same circle of nepo babies. He was in town DJing for someone's birthday and invited Miriam to the party. She said maybe and to ask whoever it was if it was okay for her to tag along.

Miriam decided to wait until she got to her apartment to read the message. She was still getting used to driving in Louisville, and driving overall. Once she arrived, she set her practice equipment in the small laundry room and changed into more comfy clothes. She ordered herself some dinner.

She finally settled in her velvet green couch and played a movie while she waited for her food. Miriam then looked at whatever Zack sent her. ‘Jack said it's cool.’ She frowned and replied back, asking who he was referring to. ‘Jack Harlow, he lives here. He's chill.’ He sent her another message with instructions and a QR-code for her. Miriam left him on read.

There's no way she was going to his birthday party. Especially after what happened at the Met Gala. What he said was so rude and she was blindsided from his actions. Since then she vowed to never be in the same room as him if she could help it.

•••

@'mdm: reunited with my better half @'larissa12 💜🤍 ty to @'racinglouisvillefc for the amazing opportunity and for welcoming me into the family

@calwsoc: two pretty best friends

@'larissa12: ilysm

@'katdominguez: can I have the Versace heels you left in LA

-> @'mdm: touch my shit y vas a ver 🩴

-> @'josephdominguez: can I move into your old room

-> @'mdm: no!

@'zendaya: booking a flight to see you play

@'oldteammate: miss you 🥺

@'racinglouisvillefc: 💜🤍

@'miriamhater: imagine your dad being a legendary soccer player and you end up playing for Kentucky of all teams because you're a liability 🤣

View all comments

•••

Jack jogged up the steps to the balcony where the DJ booth for Zack was set up. Zack had told him that Miriam said she was going to come but Jack hadn't seen her. He'd done laps around the venue looking for her. He had her bracelet in his car and wanted to give it to her. He also told himself that if Miriam didn't show up to just accept it and give Larissa the bracelet to give to her.

“Has your friend shown up yet?” Jack asked him casually.

“What friend?” Clay asked Jack.

“No one.” His older brother mumbled.

“You know Mateo Dominguez, right?” Urban began. Clay nodded. “Well his daughter plays for Louisville and Jack has a thing for her but he's an idiot and already fucked it up.”

“Oh my fucking god, grab the mic tell the rest.” Jack rolled his eyes.

“She got here like five minutes ago and she's at the bar.” Zack said, without looking away from his monitor.

Clay, Urban, and Jack all looked over the balcony. Miriam was sitting in the corner on her phone in one hand and she was chewing nervously on her thumb.

“How the fuck do you fumble her?” Clay asked.

“I didn't…it's complicated.” Jack explained vaguely.

“I'm getting her side. Cuz knowing you, it was deserved.” He said before making his way down.

“Clay!” Jack called after him.

Clay reached the bar and introduced himself to Miriam. Jack stood far enough that Miriam wouldn't see him but close enough that Clay could see that he was waving him over to leave Miriam alone. But his younger brother ignored him. In fact he stayed with Miriam for another five minutes making her laugh with whatever he was telling. Having enough of that, he went over to where his parents and other family members were.

“Mom, go get your son.” Jack nodded over to Clay.

Maggie over. “Oh she's gorgeous, good for Clay.”

“Don't say that.” He frowned.

“Do you not think she's pretty?” His mom asked.

“Of course I do, but…it's complicated. And Clay is making it worse.” He rolled his eyes.

“What did you do to her?” She crossed her arms.

“Why does everyone think I did something?” Jack sighed.

“Baby, I say this with love, but I know you.” Maggie rubbed his arm. “I don't know what happened or what all of this is about but I know you didn't intend for whatever to go about the way it did. Just be respectful and don't overstep any boundaries. Okay?”

“Yeah.” Jack nodded.

He looked over to Clay and Miriam and sighed defeatedly. Jack made his way out to the parking lot for some fresh air. He leaned back on the cool brick wall, feeling the music thump against his back. He sipped his can of phocus and closed his eyes.

The door flew open. He heard heels click against the sidewalk, in a pacing pattern.

“Hey, sorry I couldn't hear you.” The voice.

It was Miriam. Jack cursed and pushed himself off the wall to inside. He dropped his drink, making her look back at him. He cursed as the can rolled to her. He was trying to be sneaky so she wouldn't see him.

“Clau, can I call you tomorrow after practice? Okay, bye, love you.” Miriam placed her phone in her small Prada bag. She bent down and picked up his can. “You dropped this.”

“I did.” he nodded.

“Do you want it? There's still some.” She said.

“I should recycle it.” Jack said, taking the can from her. “Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

They both stood in silence waiting for the other to say something.

“I have your bracelet.” “Your party seems fun.” They said the same time.

“Sorry, you first.” They said in unison.

Jack nodded for her to go first.

“Your party seems nice. Uh, happy birthday.” She pulled put a decently sized box from her large leather jacket. “There wasn't, like, a gift table so I didn't know where to put it. I was going to give it to your brother so he could give it to you but he randomly left me at the bar.”

“He does that. He floats around to different people. And thanks for this.” Jack said. “I'm pretty sure you're the only person to actually give me a gift besides my parents and grandparents.”

Out of curiosity of what she could've gifted him, he opened the box. It was a Brunello Cucinelli cheese cutlery set. Jack never heard of the brand before but he figured it was expensive.

“Gonna go ham at Morris Deli and buy a shit ton of cheese.” Jack said, pulling out his keys.

His car was the closest to them. He unlocked it and placed the gift under the passenger seat. He grabbed a small key and used it to open the glove compartment. He took out Miriam's bracelet.

“Here,” he handed her her bracelet. “I'm sorry it took me this long to return it. I should've just given it to Riss. I shouldn't have taken it hostage. I get why you blocked me. I'm sorry if I pushed you back in Brazil and crossed any other boundaries.”

“What night in Brasil?” Miriam's eye brows furrowed.

“At Anitta's birthday party. We hooked up…that's why you blocked me after the Met Gala last year.” Jack said.

“Oh my god, that was you?” Miriam laughed. “That night was a blur. I was in Brasília for a tournament and flew to São Paulo in the night. All I remember is some white guy being way too enthusiastic for missionary sex.”

“I mean they call me missionary Jack for a reason.” He smirked. He then frowned. “That doesn't explain why you blocked me. I had a nice time hanging out with you at the Met.”

“I get fashion isn't everyone's thing but I love going above and beyond for the Met. It's the fucking Met. I don't appreciate people being all nice to me there and then going to some radio show to talk shit about me.” She said, crossing her arms.

“What does that have to do with me?” He asked.

“That's literally what you did? Are you seriously going to act like you didn't?” Miriam frowned.

“Because I didn't.”

“Yes you fucking did. It was for some radio with the lady that talked shit about Kehlani when they were promoting their album.”

It took Jack a second but then he remembered. “That shit was taken out of context. They used that clip for clicks. I was actually complimenting you and the other people that put effort into the Met Gala.”

“Oh…wow, I feel like an idiot. I'm sorry.” Miriam felt her cheeks heat up.

“You're fine. Why don't we start fresh? I mean we're going to be seeing a lot of each other, I don't want any bad energy between us.” Jack suggested.

“I'd like that.” She smiled.

Just like that they fell into conversation. They caught each other up in what happened with them in the almost year. Miriam told Jack about how she played for a few more months in Brasil then went to Germany to film a secret project she couldn't talk about yet. Then she moved back to LA. Jack told her about filming White Men Can't Jump and how he toured for almost six months straight. He even confessed to her that in the last few months he'd been working on an album for shits and giggles.

Miriam’s feet began to hurt from her heels so they went to sit on the sidewalk edge. They sat pretty close, giggling and whispering among themselves. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't hear the door open until they Clay's voice.

“Riss, the cake can fucking wait.” He said, pulling Larissa back. He gave Jack and Miriam an apologetic look.

Larissa pulled her arm back. “They want you to cut the cake, Jack.”

“We should go.” Jack told Miriam. He got up and stretched down his hands for Miriam to use them to pull herself up.

“Thanks.” She said dusting her backside.

Jack went in with Clay. Miriam followed behind Larissa.

“I thought you hated Jack.” She told Miriam when they hung back as the other party goers circled around Jack and Urban.

“It was a misunderstanding. We resolved it.” Miriam said.

“It better be. I don't want to get in the middle again.” Larissa sipped her drink.

“I never asked you to be. I would actually appreciate it if you didn't. Your friendship with Jack should be separate and objective to our friendship okay?” Miriam said.

“Fine, just don't come venting to me. Jack's a playboy and I recommend that you don't get involved with him.” She said.

“Like I just said not even a minute ago, I'm not asking nor looking for your opinion of what happens between me and Jack. But if knowing helps you sleep at night, I'm setting it straight that we're just going to be friends. And honestly, i don't like how you're bringing up my personal life right now.”

“You're right. I'm sorry, Mimi. I'm just looking out for the two of you. From now on you won't hear a peep from me about this.” Larissa said apologetically.

“Thank you.” Miriam smiled.

They gave their full attention to Jack and Urban. Miriam made a mental note to get Urban a present. She didn't know it was also his birthday party until she got to the venue. She felt bad because she only got Jack something.

The rest of the party went by fast. Jack introduced Miriam to his friend group. She noticed how the girls in the group all shared a look when Jack mentioned that she was a friend of Larissa but she didn't say anything. Larissa wasn't everyone's cup of tea. She could be intense and sometimes people mistake that for her being mean. Miriam grew accustomed to it so she didn't mind it. Larissa left half an hour after the cake with the guy she was kinda seeing so Miriam didn't get to hang out with her, but she was seeing her the following morning at practice.

By the end of the party, Miriam was still there. She spent the majority of it talking to Jack. She even met his parents and they mentioned how Jack was a huge fan of her dad.

“Where’s your car?” Jack asked Miriam as they left the venue.

“Oh I'm getting an Uber.” She said, typing away.

“Let me take you home. It's late.” He said.

“I don't want to impose.” Miriam said.

“It's fine. C'mon.” He opened the passenger door for her.

“Thanks.” She smiled.

Jack handed her his phone with Spotify open. “The longevity of our friendship is going to be determined by who you play.”

“I was just gonna play Bad Bunny so I don't fall asleep in your car.” she said.

“Good answer.” He said in a tone he had no business talking to her.

Miriam regretted mentally friendzoning him. But she also didn't want to cause any drama so it was that they just stay friends. No matter how hot she thought it was that he backed out of the parking lot. She was so mesmerized by how good he looked driving that she completely forgot that she put in her address and was surprised that he pulled up to her building.

“Damn, even I can't afford living here.” Jack said, taking in the luxury building.

“Ugh, I didn't even want to live here but my dad insisted.” Miriam sighed.

“Fuck your dad for wanting you to live in one of the most opulent parts of town.” He said in the same tone as her.

“Oh my god you make me sound so spoiled.” She laughed. She glanced at the time on his touch screen. It was almost three in the morning. “I should get going. I have practice in, like, four hours.”

Jack quickly got out and opened the door for her.

“Thanks for the ride.” She smiled softly. “And I'm glad we sorted all that out.”

“Me too.” He smiled back.

Miriam stood on her tippy toes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Jack hugged her back. They slowly pulled apart but still held onto each other. Jack cleared his throat. Miriam turned her head, only inches away from his. Her eyes drifted down to his lips and back to his blue eyes. He waited for her to make the first move, but it never came.

“Thanks again, Jack.” She said, taking a step back.

“Night Miriam.” He said.

Miriam smiled and made her way to the lobby door. The doorman opened the door and let her in. Jack stayed until he saw her go in the elevator before heading back to his place. Once settled in his pajamas he looked through all the pictures taken at the photobooth. He found the one he was looking for and posted it.

•••

@'jackharlowsource: Jack with Miriam Dominguez-Miller, the daughter of his soccer player and the newest player of @'racinglouisvillefc via Instagram Stories

@'jackfan: I know shipping people irl is bad but hear me out...

@'mdmfan: this is the randomest link up ever

-> @'jackstan: one of her teammates from college is a childhood friend of Jack's and she's friends with Zack Bia

@'jackharlowstan: oh he's obsessed with that family 😭

@'miriamhater: I hope Jack stays away from her. She's a bitch and fights her own teammates, that's why she got traded to Louisville

-> @'miriamstan: you mean when her old teammate provoked her and initiated the fight? Yeah don't speak on her

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#jack harlow #jack and miriam: soccer edition #jack and miriam

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insignificant457 · 9 months

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Pierce Brown Light Bringer Q&A

I went to pierces book signing tonight and I will attempt to regurgitate everything I can remember since I didn’t take notes

When asked if there’s any characters he regrets killing off, he said Trigg. But he also said he has a different answer every time someone asks that

He talked about how he writes two different types of deaths—deaths that feel like the end of an arc, and deaths that feel like they cut off in the middle. He said the latter are more like life, and that’s why they hurt more, and why he’s more likely to regret killing them. Trigg is one of these, as is Fitchner

Speaking of Trigg, his aborted arc factored into the decision to add ephraim as a pov character—it allowed him to explore Trigg and his backstory even after he was gone

The other povs in iron gold were specifically chosen because each had a bone to pick with Darrow, and also because he wanted a high, mid, and low color pov

He was complimented multiple times on how he writes female characters, and his response basically boiled down to “I subscribe to the radical idea that women are people”. He said it’s funny that no one ever compliments him on his ability to write complex male characters

Related to the above, both victra and Aja were originally conceived as male characters, but he couldn’t quite make them work until he flipped the gender. He said that after making victra a woman, he immediately knew exactly who she was and she became incredibly easy to write

Speaking of victra (she got a lot of love, as she deserves), someone asked for a random fact about her, and he said she plays Karachi, which is a gambling game, but she doesn’t want anyone to know because she doesn’t want people to think she’s reckless. Everyone knows.

When asked how he feels about Lysander, pierce said “he’s doing his job,” both in universe and as a vehicle for the story. He also said this was always the path he’d imagined for Lysander

Some of his favorite lines are “do not fear for me, pity them” and “worthy”

He called Darrow a drama queen, and said that he often talks out loud while writing, and darrows internal monologues get weird reactions from friends who overhear (“who’s the motherfucking consequence?!?”)

Darrows experience in light bringer (in particular his reading of the path to the vale) was very much inspired by pierces own struggle trying to write light bringer. He said they both had to learn that the right path is not always forward, sometimes you have to go back

Light bringer was by far the hardest book for him to write (he said “if you ever want to know what the hardest book for an author to write was, just look at how long it took to do it) but he said it’s also possibly his favorite

When asked if any characters or relationships surprised him, he said yes absolutely. Sevro was apparently supposed to be a tertiary character, but basically hopped off the page, and victra was another surprise. He also said (light bringer spoilers) the relationship between Cassius and Lyria was also a huge surprise, but he realized on writing their first interaction that they would absolutely love each other

He also said that the snark between Darrow Cassius and sevro just flowed really easily, and that Darrow and Cassius understand each other, but that Cassius simply Does Not Get sevro

When asked about bringing the jackal back as a clone, he said it was an effort to explore cloning in a way that, in his opinion, has not been done particularly well in many other media. He also said it came about because there was more to explore with virginias relationship with her brother

Tongueless was a hat of death kill, but he told us the original backstory he had planned for him. Apparently tongueless was a high up leader of the syndicate, who was deposed by Lilath when she came in and instigated a coup

He said he tries to write using “South Park writing rules”, meaning instead of saying x and y and z happen, he always uses x happens but y happens or y happens therefore z happens. He said this helps keep things from feeling predictable or trite

When asked what he hopes people take away from the series, he said he doesn’t want to say, because he fears that would be showing his hand for red god. But he did say that what he hopes people take away from light bringer is the same thing darrow tells sevro in morning star “we keep looking for the light, but we’re it”

And lastly, in the signing line, I asked him when sevro found out his father was ares, and he told me it was “probably around the same time darrow found out”, and said a lot of that is because sevro had spent a long time hating his father, because he could always sense he was being shut out. He mentioned that children can tell when there are walls there, and it can actually have a very damaging impact on their mental stability (mental instability? I said. sevro? Never.) anyway rip to my sevro joined the sons pre series theory, you will be missed, but it’s nice to have an answer thanks Pierce

Anyway it was a very fun time, if I remember more later I will add it

#red rising #pierce brown #light bringer #$36 plus I got a signed copy of light bringer and he signed my copy of morning star #well worth the cost

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linktoo · 10 months

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I got an ask wondering about who is my favourite character in Disco Elysium, which I stand by my answer of being not really one in particular. But, Dora is one character I've been thinking about a lot and I think I want to expand on that.

The story is told through Harry's eyes, and regardless of his in-depth analysis of and narration of his attributes, it's unreliable. Undeniably so. This is part of the story, I really do feel for Harry's inability to move on. I feel for his aching loneliness, and his need to be needed. The crushing feeling of missing someone so achingly bad, only for them to learn that they have actually forgotten a lot about you and moved on is a feeling of deep rejection, devastatingly demoralizing and painful. "I betrayed her, overwrote her, and happier for it" is a visceral line of feeling the alienation of someone you've lost to time, someone you used to know but has moved on without you.

But I really can't help but feel so much for Dora's position in all of this. As a woman in a male dominated society your emotions are seen as both weak yet mature, you are constantly objectified down into pieces of meat, and seen as vapid and shallow when you put yourself first. When you choose to finally stand up for yourself, that is long after you've known better, long after you’ve been embittered by your initial innocence and first experience.

“You were my first. My first kiss, my first time to have sex.”

The game continues to emphasize how Harry loved her, how Harry missed her, and yet I get deeply uncomfortable with how her presence is described with her physique rather than her actual self as a person.

“A dolorian figure, cut in black, moves below. It's still her. Her legs, her breasts, her hips…”

[...]

“‘No, Harry.’ She shakes her head. ‘It's just regular skin. I'm not as beautiful as you always thought I was.”

It’s reductive. It’s dehumanizing. It’s not about her, it’s what she represents. The most perfect goddess of a woman, put on a pedestal and quite literally turned into a deity. Not to be loved romantically, but to be worshipped as a religious figure. Worshipped for the violence and destruction she creates to degrade him and feed into his self loathing, and thus Dora becomes Dolores Dei.

There is a selfish hope and longing that comes with any sort of kindness or pity she give him. She knows that and her words are cautious, she has been through it before, and no longer feels any sort of way about it. She is vulnerable, she did used to care, she is sympathetic to his pain, but she firmly does not anymore and will not allow her empathy be used against her.

YOU - "But… that's not a very good way for things to be." DOLORES DEI - "It's not, but…" She looks at her feet. Little golden sandals cover her toes. YOU - "But what? Tell me there's something good…" DOLORES DEI - "I don't know why I said but. There is no but." YOU - "That's it?" DOLORES DEI - "That's it, yes," she looks up from her toes. "We've talked about it a million times. You will get over it, just like I did. People do. Things will get good for you again…"

I understand that detachment so deeply.

There is a pain to know men you trusted and cared and loved only to be seen as a reductive version of yourself. The one who is “nice”, the one who is “ethereally beautiful” and that’s… about it. You’re not good for each other. It didn’t work out. But by finally deciding it is best to remove yourself from that relationship, you are considered the slut that left him. You are considered the gold digger, the shallow bitch, the uncaring freak of a woman. We didn't really get to know about her and I don't think she was good to him either.

And I just can’t help thinking about that. I’m glad she’s happier now.

#dolores dei #harry du bois #disco elysium #dora ingerlund #linktoo rambles #we live in a society... idk what 2 say...

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thewritetofreespeech · 6 months

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Hello! Happy to see requests are open again!

Could I request the seven Obey Me brothers with an s/o who's a jewelry maker?

Obey me Brothers + jewelry maker s/o

Lucifer

He likes the concept of jewelry more than he actually likes it.

The style and fashion on how it’s made, plus the reasons why, have always fascinated Lucifer. Like any piece of art. However, he doesn’t really wear jewelry.

He has a few ceremonial pieces for balls & diplomatic occasions, and of course his chain in his demon form, but that’s about it.

If s/o was to make him a piece of jewelry, he would want a watch chain. One of interlocking silver & gold pieces to symbolize their bond, as well as something practical he could wear everyday.

Mammon

As the Avatar of Greed, of course Mammon loves jewelry.

He loves being around it. Loves touching it. Loves owning it. All the shiny, intrinsic value of it all.

He’s honestly never really cared about any of the pieces he’s owned (just hoarding them like his little ravens) until s/o gave him something. He would cherish and keep it close. It’s a real problem on photoshoots.

If s/o was to make him a piece of jewelry, he would want a new set of earrings for his ear. That way he could wear them around all the time and change out the studs with one or the other depending on his style.

Levi

He’s not a real jewelry person.

The only kind he’s ever owned his costume jewelry for his cosplay, or merch jewelry from his favorite characters. More for collectors’ value & clout than real money.

Levi thinks it’s pretty cool they can make pieces though, and commissions several for his outfits if his vision for a certain accessory doesn’t exist.

If s/o was to make him a piece of jewelry, he would want a new gaming wristlet to put on his handhelds. Of course he can’t have anything on his fingers, as it will screw up his accuracy, but he can use it to keep hold of his games and fun charms, and think of s/o while he plays.

Satan

Much like Lucifer (though he’ll never admit it) Satan appreciates jewelry for its art.

The symbolic and time period importance of a piece interests him, and he’s also read several books of smithing & traditional jewelry making to know about it.

He would like to learn as well and asks s/o to teach him. Then they have a hobby together.

If s/o was to make him a piece of jewelry, he would want a lapel pin he could wear on his jacket. Something with a flat steam so, when he’s out reading, he can also use it as a bookmark.

Asmo

Asmo as literally hundreds of pieces of jewelry. Of all kinds.

Most of them are gifts from admirers, but he’s also purchased a lot of them as fashion accessories. Every new trend needs to be owned by him.

He genuinely loves every piece he owns, but the ones from s/o are the only ones he honestly re-wears as he usually doesn’t like to repeat a look.

If s/o was to make him a piece of jewelry, he would want a ring. Something bright & flashy, and he would constantly tell people it’s their engagement ring; which annoys s/o but Asmo is so happy when he says it.

Beel

Beel doesn’t really get jewelry.

Likes it’s cool and all. Shiny and everything. But he thinks it just gets in the way of what you’re trying to do and is just another thing to worry about. Plus he’s broken a lot of it not thinking about his strength.

The only exception he makes is for his leather necklace & bracelet, and that’s because Belphie gave it to him. So he would probably make an exception for s/o’s gift as well.

If s/o was to make him a piece of jewelry, he would want a bracelet the same style as his human outfit look. It’s a strong enough metal weave that he can’t easily break it, plus it looks really strong. He’s always liked bronze more than traditional metals if he had to choose.

Belphie

Thinks jewelry is pointless. Just another thing you have to take off before you go to sleep, or it just sits in a drawer.

But anything [Y/N] does is of interest to him.

He would like to watch them make the pieces. Something about turning just ordinary pieces into something beautiful really moves him, and he can watch them for hours.

If s/o was to make him a piece of jewelry, he would want a necklace with an amethyst stone. He doesn’t have to take it off when he goes to sleep. Amethyst is said to help promote restful sleep. And purple is his favorite color. Belphie would wear it all the time.

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himbo-in-limbo · 7 months

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[a random head canon thingy idk cuz my I pad is charging n I can't draw rn 😞] Glamrock Bonnie/Glamrock Freddy

_____________________

I like to think Bonnie often goes off on his guitar during live performances (leaning towards it sounding like heavy metal) n often forgets he's playing for children LMAO

The kids love it regardless but the gangs like "dude again?" His longest solo was like a good 3 minutes...

He craves to have artistic freedom, I'm assuming the rest do as well tbh

Imagine hearing Freddy practicing his vocals, since we see chica shredding her guitar in her spare time I wonder if he dose the same?

I bet Freddy also likes to help whichever staff member is doing heavy lifting n he sees them struggling with the cargo n just goes "Oh please it's the least I can do! You all do so much for us, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourselves."

Also likes to help because Freddy has trouble just doing nothing...he needs to be doing something!

Or else he gets a bit antsy

Which is why he loves conversing n little tasks!

Bonnie calls the people closest to him "Carrot cake" bc he loves it sm and he loves them sm

In terms of the OG Trio I see chica being the one they protect the most like that's their baby sister to them 🥺♥️

Side note that it's a shame we don't have enough interactions between chica n Freddy in the game...

Like I wanna know if their just as close to each other as Freddy and Bonnie were

Bonnie gets excited hearing stories that the staff members tell him (if he's friends with em) about the outside world...

He LOVE'S it when they share their favorite music with him! He likes to analyze the guitar solos n usually that sneaks into the next concert hehe

He wants to go outside so bad...he often looks outside any windows and wishes he could just step outside for a bit...

This is also something I think the rest have in common.

They are happy working with the kids! They love their job! They would just like to feel the sun n quite literally touch grass...at least once!

Going back to Bonnie loving carrot cake he dose actually have a slight problem with it similar to chica...just don't leave your slice unattended with him, like a magic trick it'll disappear ✨

I like to think Bonnie originally didn't have eye liner but he saw one of the staff members have some on and he just told them "I want that! Can you put that on me?!" And ever since then it's been a part of his iconic look

Freddy laughs to hard at simple jokes like dad jokes kill him, which is why when he tells them sometimes he can't finish the joke 💀

His laugh is so cute n contagious 😭♥️

Everyone groans but they laugh at Freddy's reaction anyways

Bonnie's laugh is dorky, he snorts on occasion and the others call him out n he gets embarrassed

All in good fun of course!

If Bonnie were to blush I like to imagine that his whole face goes red like you can always tell when he's flustered hehe

Honestly I believe Freddy has that classy rizz, like he's such a gentleman, he'd court you properly is all I'm saying

As for Bonnie he's flirty, if he likes you he'll be teasing you a lot

He likes to bully his crush a tiny bit by making em all flustered, and yes he challenges you to bowling quite often!

It's his favorite bonding activity what can you do

He's such a good teacher for bowling too! Has to be for the kiddos of course!

All in all these boys have a heart of gold

They'll inspire you in some way n leave you feeling happy! And you do the same for them! Their still learning how to modify their hugging power tho!

It's strong! 🧡💙

#glamrock bonnie #glamrock freddy #glamrock fronnie #idk #limbo writes #drabble #fnaf sb #security breach #headcanon #im still waiting for my ipad to finish charging...

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nephriteknight · 1 month

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Thoughts on Daggerheart!!

I'll admit I haven't really been following it until today, but after watching the videos released today I got very excited and ended up building a character and reading a lot of the book, as I am wont to do (might post about them later lol).

Now, full disclosure, I wouldn't say I'm all that familiar with the TTRPG space outside of D&D, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. That said, I've played D&D, Wanderhome, Alice is Missing, and the fan-made Hollow Knight TTRPG, and I've watched some AP of Kids on Bikes, Call of Cthulhu, Monsterhearts, and Candela Obscura, which is a longer list than I was expecting. Huh. Anyways, my thoughts!

I really like the duality dice! It's such an interesting way to do mixed success that incorporates story/character into mechanics, which is great.

Related to that, I also like Hope as a fluid resource, and I think that Fear is a nice way to both prompt GM action and to just create a fun sense of dread as the GM takes more tokens

The lack of turn order/action economy is... cool, and a really interesting idea, but my thoughts on this are complicated. As we're seeing in the oneshot right now, it really helps to keep combat as part of the story and give the players and GM room for creativity. (For example, Bunnie describing a counterstrike as part of her dodge, and being able to take it as soon as the GM's turn is over, as well as the tag team feature, which is very cool.) That said, I think this mechanic might not work so well with less experienced or less confident players, who might have trouble taking the initiative (heh) to act in combat (I know I certainly would if I wasn't playing with close friends). That's not really a criticism though -- this is a collaborative storytelling game, and part of playing it is making big moves and taking turns guiding the story. If that's not for you, then you might prefer a different system, which is fine! I think this mechanic has the potential to be really, really dope, but I also think it's the bit that has the most potential to go poorly in my eyes.

The art, design, and general aesthetic feel of this game are so unbelievably up my alley. I love it. That's all.

I'm excited to see that they're working on mechanics for playing disabled characters, but since they aren't out yet I can't really comment. (I did notice that the character in the bard art is in a wheelchair, which is dope.) Also, as others have noted, Daggerheart uses "heritage" and "ancestry" rather than "race", which is a small but good choice.

Personally, I also really like the choice to move away from precise measurements of distance and gold. This one is very much a personal preference, and I know some people will rightfully disagree, but I like it! As a DM, trying to determine the appropriate costs and rewards for things has always been a headache, and this seems much easier to manage; measuring distances with convenient and tangible measurements like the short side of a playing card or the length of a piece of paper also feels much easier to use.

The downtime mechanics are great! Each of the activities you can take prompts you to describe how you heal yourself or another, destress, repair armor, or prepare yourself for what's ahead, which really encourages quieter character moments both introspectively and with others. I'm a big fan of this. This combining of role play and mechanics is also present in other features, such as one of the major level 1 healing abilities, which is more effective if you spend the time it takes to cast learning something new about the person you're healing or sharing something about yourself.

I didn't look at this too closely because I was just making a character for fun and don't have a party to play with, but as part of character creation you're given questions about your relationships to your party members to answer. Wanderhome also has these, and they were MASSIVELY successful in creating depth and meaningful connections between players -- after our table's session zero I was already so invested in all our characters, and when we actually played them they really came to life. I haven't looked to closely at Daggerhearts version of this, but I'm very excited to see them.

The experience mechanic seems really fun and creative, and I especially like the idea of using a phrase rather than something specific. That said, when I played the Hollow Knight TTRPG, which also lets players create their own skills, the open endedness of it was more confusing than inspiring, and there was a lot of potential for a usefulness disparity between players. I do think Daggerheart explains it better, though, and limiting the use of experience with a Hope cost helps to counteract any choices that might be too broad, so hopefully it will work better

I probably have more thoughts, but it getting late and I have a headache, so that's all I'm saying for now :D

Overall, Daggerheart has combined a lot of things I've liked in other games with promising mechanics I haven't seen before, and I'm very excited to try it out. I'm now realizing that I just made a list of things I like without any negative feedback, which isn't what I wanted to do, but I'm not really sure what to criticize without having played it myself.

I'm most curious to see how the non-initiative mechanic works; it has the potential to be a really excellent solve for a major problem in D&D (plenty of people have talked about how initiative limits teamwork, can be boring when its not your turn, etc, so I won't get into it here), but I don't think it's a solution that will work for everyone. Of course, games can't work for everyone, and shouldn't try to. It's working really well on CR's oneshot as I write this, but making choices and sharing spotlight in TTRPGs is literally their job, so I'm not surprised this works for them. I could see this going really well with some tables I've played with, and really poorly with others. I'm still really optimistic, though; it seems like the kind of thing that with the right table could be really excellent.

#you know its not the point of this post but im gonna say it anyways: highly recommend wanderhome #good game; thank you saltzman for recommending it #daggerheart #critical role #table top role playing game #ttrpg

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