Been pretty determined to make an accurate CX2. I think this is as good as it's gonna get.
Helmet - black mech Torso / legs - imperial death trooper Head - one of the knights of Ren, can't remember Backpack - clonearmycustoms Sniper rifle - clonearmycustoms

I finished another Radiant Dawn run on the hardest difficulty and felt the bug to talk about tier listing again. Thanks for indulging me. My list:
https://i.imgur.com/8d4aPNg.png
Some commentary, from worst to best.
F Tier:
Lyre - This character has literally nothing going for her. Lyre has terrible bases, the worst class in the game, bad growths, and no endgame potential beyond being a mediocre filler unit. I can't imagine a worse character in Fire Emblem. Maybe Sophia. Even if you wanted to do an all-Laguz run, she can't crack the top 10. She isn't even force deployed on any maps. I cannot think of a single positive thing to say about Lyre.
Fiona - With even worse bases than Lyre and a baffling availability schedule, Fiona should be the worst unit in the game, but at least her class is solid. Female Silver Knight has bad caps overall, but good weapon types, speed, and a top-tier mastery talent. If you can endure the grind, you can make a unit with real contributions in the endgame. I feel like the game designers hate this unit, though; they make her arrive in a map themed around rescuing, but don't even let you recruit her to do any rescuing. The very next map is indoors. After that, we go to a swamp which is once again themed around rescuing, but Fiona isn't even available! After that? Another indoor map! Then another swamp! Then more cliffs! 3-13 is considered an indoor map and penalizes horse units! Literally the first map with wide open spaces to take advantage of cavalry classes that allows you to deploy Fiona is in Part 4. Her class level and bases are even bugged (allegedly). I can't believe how this game is engineered to ruin Fiona, and it's a miracle that she isn't the worst unit in the entire game.
Kyza - While he can be crafted into a tolerable lategame unit (better than many on this list who rank higher), there just isn't any reason to do so. He's got a terrible class (only cat laguz are worse), bad bases, and joins in a big pile of units that are a hundred times better at everything he can do. Need a tank? You've already got Brom and Gatrie on the team, and they don't untransform halfway through enemy phase. Kyza has the crown for most forgettable, pointless unit, but at least if you do train him for the experience, you get a unit that can kind of do something late game.
Makalov - Easily the worst of all cav units, any chance Makalov has to be good late game is betrayed by his poor class caps. He nearly escaped F tier by having a few useful turns in Part 2, but after some consideration, I honestly think he's more of a liability than helpful. The only units he can reliably hurt in Geoffrey's Charge are the ones that give you bexp if you spare them. I don't even like putting out fires with him; let the yellow units do it, so they don't run off and get themselves killed. Makalov is just a trainwreck of a character. At least he gets Sol.
Pelleas - As a secret character with a completely unique weapon type, you'd think unlocking him gets you access to some outstanding lategame growth unit with a big payoff for all your hard work. Nope. You get the worst mage in the game instead. While I give him a glimmer of usefulness for the potential to learn staves, you have to invest heavily in him to get there and it's just pointless when even Tormod can do the same thing for cheaper. I can't imagine a run where I'm relying on Pelleas as my 12th string healer for the tower. If you haven't really looked into the numbers, and you decide one day "I'm doing a Pelleas run!" you're going to find his bases shocking. What were they thinking here?
D Tier:
Sephiran - Kind of an easter egg at the end of the game, I considered not rating him at all (like the Burger King), but eh, he contributes something against Ashera I guess. Can't say much more here. Maybe, in an ironman, if you've lost all your non-Micaiah staffbots, you'll be glad when he joins? For barely squeezing out a microniche he escapes F tier.
Sanaki - Maybe I'm underrating her, but I just don't see the point. She needs heavy investment (particularly in seraph robes) to be able to survive the bosses of the tower. When she joins, she's just another subpar mage who doesn't even have the decency to learn staves. Her one saving grace is that she doesn't count against your 10 tower selections, so if you slap a paragon on her and get her battle ready, she can bless Meteor or something and make some contributions. The resources (including combat xp) you pour into her are better used on your real tower units.
Astrid - I considered dumping her in F tier. What the heck happened to the star paragon unit of Path of Radiance? Somehow, she's turned into a turd of a growth unit with atrocious bases, mediocre growths, and wacky availability. I only pulled her out of the gutter because of her class, and even with really awful strength and defense caps, she can turn into a solid tower unit. I've used her before and found she was legitimately not a waste of space as early as 4-1, where she was popping falco knights. I could see her be a good bird sniper in the Izuka map. Still, like all bad growth units, she's just not worth the effort.
Kurthnaga - While he can be fun to train, again, why? He provides the least useful of all dragon auras and just takes XP from your many units who still need it. Maybe make a Kurth juggernaut once for the experience, and then never again. If he joined at the start of Part 4, I can imagine him getting boosted a couple tiers, but nah, you can't be picking up new projects this late in the game.
Meg - Often times called the worst unit in the game, she is...somewhat underrated... as a midgame tank. A project unit for sure, and not worth it, but Meg does grow into a strong unit around 1-E and for all of Part 3. She can solo Ragnell Ike and the field of laguz in 3-13 pretty easily. You've got better options for that, but I do recommend experiencing a Meg run once just to see that it can be done. Ultimately, though, Meg can't escape D tier because her awful class caps betray her in the end, and her best attribute (speed) gets cut off at the knees.
Vika - The Tormod Squad all suffer from the availability curse, but Vika has it worst, since she desperately needs training to be viable at all. As if laguz weren't bad enough already, they can't take Discipline or upgrade weapons by any means other than the long, dark strike rank grind, and Vika has no time at all to do it. That leaves only her joining maps to recommend her, and she can do things like poke-canto or rescue villagers in the swamp, so that's something. If you force yourself to train her, she does gain incredible speed, but hitting twice for 0 isn't impressive. Her class also has cat-like gauge drain, and she can't gain any experience in part 1 due to bizarre laguz xp math, leaving Vika no angles to improve.
Stefan - Thrown in at the end like an afterthought, Stefan is (I would argue) the worst of all the Tower Gotohs, that is, the units that just join at the very end to make sure you have high level units for the tower. With bad luck and a fairly bad class, the only reason I can recommend bringing Stefan is if you want an Alondite unit and you don't like Renning for some reason. He just doesn't serve any purpose. He even joins in a map that locks down his movement. Take his sword and bench him.
Ena/Gareth - I put them together because they fill the same role: buffing your units to fight Ashera. While Gareth is legendary for getting wrecked by magic, Ena is arguably worse, as Ashera's physical attack can kill her too. While that's not nothing, I can't justify taking someone out of D tier when their entire purpose is to help a faster clear in one map, and you don't even really need them.
C tier:
Tauroneo - I had a hard time rating Big T. He pops in to dominate just a couple of chapters before disappearing until part 4. He's the worst Marshall, but gets boosted a tier over Meg because of his efforts in part 1. Marshall is a pretty bad class, but if you want one anyway, you've got two much better options that have tons of availability, so don't bother.
Heather - In a game that doesn't care much about thiefy stuff, Heather just doesn't have a key role to fill. She gets you a couple of stat boosters, which you can promptly feed to your units that cap everything anyway. I'll give her a leg up out of the worst tiers because she can rescue you in Oliver's Mansion if you ran out of chest keys, and the Fortify Staff is really, really good.
Muarim - Unlike Vika, he dominates his few part 1 maps, and he's still viable in Part 4 with his bases. Not bad! Unfortunately, with so little time to train him, you really have to invest heavily to get him tower-ready, and why bother? He's got an awful class and competes with much better units. I suppose he gets a slot in an all-laguz run.
Tormod - He kills that obnoxious wyvern rider on the swamp map. I give him a whole tier for that, because man, that thing is annoying. Beyond that, he's helpful for several part 1 maps, and he can be trained up to use staves for the tower.
Leonardo - The worst member of a great class, Leonardo will absolutely wreck with Double Bow, but the road to get there is harrowing. Only his prf bow's speed boost gets him out of D tier. Maybe even F. He's just such a liability for so long that I can't recommend him.
Ilyana - Strange that in a game where availability is so restricted, the number one most available character is so bad! She was great in PoR, too, but thunder magic has been substantially nerfed. I give her a lot of credit for her join map, which is arguably the hardest map in the game, and if you really work hard to level her, she gets staves with an excellent magic score. As with most units this far down, though, she's just outclassed by all the better options who do the same thing, and you don't need that many backup staff units.
Ranulf - Force deployed for what feels like a dozen chapters, Ranulf mostly hangs around to shove people and occasionally do some damage. He's got the worst class in the game, but unlike Lyre, has great bases that give him a nice little midgame role and then not much else. If you manage to feed him experience in Part 4, he's somewhat endgame viable, as long as you don't have much competition for the laguz gem.
Nealuchi - Like Ranulf, the old bird has a bright spot in the middle of the game where he's got some utility, but is best ditched when his time is up. I find him essential for 2-P and 2-1, a good contributor for 2-E, and then...well, that's a C tier unit.
Kieran - Bummer that he's so reduced here versus PoR, but at least his class gets better caps than most cavs, and he's viable as Geoffrey's sidekick for those odd chapters in Part 2/3. I can't hate him. He's easy to train and turns into a viable, if underwhelming, tower unit, but joining Ike's crew so late in Part 3 hurts him, as he is immediately outclassed by like two dozen people that you've been training for ages.
Lucia - She gets a big boost for being essential for 2-1 and viable in Part 4. If I was going to train a bad trueblade, I'm picking her over Stefan at least, but her lack of availability and bad class push her to the middle tiers.
Renning - An unfairly hated tower gotoh, Renning is your best freebie Alondite user, and has tolerable enough bases to hang out and contribute with your actual good units. He's just mediocre compared to anyone you've actually built up yourself, and he's clearly worse than Giffca and the royals. Many people do their ironmans with all royals banned for the challenge, and if that's you, Renning suddenly becomes a valuable backup unit that I would maybe bump another tier. As-is, he's just mid.
Volke - Ditto what I said for Renning, except he uses the Baselard instead, doubles auras without help, and can instakill people. I usually take Stillness off and give it to Micaiah, though, so his durability is a problem. Volke is like a super-trueblade and worth considering if you are low on viable tower units.
Giffca/Mufasa - The lion king and his shadow are virtually the same unit, except that Giffca has to use a laguz gem to transform for some reason (Guess he was borrowing his boss's formshift scroll last game?). I usually refuse to use them on principle, but I can't count that against them. They absolutely wreck the Tower but serve no other purpose. As the best of the Tower Gotohs, I can't justify higher than C.
Nasir - The best of the dragon auras, Nasir enables some aura one-rounding strategies that make a big difference. Still, we're talking about one dang map. When I made this I struggled with whether or not he should be down with Gareth and Ena, but I'm giving him a lot of credit for his special aura and his invincibility versus magic.
Sigrun/Tanith - The lesser two of the three Seraph Knights, they have one of the best classes in the game, but mediocre bases and growths. There's only one Wishblade, unfortunately, and while Seraph Knight is the best class to use it, that just means there's no reason to bring multiple of them unless you want to goof off with triangle attack. If Marcia turned out poor or you didn't use her, I recommend grabbing Sigrun (higher base level) for the Wishblade and training her up in Part 4. If you aren't training these units, they still get credit for flying utility in the desert.
Ulki/Janaff - Can't decide which of the twins are better here. With insane bases and no xp gain at all, these guys show up in part 3 to help shove people and generally help out when someone is in trouble. While they stay viable to the end (to the delight of the zero percent growth community), I don't get too excited by their lategame contributions. The laguz gauge is their Achilles Heel in part 3; I just can't justify relying on them.
Bastian/Oliver - My hottest take of this tier list, I have argued for a long time that Oliver is underrated as your Renault/Yoder character; that is, your staffbot gotoh who fills in to rescue ironmans. Bastian serves the same role, but slightly better. If your Micaiah is bad or untrained and you haven't leveled any of the project mages, these guys are your strongest staff users.
Devdan - Just as forgettable here as in Path of Radiance, Devdan suffers from bad bases and availability, and as the worst member of a meh class, there's just no reason to invest in him. I give him a lot of credit for major contributions in two key chapters without being a liability, and if you do train him, his superior caps make him arguably better than Kieran in lategame. Oh, and in part 3, he can climb that one ledge to keep it open. That's...something.
Calill - Helping out on a couple more midgame maps than Devdan, Calill is never good, but she can chip a bit here or there and usually isn't a liability. Anyone who can do anything in Elincia's Gambit gets a push in my book. If you do wind up making good use of her and slap on a crown, she's another backup staff unit with okay stats.
Lethe/Murderkaiser - The cat and tiger duo once again shows up midgame with good stats, bad growths, and a spot waiting for them on the bench. I find that they make a great contribution in part 2, remain viable in part 3, and...well, they exist in part 4 I guess. Mordecai can be built into a viable tank thanks to having vastly more time to grow compared to Muarim, and better everything compared to Kyza. Lethe has dramatically better strength than her idiot sister. Too bad the bad classes keep them out of the good tiers.
B tier:
Edward - We're getting out of the riffraff and into some viable units. While Edward is one of the weaker Dawn Brigade growth options, he is super helpful in numerous key early chapters where you desperately need it, and he can grow into a complete powerhouse. Just watch his growths as he naturally levels throughout part 1, and if he fails to pop off, bench him. If he crushes those strength and defense growths, though, he's an excellent choice for a Part 3 carry, as he's on the shortlist of units who can solo 3-13 - not the best one, but much easier to level than Meg, for example. His luck sword is I guess the worst of the DB prf weapons, but it's still decent for a long time, before you toss it for Alondite. If he didn't fall off in late part 1, he'd be A tier. Also, he's got a bad class and competes with at least one or two better units for that precious Alondite.
Soren - With magic nerfed in this game, Soren has no chance of breaking into the highest tiers, but he sure tries. I'd argue he is the best mage in the game. He's not too difficult to train, hits high magic numbers, and turns into the game's best staffbot (arguably) by endgame. While I'd rather bring a free Bastian than a high effort Soren to the tower, Ike's BFF gets a big boost from his super high availability. I never feel like he's a drag on the party.
Rhys - Like Soren, but you don't need to wait for staves, alright, Rhys probably snatches the prize of lategame staffbot from Soren, but not by much. He's hurt by awful physicals, which can make him seem like a liability, but your list of part 3 staff units is sparse, so he's going to contribute a lot every run, no matter what you have planned for him.
Mist - She's much weaker than Rhys in every way, but when she promotes, she gets Canto, which is wonderful for a frail unit. While Florete is bugged (or sucks by design, depending on who you ask) and there is no Sonic Sword, Mist is still viable as a mobile healer who won't let you down through the entire game. I know I keep saying different people are the "best lategame staffbot" but I swear this is the last one, it's really Mist.
Zihark/Volug - I paired them for nearly identical availability and the legendary earth/earth affinity, which gives them a niche in certain difficult part 3 maps where their contributions are invaluable. Neither character scales well into endgame (there are better options for trueblade) and they aren't invincible like Big T, but at least they show up for work. Use them as Jeigans in part 1 and tanks in part 3, then say goodbye.
Micaiah - Often called the worst lord in the game, she...probably deserves it. Oh no, I'm about to call her the actual best staffbot, aren't I? No, she's difficult to raise up due to being such a frail liability all game and having forced promotions. She gets big credit for a couple key Thani nukes early game, and she's a force deployed physics bot from 3-13 onward. Have I overrated her? Maybe, but I like healers.
Geoffrey - With a couple chapters designed to make him look good, Geoffrey is essential to clear the game, but his class caps keep him from getting into the elite levels. I find that he levels quickly in part 4 (without paragon, even) and holds his own. I really wish he joined with Kieran and the others. By endgame, he's a viable filler unit.
Nolan - A godsend in the early chapters, the Dawn Brigade would have died in the cradle without Nolan. He gets an amazing prf weapon and is easily viable as a part 3 carry, but I find him inadequate to solo 3-13 or reliably fight Ike. His strength and defense growth is just too poor, and he lacks the avoid to make up for it. Still, he has the best beorc class caps in the game, and after being reliable and useful for so long, you can reward him with careful bexp abuse to make sure he can slam the tower bosses with 62 attack power. There's something satisfying about seeing a human inflict lion-like damage to gods.
Laura - I always see her at the bottom of tier lists, but your only healer in part 1 (Micaiah doesn't count) deserves some love. She's a huge liability on the field, but think about how much harder Part 1 gets if she dies. She stays viable in part 3 (I usually savior backpack her with somebody) and is, yes, another top tier lategame staffbot. For being an essential unit for so long, and for having endgame potential, I can't see lower than B tier.
Simba - The lion prince needs paragon and some effort to get rolling, but boy does he! As an acceptable alternative to those cheating royal laguz, Skrimir is just an unstoppable powerhouse who can solo entire maps in part 4 if you let him. Until the white dragons show up, Skrimir is never in danger from anything other than his own stupid laguz gauge, which is why he's not in A tier. If you haven't tried slapping paragon and adept on Skrimir and letting him eat all of 4-P, try it once, it's hilarious.
Royal Trio - I put Nailah ahead of the bird brains for her availability, but they all have the same role: hold your hand through part 4. Tibarn can actually die to the crossbow guy in 4-2, which makes me laugh, and Naesala is downright mortal by comparison. I like to leave Pass on Nailah from part 1 and give her chest keys for Oliver's Mansion. All of these units are insanely strong and help trivialize the tower, which is why I don't bring them.
Singing Siblings - I know, putting Rafiel lower on the list than the others is blasphemy, but he's barely around through the whole game. He's widely accepted as the best tower bird (though I prefer Reyson), but other than Oliver's Mansion, what hard missions does he help out on? Rafiels' role is to help fight dragons and gods, which is a pretty good resume, so he's up this high. Leanne wins my heart for Elincia's Gambit alone, but she also helps make the bridge and desert maps more tolerable.
Marcia - A hot take here, but Marcia has a lot of availability and a positive, if underwhelming, contribution through most of it. By lategame, she turns into an excellent flier (Seraph Knights are truly amazing) and is, in my opinion, the single best Wishblade candidate in the entire game. Marcia never crushes this game like she does Path of Radiance, but I'm here for her.
Boyd - Notoriously tough to get rolling, Boyd has those insane Reaver caps and a lot of time to reach them. While he's just a project unit in part 3, he does crest that hill eventually and turn into a complete wrecking ball who trivializes the rest of the game. He easily hits 40 strength and isn't that tough to train up to 35 speed with bexp. He's the game's best Urvan user (as his caps are easier to hit than Nolan) and I only don't put him higher because it's a bit of a struggle to get him going.
A tier:
Rolf - People are going to lose their minds over this one. I'm always astonished how many people don't know that Rolf has 75% strength growth! Snipers are easy to level and have a great payoff, meaning that even if Shinon wins your double bow, you'll never regret bringing a second killer deadeye through the whole game. Imagine if Leonardo had Rolf's growths. Little bro is like Dmitri, but in the Wii era. Don't sleep on Rolf. He's amazing.
Nephenee - Sometimes overrated, sometimes underrated, Nephenee has top notch availability and is an essential unit for several chapters, and while she can get lost in the Greil Mercs spam, she quickly turns into a stellar well-rounded infantry unit who can carry the game. She's never bad and turns into another excellent Wishblade user, who I only put below Marcia for the tower due to lack of flying/canto. Due to high availability and never needing particular training attention, though, Nephenee skirts into the top tiers.
Mia - Unlike Path of Radiance, Mia starts viable and quickly takes off like a rocket, turning into your best Trueblade. Lacking only one strength in her final caps versus Edward, she's easier to level and, imo, your best overall Alondite unit. Because she is around so long and always helpful, she gets a bump.
Brom/Gatrie - Brom almost gets the nod for being an essential unit for so Part 2, but his falloff is noticeable, and his endgame potential as a Marshall is worse than, say, Nephenee. Gatrie picks up that slack and remains as one of your best Greil Mercs for the rest of the game. I could see someone valuing Brom's early contributions more and swapping this order. Both units suffer from the usual Marshall problems: bad caps, bad movement, competing with far better units for the best items.
Titania - The stalwart ride-or-die arch-paladin of Tellius, Titania doesn't carry hard like she does in the previous game, but she's immediately dominant and stays that way virtually forever. She has reasonable class caps (compared to other cavs, anyway) and is fine to bring to the tower, but you will notice a dropoff. Regardless of tower viability, she's so damn strong for so long that I can't rank her any lower.
Oscar - While he starts weak and is imprisoned by truly awful tier 2 caps, Oscar is still solid and provides that lovely earth affinity through a ton of chapters. Once he breaks into tier 3, he's immediately one of your best units, and stays that way for a long time. I almost rated Titania higher, but I think Oscar surpasses her and is a candidate for an early crown. If not for those tier 2 caps, he'd be S tier.
Shinon - Embarrassed by the "9 strength incident" in Path of Radiance, Shinon hit the gym and turned into a powerhouse from the moment he joins until the end of the game. He's never not great, and he only gets better as he gets his outstanding third tier caps and SS rank weapon. While he usually needs bexp to hit str and def caps, that's more a function of the highish caps than any weaknesses in growths. Shinon is almost breaking into S tier. If he was a flying archer, he'd be the next Haar.
Aran - The wrongest opinion in all of Fire Emblem is that Aran is bad. Just wrong, wrong, wrong. Aran starts as a weak unit among numerous other weak units, is easily trainable, and quickly pops off - 75% strength growth, again! - to turn into a juggernaut that surpasses everyone except the royals. By Part 3, Aran has made the rest of the Dawn Brigade redundant, and by 3-13, he's a walking god. I always laugh when I hear commentators talk about how difficult part 3 is, then minutes later, mention how bad Aran is. Well, of course it's hard if you don't use the best unit! I only keep Aran out of S tier because of DB availability and because his class caps keep him from stomping as hard in the tower, where he rarely doubles.
S tier:
Jill - Flying utility gives her the bump into the upper echelons. Slightly harder to train than Aran, she benefits immensely from the str and def items (which are useless to Aran, who caps immediately) and turns into another juggernaut. While she stays weaker than Aran throughout most of the game, the mobility is a factor, and she grows into one of your best endgame units. If you had to average the two games together, Jill is probably the best character in Tellius. Or Titania, it's hard to say, but it's definitely a canto redhead.
Sothe - Play this game: a trickster god deletes one character from your rom, permanently. Seize squares and game over conditions get reassigned, but you now have to play the rest of the game without that unit, forever. What's the absolute worst unit to lose? I cannot think of a worse unit to lose than Sothe. Is the Dawn Brigade even possible without him? I'm sure someone has done it. After making the game playable, Sothe falls off hard, but he can be trained into a sub-par Volke if you want. I contend that Tellius literally could not be saved without him. So why isn't he the absolute top tier? Well, I guess I'm weighing the rest of the game higher, but I'm not 100% convinced that's right.
Elincia - What a glow-up from PoR! The devs nerf her in 2-P to keep it difficult, but as soon as she gets her weapon, she turns into a flying healer who also wrecks things. I think she's a lock for the tower, even if you are dedicating six tower slots to royals and lions. While a weaker staffbot than some others I mentioned, she's good enough. And she flies! Elincia is just awesome.
Reyson - Speedrunners and LTCers prefer Rafiel for a better Turn 1 against Ashera, but I like Reyson's high movement and canto, and you have laguz gems by that point. As for the rest of the game, Reyson has by far the best availability of all herons - which isn't saying much, I know. I just wish this game wasn't so weird with dancers.
Ike vs Haar for the championship - People have debated between Ike and Haar since the game came out. I put Ike 2nd because, while he carries harder with Ragnell, he's still a normal (albeit stronk) infantry swordlocked unit for a long time before then. Haar saves your bacon in Part 2 (twice) and then carries Part 3 just for fun afterwards. He also has the best boss convos in 2-P and 4-E-2. Ike gets the boss convo award in 4-P, so this most critical of category tips the scales toward Haar. The real answer is availability + domination = top of the top tier. As if Haar wasn't stupid OP enough, he gets the best beorc defense cap in the entire game, because why not? He even beats out the Marshalls on Strength! And his mastery skill is better! Honestly, what were they thinking here? While Ragnell Ike is the strongest unit in the game, Totality Ike is only the second strongest.

Hi,
What kind of boots are most comfortable for Ren faire? My costume is a pretty typical bodice skirt combo with a chemise dress underneath. I’ll have some leather accessories like a skirt hike/ potion bottle.
Last year my feet were so sore but I was wearing stylish, but not comfortable foot wear.
Looking for shoes and bag/backpack in a brown leather.
Also I’m still undecided on whether I want a belt pouch or a backpack. All I know is that I want to have water and my cell phone accessible.

what i dont get is why its only happening to me on the server. my friend doesnt crash nearly this often or this soon after loading in. we have the same mod list, as does everyone else in the server since the admin gave us a zip to import into curseforge
The game crashed whilst rendering entity in world Error: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: newPosition >

Time: 2024-04-30 00:30:39 Description: Rendering entity in world java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: newPosition > limit: (2098692 > 2098688) at java.nio.Buffer.createPositionException(Buffer.java:341) ~[?:?] {} at java.nio.Buffer.position(Buffer.java:316) ~[?:?] {} at java.nio.ByteBuffer.position(ByteBuffer.java:1516) ~[?:?] {} at java.nio.MappedByteBuffer.position(MappedByteBuffer.java:321) ~[?:?] {} at java.nio.MappedByteBuffer.position(MappedByteBuffer.java:73) ~[?:?] {} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.models.smd.NormalizedFace.addFaceForRender(NormalizedFace.java:61) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.models.smd.SmdModel.render(SmdModel.java:344) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.models.smd.ValveStudioModel.m_7695_(ValveStudioModel.java:94) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.smd.SMDRenderer.renderModel(SMDRenderer.java:75) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.smd.SMDRenderer.renderModel(SMDRenderer.java:63) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.smd.SMDRenderer.renderModel(SMDRenderer.java:37) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.AbstractPokemonRenderer.render(AbstractPokemonRenderer.java:146) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.AbstractPokemonRenderer.m_7392_(AbstractPokemonRenderer.java:50) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.entity.EntityRenderDispatcher.m_114384_(EntityRenderDispatcher.java:141) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.entity.shadows.EntityRenderDispatcherMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.LevelRenderer.m_109517_(LevelRenderer.java:1183) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.clouds.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinLevelRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.render.world.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.options.weather.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.gui.outlines.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.sky.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.LevelRenderer.m_109599_(LevelRenderer.java:966) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.clouds.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinLevelRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.render.world.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.options.weather.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.gui.outlines.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.sky.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.GameRenderer.m_109089_(GameRenderer.java:1130) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:justzoom.mixin.json:MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.gui.hooks.console.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.forge.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.GameRenderer.m_109093_(GameRenderer.java:910) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:justzoom.mixin.json:MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.gui.hooks.console.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.forge.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m_91383_(Minecraft.java:1211) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:betterthirdperson.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:betterf3.mixins.json:ClientAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m_91374_(Minecraft.java:781) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:betterthirdperson.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:betterf3.mixins.json:ClientAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:221) ~[forge-48.1.0.jar:?] {re:classloading,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) ~[?:?] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:77) ~[?:?] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[?:?] {} at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:568) ~[?:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.runTarget(CommonLaunchHandler.java:98) ~[fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.lambda$makeService$0(CommonLaunchHandler.java:82) ~[fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.launch(LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.java:17) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:40) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:58) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.run(Launcher.java:96) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:66) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:13) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:10) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.bootstrap.BootstrapLauncher.main(BootstrapLauncher.java:126) ~[bootstrap-1.2.0.jar:?] {} A detailed walkthrough of the error, its code path and all known details is as follows: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Head -- Thread: Render thread Suspected Mod: Pixelmon (pixelmon), Version: 9.2.7 Issue tracker URL: https://pixelmonmod.com/tracker.php?p=2 at TRANSFORMEpixelmon@9.2.7/com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.models.smd.NormalizedFace.addFaceForRender(NormalizedFace.java:61) Stacktrace: at java.nio.Buffer.createPositionException(Buffer.java:341) ~[?:?] {} at java.nio.Buffer.position(Buffer.java:316) ~[?:?] {} at java.nio.ByteBuffer.position(ByteBuffer.java:1516) ~[?:?] {} at java.nio.MappedByteBuffer.position(MappedByteBuffer.java:321) ~[?:?] {} at java.nio.MappedByteBuffer.position(MappedByteBuffer.java:73) ~[?:?] {} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.models.smd.NormalizedFace.addFaceForRender(NormalizedFace.java:61) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.models.smd.SmdModel.render(SmdModel.java:344) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.models.smd.ValveStudioModel.m_7695_(ValveStudioModel.java:94) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.smd.SMDRenderer.renderModel(SMDRenderer.java:75) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.smd.SMDRenderer.renderModel(SMDRenderer.java:63) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.smd.SMDRenderer.renderModel(SMDRenderer.java:37) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.AbstractPokemonRenderer.render(AbstractPokemonRenderer.java:146) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.AbstractPokemonRenderer.m_7392_(AbstractPokemonRenderer.java:50) ~[Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar%23223!/:9.2.7-pipe23666] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.entity.EntityRenderDispatcher.m_114384_(EntityRenderDispatcher.java:141) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.entity.shadows.EntityRenderDispatcherMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.LevelRenderer.m_109517_(LevelRenderer.java:1183) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.clouds.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinLevelRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.render.world.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.options.weather.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.gui.outlines.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.sky.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.LevelRenderer.m_109599_(LevelRenderer.java:966) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.clouds.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinLevelRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.render.world.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.options.weather.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.gui.outlines.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.sky.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.GameRenderer.m_109089_(GameRenderer.java:1130) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:justzoom.mixin.json:MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.gui.hooks.console.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.forge.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} -- Entity being rendered -- Details: Entity Type: pixelmon:pixelmon (com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.entities.pixelmon.PixelmonEntity) Entity ID: 3063 Entity Name: Incineroar Entity's Exact location: -978.03, 70.00, -2051.31 Entity's Block location: World: (-979,70,-2052), Section: (at 13,6,12 in -62,4,-129; chunk contains blocks -992,-128,-2064 to -977,351,-2049), Region: (-2,-5; contains chunks -64,-160 to -33,-129, blocks -1024,-128,-2560 to -513,351,-2049) Entity's Momentum: 0.00, -0.02, 0.00 Entity's Passengers: [] Entity's Vehicle: null Stacktrace: at net.minecraft.client.renderer.entity.EntityRenderDispatcher.m_114384_(EntityRenderDispatcher.java:141) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.entity.shadows.EntityRenderDispatcherMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.LevelRenderer.m_109517_(LevelRenderer.java:1183) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.clouds.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinLevelRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.render.world.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.options.weather.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.gui.outlines.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.sky.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.LevelRenderer.m_109599_(LevelRenderer.java:966) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.clouds.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinLevelRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.render.world.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.options.weather.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.gui.outlines.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.sky.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.GameRenderer.m_109089_(GameRenderer.java:1130) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:justzoom.mixin.json:MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.gui.hooks.console.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.forge.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.GameRenderer.m_109093_(GameRenderer.java:910) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:justzoom.mixin.json:MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.gui.hooks.console.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.forge.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m_91383_(Minecraft.java:1211) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:betterthirdperson.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:betterf3.mixins.json:ClientAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m_91374_(Minecraft.java:781) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:betterthirdperson.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:betterf3.mixins.json:ClientAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:221) ~[forge-48.1.0.jar:?] {re:classloading,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) ~[?:?] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:77) ~[?:?] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[?:?] {} at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:568) ~[?:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.runTarget(CommonLaunchHandler.java:98) ~[fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.lambda$makeService$0(CommonLaunchHandler.java:82) ~[fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.launch(LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.java:17) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:40) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:58) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.run(Launcher.java:96) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:66) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:13) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:10) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.bootstrap.BootstrapLauncher.main(BootstrapLauncher.java:126) ~[bootstrap-1.2.0.jar:?] {} -- Renderer details -- Details: Assigned renderer: com.pixelmonmod.pixelmon.client.render.entity.renderers.PixelmonRenderer@6a92fd01 Location: 71.27,-5.84,5.77 - World: (71,-6,5), Section: (at 7,10,5 in 4,-1,0; chunk contains blocks 64,-128,0 to 79,351,15), Region: (0,0; contains chunks 0,0 to 31,31, blocks 0,-128,0 to 511,351,511) Rotation: -7.03125 Delta: 0.7799961 Stacktrace: at net.minecraft.client.renderer.entity.EntityRenderDispatcher.m_114384_(EntityRenderDispatcher.java:141) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.entity.shadows.EntityRenderDispatcherMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.LevelRenderer.m_109517_(LevelRenderer.java:1183) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.clouds.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinLevelRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.render.world.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.options.weather.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.gui.outlines.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.sky.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.LevelRenderer.m_109599_(LevelRenderer.java:966) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.clouds.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinLevelRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.render.world.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.options.weather.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.gui.outlines.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.sky.WorldRendererMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.GameRenderer.m_109089_(GameRenderer.java:1130) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:justzoom.mixin.json:MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.gui.hooks.console.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.forge.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.GameRenderer.m_109093_(GameRenderer.java:910) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:forge-DistantHorizons.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:justzoom.mixin.json:MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.gui.hooks.console.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.forge.mixins.json:client.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m_91383_(Minecraft.java:1211) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:betterthirdperson.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:betterf3.mixins.json:ClientAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m_91374_(Minecraft.java:781) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:betterthirdperson.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:betterf3.mixins.json:ClientAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:221) ~[forge-48.1.0.jar:?] {re:classloading,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) ~[?:?] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:77) ~[?:?] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[?:?] {} at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:568) ~[?:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.runTarget(CommonLaunchHandler.java:98) ~[fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.lambda$makeService$0(CommonLaunchHandler.java:82) ~[fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.launch(LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.java:17) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:40) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:58) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.run(Launcher.java:96) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:66) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:13) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:10) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.bootstrap.BootstrapLauncher.main(BootstrapLauncher.java:126) ~[bootstrap-1.2.0.jar:?] {} -- Affected level -- Details: All players: 1 total; [LocalPlayer['Lord_Mad_Dog'/2845, l='ClientLevel', x=-1049.33, y=74.24, z=-2057.13]] Chunk stats: 1024, 453 Level dimension: pixelmon:ultra_space Level spawn location: World: (144,76,192), Section: (at 0,12,0 in 9,4,12; chunk contains blocks 144,-128,192 to 159,351,207), Region: (0,0; contains chunks 0,0 to 31,31, blocks 0,-128,0 to 511,351,511) Level time: 20877475 game time, 21019927 day time Server brand: forge Server type: Non-integrated multiplayer server Stacktrace: at net.minecraft.client.multiplayer.ClientLevel.m_6026_(ClientLevel.java:448) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinClientLevel,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.world.biome.ClientWorldMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.world.map.ClientWorldMixin,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:features.render.world.sky.ClientWorldMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m_91354_(Minecraft.java:2395) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:betterthirdperson.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:betterf3.mixins.json:ClientAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m_91374_(Minecraft.java:798) ~[client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar%23230!/:?] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:betterthirdperson.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:betterf3.mixins.json:ClientAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:rubidium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:konkrete.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:221) ~[forge-48.1.0.jar:?] {re:classloading,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) ~[?:?] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:77) ~[?:?] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[?:?] {} at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:568) ~[?:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.runTarget(CommonLaunchHandler.java:98) ~[fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.lambda$makeService$0(CommonLaunchHandler.java:82) ~[fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.launch(LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.java:17) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:40) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:58) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.run(Launcher.java:96) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:66) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:13) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:10) ~[modlauncher-10.1.1.jar:?] {} at net.minecraftforge.bootstrap.BootstrapLauncher.main(BootstrapLauncher.java:126) ~[bootstrap-1.2.0.jar:?] {} -- Last reload -- Details: Reload number: 1 Reload reason: initial Finished: Yes Packs: vanilla, PFM-Runtime-RP, mod_resources -- System Details -- Details: Minecraft Version: 1.20.2 Minecraft Version ID: 1.20.2 Operating System: Windows 10 (amd64) version 10.0 Java Version: 17.0.8, Microsoft Java VM Version: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (mixed mode), Microsoft Memory: 2396471784 bytes (2285 MiB) / 6274678784 bytes (5984 MiB) up to 21474836480 bytes (20480 MiB) CPUs: 16 Processor Vendor: AuthenticAMD Processor Name: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core Processor Identifier: AuthenticAMD Family 25 Model 97 Stepping 2 Microarchitecture: Zen 3 Frequency (GHz): 4.19 Number of physical packages: 1 Number of physical CPUs: 8 Number of logical CPUs: 16 Graphics card #0 name: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Graphics card #0 vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (0x1002) Graphics card #0 VRAM (MB): 4095.00 Graphics card #0 deviceId: 0x744c Graphics card #0 versionInfo: DriverVersion=31.0.24031.5001 Graphics card #1 name: AMD Radeon(TM) Graphics Graphics card #1 vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (0x1002) Graphics card #1 VRAM (MB): 512.00 Graphics card #1 deviceId: 0x164e Graphics card #1 versionInfo: DriverVersion=31.0.24031.5001 Memory slot #0 capacity (MB): 16384.00 Memory slot #0 clockSpeed (GHz): 4.80 Memory slot #0 type: Unknown Memory slot #1 capacity (MB): 16384.00 Memory slot #1 clockSpeed (GHz): 0.00 Memory slot #1 type: Unknown Virtual memory max (MB): 52367.45 Virtual memory used (MB): 28904.98 Swap memory total (MB): 20480.00 Swap memory used (MB): 176.68 JVM Flags: 9 total; -XX:HeapDumpPath=MojangTricksIntelDriversForPerformance_javaw.exe_minecraft.exe.heapdump -Xss1M -Xmx20G -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:G1NewSizePercent=20 -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=50 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=32M JVM uptime in seconds: 184.869 Launched Version: forge-48.1.0 Backend library: LWJGL version 3.3.2+13 Backend API: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX GL version 4.6.0 Core Profile Context 24.4.1.240409, ATI Technologies Inc. Window size: 3840x2160 GL Caps: Using framebuffer using OpenGL 3.2 GL debug messages: id=1000, source=API, type=ERROR, severity=HIGH, message='No detailed debug message due to a non-debug context' x 31 Using VBOs: Yes Is Modded: Definitely; Client brand changed to 'forge' Type: Client (map_client.txt) Graphics mode: fancy Resource Packs: Current Language: en_us Locale: en_US CPU: 16x AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core Processor ModLauncher: 10.1.1 ModLauncher launch target: forge_client ModLauncher naming: srg ModLauncher services: mixin-0.8.5.jar mixin PLUGINSERVICE eventbus-6.2.0.jar eventbus PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar slf4jfixer PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar object_holder_definalize PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar runtime_enum_extender PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar capability_token_subclass PLUGINSERVICE accesstransformers-8.1.1.jar accesstransformer PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.2-48.1.0.jar runtimedistcleaner PLUGINSERVICE modlauncher-10.1.1.jar mixin TRANSFORMATIONSERVICE modlauncher-10.1.1.jar fml TRANSFORMATIONSERVICE FML Language Providers: minecraft@1.0 lowcodefml@48 javafml@null Mod List: client-1.20.2-20230921.100330-srg.jar Minecraft minecraft 1.20.2 DONE Manifest: a1:d4:5e:04:4f:d3:d6:e0:7b:37:97:cf:77:b0:de:ad:4a:47:ce:8c:96:49:5f:0a:cf:8c:ae:b2:6d:4b:8a:3f mcw-bridges-3.0.0-mc1.20.2forge.jar Macaw's Bridges mcwbridges 3.0.0 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE useful_backpacks-forge-1.20.2-2.0.1.123.jar Useful Backpacks usefulbackpacks 2.0.1.123 DONE Manifest: f4:a6:0b:ee:cb:8a:1a:ea:9f:9d:45:91:8f:8b:b3:ae:26:f3:bf:05:86:1d:90:9e:f6:32:2a:1a:ed:1d:ce:b0 TerraBlender-forge-1.20.2-3.0.0.171.jar TerraBlender terrablender 3.0.0.null DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE MouseTweaks-forge-mc1.20.2-2.26.jar Mouse Tweaks mousetweaks 2.26 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE BiomesOPlenty-1.20.2-18.2.0.53.jar Biomes O' Plenty biomesoplenty 18.2.0.53 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mcw-fences-1.1.1-mc1.20.2forge.jar Macaw's Fences and Walls mcwfences 1.1.1 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE jei-1.20.2-forge-16.0.0.2.jar Just Enough Items jei 16.0.0.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE grindenc-forge-1.20.x-v2.1.jar Grindstone Enchantments grindenc 2.1 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE spectrelib-forge-0.14.1+1.20.2.jar SpectreLib spectrelib 0.14.1+1.20.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mcwfencesbop-1.20-1.0.jar Macaw's Fences - BOP mcwfencesbop 1.20-1.0 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mcw-windows-2.2.1-mc1.20.2forge.jar Macaw's Windows mcwwindows 2.2.1 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE TaxFreeLevels-1.3.9-forge-1.20.2.jar Tax Free Levels taxfreelevels 1.3.9 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mcwfurnituresbop-1.20-1.1.jar Macaw's Furnitures - BOP mcwfurnituresbop 1.20-1.1 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE collective-1.20.2-7.30.jar Collective collective 7.30 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mcw-paintings-1.0.5-1.20.2forge.jar Macaw's Paintings mcwpaintings 1.0.5 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE journeymap-1.20.2-5.9.20-forge.jar Journeymap journeymap 5.9.20 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE comforts-forge-7.0.1+1.20.2.jar Comforts comforts 7.0.1+1.20.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE ParCool-1.20.2-3.2.0.0-R.jar ParCool! parcool 1.20.2-3.2.0.0-R DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE BetterThirdPerson-Forge-1.20-1.9.0.jar Better Third Person betterthirdperson 1.9.0 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mixinextras-forge-0.3.2.jar MixinExtras mixinextras 0.3.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE u_team_core-forge-1.20.2-5.2.0.270.jar U Team Core uteamcore 5.2.0.270 DONE Manifest: f4:a6:0b:ee:cb:8a:1a:ea:9f:9d:45:91:8f:8b:b3:ae:26:f3:bf:05:86:1d:90:9e:f6:32:2a:1a:ed:1d:ce:b0 mcw-roofs-2.3.0-mc1.20.2forge.jar Macaw's Roofs mcwroofs 2.3.0 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mcw-doors-1.1.0forge-mc1.20.2.jar Macaw's Doors mcwdoors 1.1.0 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE architectury-10.1.20-minecraftforge.jar Architectury architectury 10.1.20 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE fallingtrees-0.11-forge-1.20.jar Falling Trees fallingtrees 0.11 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE pandalib-0.2-forge-1.20.jar PandaLib pandalib 0.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mcw-furniture-3.2.2-mc1.20.2forge.jar Macaw's Furniture mcwfurnitures 3.2.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE DistantHorizons-2.0.1-a-1.20.2.jar Distant Horizons distanthorizons 2.0.1-a DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE Terralith_1.20.4_v2.4.11.jar Terralith terralith 2.4.11 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE fixedanvilrepaircost-1.20.2-3.3.jar Fixed Anvil Repair Cost fixedanvilrepaircost 3.3 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE justzoom_forge_1.0.2_MC_1.20.2.jar Just Zoom justzoom 1.0.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE BetterF3-8.0.3-Forge-1.20.2.jar BetterF3 betterf3 8.0.3 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE macawsroofsbop-1.20-1.0.jar Macaw's Roofs - BOP macawsroofsbop 1.20-1.0 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE cloth-config-12.0.119-forge.jar Cloth Config v12 API cloth_config 12.0.119 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE forge-1.20.2-48.1.0-universal.jar Forge forge 48.1.0 DONE Manifest: 84:ce:76:e8:45:35:e4:0e:63:86:df:47:59:80:0f:67:6c:c1:5f:6e:5f:4d:b3:54:47:1a:9f:7f:ed:5e:f2:90 appleskin-forge-mc1.20.2-2.5.1.jar AppleSkin appleskin 2.5.1+mc1.20.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE textrues_embeddium_options-lexforge-0.1.4-1.20.2.jTexTrue's Embeddium Options textrues_embeddium_options 0.1.4-1.20.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE paladin-furniture-mod-1.2.1-minecraftforge-mc1.20.Paladin's Furniture pfm 1.2.1 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE konkrete_forge_1.9.3_MC_1.20.2.jar Konkrete konkrete 1.9.3 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE embeddium-0.2.10+mc1.20.2.jar Embeddium embeddium 0.2.10+mc1.20.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mcw-paths-1.0.4forge-mc1.20.2.jar Macaw's Paths and Pavings mcwpaths 1.0.4 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE mcw-lights-1.0.6-mc1.20.2forge.jar Macaw's Lights and Lamps mcwlights 1.0.6 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE Pixelmon-1.20.2-9.2.7-universal.jar Pixelmon pixelmon 9.2.7 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE Crash Report UUID: 6dbd127b-e776-471b-a61a-d039332ff3e0 FML: 48.1 Forge: net.minecraftforge:48.1.0 

​

In the remote village of Ashwat, Ajna was raised by her father Indr and trained extensively in martial arts. When agents of Lord Ravannavar torch Ashwat and murder Ajna’s father in front of her, she unlocks the strange power of absorbing other people into her own being. After seeking revenge against Ravannavar, Ajna uncovers the truth about her upbringing: she’s actually a piece of Kala, the malevolent deity that resets the universe every eon, and she’s fated to rejoin Kala’s being and usher in the end of all things. Ever the rebel, Ajna seeks to combat Kala instead. To get there, she must join strength with other spiritually strong individuals and learn the virtues of patience and forgiveness.

Ajna

Physicals

Strength

• Breaks out of Angwu’s magic restraints
• She leaps up and decapitates Lord Ravannavar’s human form
• Can chop down wooden obstacles
• Smashes a thick, metal grate
• Can destroy stone walls
• After being sucked into Kala’s massive mouth, Ajna breaks free

Other Physicals

• Takes a long fall into a nightclub unharmed
• [Limit] KOed by a body slam from a big monster
• Dodges a sword slash from Dhar

Exploration Abilities

Movement-Based
General

• Can dash along the ground
• Can wall-jump
• Can slide underneath obstacles
• Can slide, then vault her body into the air to move through narrow gaps or kick enemies
• Can dash forward in the air. She later upgrades the ability, allowing her to air dash in eight cardinal directions.

Equipment-Dependent

• Can use her axe to aid in climbing, chopping into walls to act as a handhold
• Ajna tosses the spear forward
• Using the spear, Ajna can pole vault over obstacles
• While airborne, Ajna can hold the spear point-down and bounce along obstacles or enemies
• Ajna punctures the ceiling with her spear, then jumps off to travel horizontally
• Can swing a sickle on a chain in wide arcs over her head

Archery
General

• Upon finding Zebei’s bow, Ajna can use the weapon to fire arrows. Despite Ajna using the weapon in exploration and combat, Zebei also carries the bow at the same time.
• Arrows disable large, mechanical enemies called Haathi
• Explosive arrows destroy cracked stone walls
• Arrows are heavily effected by sources of wind

Magic Arrows

• By enchanting an arrow with iddhi, Ajna can cover hazards like spikes and electric walls in protective flowers
• Charges an arrow with Nuna’s power, allowing Ajna to restrain enemies in vines. While restrained, Ajna can use the enemy as terrain to stand on or jump off of.
• After tangling an enemy in vines, Ajna can teleport to their position and strike them

Counters

• Can block, then counter strikes with a heavy punch of her own, starting the battle
• Can block, then counter with a strong throw to the ground
• While midair, Ajna can block and counter with a spinning throw to the ground

Heruka Transformation-Based
Heruka Form Maha Heruka Form Tara Heruka Form
Heruka Hustle

• Can run against a sandstorm that was previously pushing her back
• Used to ram through obstacles, like large rocks
• Later upgrades the ability to maintain her momentum after wall-jumping

Movement

• Ajna moves upwards while holding a blade, smashing through obstacles or damaging enemies
• Can move horizontally while holding a blade outwards, smashing through obstacles or damaging enemies
• While in the air, Ajna draws a huge axe and slams it into the ground, smashing obstacles or enemies
  • Smashes a large, metal ball
• Ajna can fire herself in any direction to cross distances. This move can be used unlimited times in the air, although it will expend iddhi or health when used.

Other

• Ajna can transform into her Heruka form at will, useful for intimidating others
• She projects a massive hand to smack enemies, breaking guards and dealing damage. This move consumes some iddhi upon use.

Combat Moveset

Moves

• Ajna’s primary attacks cycle through her various weapons, including:
  • Her bare hands
  • Her axe
  • Her spear
  • Her chain-sickle
• She can swing her axe into enemies as an uppercut, launching them into the air
• She can shoot arrows that puncture into enemies
• She can make two heavy strikes with her axe
• She can remotely detonate arrows with a quick chant

Supers

• She delivers a quick melee combo before ending it with a heavy swing of the axe
• She changes into her Heruka form and delivers a dropkick to one enemy
• She changes into her Heruka form before unleashing a wide, damaging beam of magic
• After transforming into her Maha Heruka form, she dives at a single enemy and tackles them
• She transforms into her Tara Heruka form and meditates before damaging all enemies on the field

Inner Realm

Entering

• Mid-battle, Dhar is brought into Ajna’s Inner Realm against both of their wishes
• Right after agreeing to join Ajna, Razmi is brought into the Inner Realm
• One party member just invites himself into Ajna’s mind
• Dhar’s leader Ravannavar is somehow able to push Dhar back into Ajna’s Inner Realm after snapping his fingers
• Kala manipulates time, sending Ajna and her allies back several minutes to the beginning of the boss fight. The next time, Ajna counters this by escaping into her Inner Realm.

Exiting

• Ajna stores her weapons within her Inner Realm. When she’s imprisoned, she’s able to produce her axe to escape her cell.
• While gameplay has Ajna group up with three of her allies at a time, cutscenes show that she can draw out all party members at once
• In co-op mode, Ajna’s incarnations can move and attack independently from Ajna. When they are defeated, they’re sent back to her Inner Realm.
• After her Heruka transformation and the fall from Mount Sumeru, Ajna spent three days sleeping. Her allies were trapped within the Inner Realm, unable to leave Ajna’s mind.
• While Ajna was unconscious for a week, many of the incarnations were free to leave the Inner Realm and travel the island continent

Other

• People are able to hold conversations with people inside Ajna’s Inner Realm
• Those within the Inner Realm can’t harm each other
• While her Inner Realm starts off as a single island, as she takes in more individuals, it grows to a number of islands with man-made structures, houses, cooking pots and bookshelves
• All of the Ajna’s allies have extraordinary amounts of iddhi, the spiritual source of magic in the world. Ajna’s strength augments her allies’ strength, and vice versa.
• The temperature and soil inside the Inner Realm is especially conducive to plant growth, and Ginseng uses it to cultivate a frozen specimen of fungus back to life. The resulting medicine is more effective than normal since it’s infused with Ajna’s iddhi, and it quickly cures Ginseng’s parents of a rare virus.

Relationship with Kala

• Ajna is, in fact, not a human, but a piece of the world-shaping deity, Kala
• After being restrained by Ravannavar, Ajna breaks free by transforming into a monstrous Heruka for the first time. This wakes up Kala, which creates a shockwave that eradicates Ravannavar and can be seen by people across the island continent. It also throws Ajna from Mount Sumeru’s summit and causes her to land in a desert.
  • Angwu claims that the shockwave was felt around the world
• When facing Kala, Ajna undergoes a transformation into a giant, three-headed monster. This form blasts beams of energy from its mouth, causing catastrophic damage to the landscape and disintegrating Dhar.
• In the end, Ajna joins with Kala once more and they choose not to reset the universe but reincarnate as a new being. The pair destroy Kala’s space station and disappear. After the credits roll, this new being is shown with features from both Ajna and Kala.

Miscellaneous

• When she’s trapped within a machine, Ajna blasts energy outwards to free herself
• She can expend a full Iddhi Meter to revive fallen allies and heal the party

Incarnations

The group of individuals residing in Ajna's Inner Realm during her journey. There are 20 combatants to call forth at any given time.

Shared Feats

Blocking

• Can block to minimize damage taken. Blocking right before an attack lands will heal Ajna rather than damage her, a technique called a Clean Block. Ajna later blocks attacks with her axe.
  • This defensive technique extends to all incarnations, as well
• Can block arrows
• Can block bullets
• Blocks automatic gunfire
• Can block elemental attacks, like flames and beams of energy

Combat Mechanics

• Can break enemy guards by alternating between high and low strikes
• Characters can break grab attacks

Dhar

An earth-manipulating swordsman and proud lieutenant to Lord Ravannavar. After killing Ajna's father and being trapped inside her Inner Realm, Dhar slowly comes to see the error in his ways. He sacrifices his life in an attempt to calm down a furious Ajna.
Feats

• Smashes Ravannavar’s instrument
• Creates two spiky barriers of earth

Moves

• He slashes forward with his sword. If he has earth charges, he causes rectangular ridges to appear from the ground to strike the enemy.
• Dhar jumps up and slashes downwards in a wide arc. If he has earth charges, he forms spiky rocks over his blade during the swing.
• Dhar stores an earth charge, represented by the rocks floating behind his back. He can have up to twelve active at a time.
• Blocks attacks with a slab of earth

Supers

• He plunges his sword into the ground, coats it in a massive pole of earth and slams it on enemies. Each level increases the damage of the attack.

Razmi

A witch who's been banished from her home town due to her knowledge of dark magics. She fights with a lantern that contains the soul of a demon and her pet tiger Bom.
Feats

• Takes a long fall into a nightclub unharmed

Moves

• Tiger claws made of flames slash at enemies
• Tigers made of flames batter enemies and launch them upwards
• Razmi glares at the enemy with a dirty look. This slows the enemy’s recharge rate, meaning they’ll take longer to attack, drefend or take any other action in combat.
• Blocks attacks with her lantern

Supers

• Razmi heals all party members with a short chant
• Produces a giant tiger head made of flames and throws it at the enemy
• Razmi creates a massive pillar of flame, throws it into the air and has it descend on the enemy, hitting many times

Ginseng and Honey

A kid and their root vegetable on a quest to become world-class botanists. Ginseng carries a giant mortar and pestle, used to grind up enemies and heal their allies.
Feats

• Ginseng gathers a bunch of rare specimens called Resurrection Lilies. When Ajna is out of commission for a week following her first fight with Kala, Ginseng revives her using the Lilies.

Moves

• Ginseng grinds the enemy up with their mortar and pestle. Using this move enhances the effects of their healing abilities.
• Ginseng splashes the contents of their mortar around, healing the group
• Ginseng ducks down while Honey tosses a randomly selected item from Ginseng’s backpack
• Blocks attacks with their backpack

Supers

• Ginseng looks around on the ground before finding a large vegetable, which they throw to Honey. This large vegetable is thrown the next time Ginseng uses their down attack or second super move.
• Honey reaches into Ginseng’s backpack and tosses a barrage of assorted pieces of junk at an enemy
• Ginseng grinds an enemy with their mortal and pestle until the contents explode. This launches the enemies and disperses the contents on Ajna's party, healing them greatly.

Zebei

A smug archer from a clan of nomads from the mountains. While initially skeptical about Ajna's ability to responsibly control her powers, he stays with the group to oversee Kala's defeat.
Moves

• Zebei shoots three arrows in quick succession at a target
• He leaps up, holds the bow with his feet and fires a spread of five arrows at the enemies
• He shoots multiple arrows at the enemy’s legs, popping them up into the air
• Blocks attacks with his bow and padded armwear

Supers

• Loads his bow with five arrows, then hits an enemy with three volleys. The second level shows Zebei launching four volleys, and the third level shows him launching seven volleys.

Tungar

A knight and a man of action, Tungar doesn't speak too often. He lets his urumi speak for him, a cloth-based weapon that doubles as a turban.
Moves

• Tungar swings his urumi, unleashing a hoop-shaped projectile
• He swings his urumi in such a way that he flings the enemy upwards
• He waves his urumi around himself, hitting multiple enemies at once
• Blocks attacks with a small shield

Supers

• Tunger charges up a stronger strike against a single enemy. The second level increases the damage.
• He slashes enemies with his urumi a dozen times, then sheathes the weapon back on his head. The moment he sheathes it, the damage manifests all at once.

Kushi

A member of the same tribe as Zebei and a Protector-in-training, Kushi fights alongside Altun, a massive bird of prey.
Feats

• When Ajna leaps off an airship and falls, Altun flies close and grabs her before she hits the ground

Moves

• In Standing Mode, Kushi punches an enemy. In Riding Mode, Altun screeches, damaging multiple enemies.
• Kushi enters Riding Mode, jumping off the ground and holding onto Altun’s talons. If she’s already in Riding Mode, Altun will soar up and dive bomb an enemy’s position for massive damage.
• Kushi will enter Standing Mode and plant her feet on the ground. If she’s in Standing Mode, she’ll send Altun out to swoop at an enemy.
• Altun blocks attacks with his wing, protecting Kushi

Thorani

A maternal healer who carries magic, restorative water in her hair. While she's typically benevolent and happy to heal anyone in need, she becomes aggressively protective when Ajna or her other teammates are in jeopardy.
Feats
Resuscitation/Healing

• Thorani splashes Ajna, waking her up after her fall from Sumeru and subsequent three-day nap
• Hydrates Qadira, with Thorani stating that her water is much more nourishing than normal water
• She heals an Ohma addict, purging the drug from the body. If she collaborates with Ajna, she can instantly heal severe Ohma abusers, restoring their bodies and minds.
• Channeling Ajna’s iddhi, Thorani is able to create a cleansing rain that cures most of Tai Krung’s Ohma users of their addictions

Other

• As a deva, Thorani is well over one thousand years old
• She’s able to sense the emotions and intentions of others, even on a city-wide scale
• Thorani senses calm and shame in a monster’s heart

Moves

• She fires water from her hair as projectiles, damaging enemies and forming a puddle at the point of impact
• She “activates” all the puddles on the field. If an ally stands in a puddle, they’re healed, while the puddles damage Thorani’s enemies.
• She splashes enemies with a small wave of water, damaging them and forming a puddle at the point of impact
• Blocks attacks with a hand formed from water

Supers

• Thorani flourishes her hair, leaving puddles all around herself and the party
• She becomes a puddle of water herself, becoming a stronger version of the activated puddles
• She generates a small raincloud over her head, healing herself and the party over time

Qadira

A warrior looking for her lost brother. Although she carries his sword, Qadira opts to do battle with only her shield, keeping the blade sheathed until she finds him.
Feats

• Trained in shield-fighting since she was a child

Moves

• Qadira rams her shield into the enemy, then thrusts her arm forwards for a second hit
• She delivers an upper to send enemies airborne, then can spike them back to the ground
• She sweeps the enemy’s legs, then can pop them up into the air
• Blocks attacks with her shield… duh

Supers

• She rams her shield into the enemy in a multi-hit attack. Each level increases the number of hits and the damage of the move.

Baozhai

A pirate captain that sails the seas in the warship Teotul. She loves sailing, cannons, women and drinking.
Feats

• Owns the Teotul, a massive, armored pirate ship, equipped with forward and side-facing cannons

Moves

• Baozhai steals a handful of coins from the enemy. These coins can be used to enhance her supers. This attack is also unblockable.
• She launches cannonballs from her back cannons. While strong, these attacks can harm allies as well as enemies.
• Baozhai leaps into the enemies hips-first, knocking them around slightly
• Blocks attacks with a treasure chest

Supers

• Baozhai throws some shiny coins at the enemy to distract them before tossing a harpoon into one
• She boots a treasure chest at the enemy, which opens and tosses several coins into the air. She then shoots a coin, which causes the round to ricochet and hit the enemy many times. The more coins she has, the more the round ricochets.
• Launches a barrage of rockets from her back cannons. By spending coin, she can fire more projectiles.

Phoebe

Once a freedom fighter alongside her husband, Phoebe watched her husband die in battle against her country's invaders. Now, she trains her two children in an effort to return to her home and fight off the invading killers.
Moves

• Using a spear, Phoebe flings enemies upwards
• She leaps into the air, grabs airborne enemies and performs a fireman’s carry slam on them
• Phoebe plants her massive bow in the ground and fires a spear that can pierce enemies and hit those behind them
• Blocks attacks with a spear

Nuna

A plant-manipulator from the underground community of Kaanul. While she's used her powers as a farmer for years, the rise of Kala has forced her to use her plants for combat.
Feats

• Creates vines that cover Hunoch's entire body, although he breaks out quickly
• She plants a bunch of seeds in a cave in Kaanul. As soon as the cave gets some natural sunlight, they instantly sprout into a roomful of massive vegetables.

Moves

• Nuna gets close to the enemies and quickly grows thorny vines around herself, stabbing her foes
• She sprouts a cornstalk under an enemy, launching them skywards
• Nuna plants a trap in the ground. When an enemy walks over it, a pumpkin quickly grows that stuns and damages the victim. Her cornstalk move also enhances the traps on the field, making them larger and more damaging.
• Blocks attacks by quickly sprouting a tree in front of herself

Supers

• She grows and plucks a dandelion, then blows the seeds at the enemies, which explode on contact. Each level increases the number of seeds.

Hunoch and Xiboch

Two star athletes in Kanuul's national sport, Tlatchlibol. Xiboch is deceased, having been killed by an Underworld monster, so now both souls take turns occupying the living brother's body.
Feats

• Hunoch breaks out of vines that cover his body by flexing

Moves

• The humanoid brother serves the spirit brother as a ball and bounces it off an enemy. When it bounces back, the humanoid brother can smack it back at the enemy, increasing the number of hits and the damage of strikes. This process can be repeated until the humanoid brother misses or they run out of action points.
• The spirit brother manifests and blocks attacks to defend the humanoid brother

Super

• Xiboch takes control of Hunoch’s body and uses Hunoch’s spirit as the ball. If used again, Hunoch reassumes control of the body and Xiboch becomes the ball once more. As the ball, Xiboch deals magic damage and fills the Iddhi Meter faster, while Hunoch delivers more physical damage and fills the Meter slower.

Naga Rider

The resident superhero, last of the Vahana Riders, and protector of Tai Krung’s upstanding citizens. His archnemesis, the Flying Terror, Garuda Cruel, trained with Naga Rider until joining up with the drug kingpin, Mara.
Feats

• Rides a motorcycle with wheels made of hard light

Moves

• Naga Rider performs a quick combo of jabs before ending with a stronger, energized strike
• He performs a flip kick, launching the enemy into the air
• Naga Rider drop-kicks the enemy at a 45 degree angle
• Blocks attacks by forming his armor into a domed shield around his arm

Supers

• Naga Rider chops his hand, discharging explosive energy at all enemies
• He disappears briefly before appearing and flip-kicking an enemy into the air
• He leaps up and wreaths his foot in energy before drop-kicking an enemy with a crushing blow

Yan

A dancer imprisoned in a Tai Krung nightclub. Once freed, Yan uses her absurdly long legs and affinity for dance as a means of acrobatic combat.
Moves

• Yan performs a spinning kick
• She performs a backflip kick, knocking enemies into the air
• Yan jumps up and performs a crescent-shaped downwards kick that can spike airborne enemies
• Blocks attacks with a leg

Kampan

Watching both of her parents die of illness, unable to afford medicine, changed young Kampan. Now a master thief and auteur of espionage, she steals from the Iron Kingdom’s rich and gives back to the poor.
Feats

• She punches the floor, destroying a nearby barrier of slime
• Breaks a barrier of slime with an uppercut

Moves

• She rushes at the enemy and punches them with her gauntlet
• Kampan uppercuts the enemy into the air
• She loads her gauntlet with one shell, with a maximum capacity of four shells. If she has a shell equipped, she’ll fire it a moment after the basic punch connects
• Blocks attacks with her gauntlet

Super

• Kampan knocks the enemy down with a stomp, then pummels them with punches. She then winds up her arm and uppercuts the enemy with a strong blow. This move consumes the entire bar of iddhi and all of Kampan’s remaining action points, making for an extremely strong attack.

Leilani

Leilani was a castaway guided to the island continent by a shark spirit called a 'aumakua until they were both caught in a fishing net. The 'aumakua gave Leilani its teeth and enchanted her leiomano, creating a magic-based chainsaw so she could escape.
Moves

• Leilani slashes with her leiomano. She can expend half a bar of iddhi to cause the chainsaw to spin, increasing the number of hits and the damage of the attack.
• She swings her leiomano upwards, popping enemies into the air. This move can also be used while revving the chainsaw.
• Leilani spins around with her leiomano held outwards. She can spin around for longer, but she runs the risk of becoming too dizzy to move after the attack ends.
• Blocks attacks by holding her weapon in front of herself

Latigo

Latigo was once the leader of a noble group of mercenaries called the Caballeros. His right hand man, Vasco, killed the wrong nobleman and sent the group scattering away from the law. Now, Latigo seeks to kill his old friend with a shot right between the eyes.
Feats

• Quickdraws on Vasco

Moves

• Latigo points his gun and fires
• He jumps and slashes the enemy with his gun’s blade. He can fire three bullets during the swing.
• He reloads his gun. Initially, Latigo only uses five bullets since he’s saving one for Vasco, but after confronting his old teammate, he makes full use of the six round chamber.
• Blocks attacks with his gun blade

Supers

• Latigo slashes at an enemy’s legs to floor them. He can then empty his firearm into the floored victim point-blank.
• He empties his gun and replaces the next five shots with special bullets. These bullets are compatible with any shooting attack and they pierce through enemies to hit multiple times.
• Latigo holsters his gun, takes a stance, then fires on an enemy with erratic shooting stances. He automatically reloads after performing this move.

Ren

An assassin without any kind of moral compass, Ren will kill any target for the appropriate price. A regular employee of Tai Krung’s underworld kingpin, Mara, Ren secretly hopes for a quarry that can fight back and show him a good time.
Feats

• Unharmed after three spear hits to the face
• Appears suddenly, hanging upside by a cable
• Disappears from sight

Moves

• He throws the axe-end of the kusarigama into the enemy. By using another action point, he drags it back to his hand, slicing the enemy along the way.
• Ren spins the kusarigama above his head, cutting groups of enemies several times
• He leaves a trap that impales enemies that walk over it with bamboo spikes. He can enhance this trap with two more bamboo spikes at the cost of an action point.
• Ren disappears briefly to evade attacks

Supers

• Ren wreathes his kusarigama in flame and slams it down on an enemy, leaving them with a damage-over-time burn effect
• He leaves a special trap on the battlefield. When an enemy walks over it, a scorpion tail shoots up and punctures them, leaving them with a damage-over-time poison effect.
• Ren summons two fireballs to spin around himself, then dashes at the group of enemies, leaving them all afflicted with the burn status. He then vanishes and reappears with his allies.

Zahra

A musician specializing in the stringed Oud. She left her village and her potential marriage in order to keep spreading her music to the world.
Feats

• By playing a “chaotic” riff, Zahra quickly causes a mechanical enemy to malfunction and explode

Moves

• Zahra plays a high-tempo song, increasing an ally’s movement and action speed by 50%. All three of her songs’ effects persist until Zahra takes a hit, can be used on multiple allies at once and can stack with each other.
• She plays a cheerful song to increase an ally’s attack stat by 50%
• Zahra plays a mournful dirge to increase an ally’s defense stat by 33%
• Blocks attacks with her Oud. Clean-blocking hits keeps her songs’ effects active.

Super

• Zahra snaps her fingers and plays a mesmerizing tune, stunning the enemies for a number of seconds and forcing them to dance instead of fight. If the player presses the attack button in time with Zahra’s snapping, the effect lasts for up to six seconds longer.

Lanshi

A very good doggy that lives in the monastery in Lhan. But was he always a dog?!?
Moves

• Lanshi barks at the enemy until he has to take a break, which inexplicably damages them
• Lanshi can take a ten second nap mid-battle, not waking up even when attacked. A spectral hand can pet Lanshi, which generates iddhi for the party.
• Blocks attacks by covering his face with his paws and cowering

Supers

• Lanshi sniffs out the enemies and marks them. The next time he uses the barking attack, all marked enemies will be struck by lightning.
• Lanshi takes a nap right next to the enemies. Petting Lanshi in this state will build up static electricity, which discharges and shocks all enemies when he wakes up.
• He howls to call forth a stampede of electric dog spirits, which sprint at all enemies

Non-Combatants

• Asiri, a seamstress, can dye the characters' clothing different colors
• George, a former dragon hunter, runs a training area in the Inner Realm. He can summon monsters for Ajna and her crew to practice against.
• The oracle Tharwa can point Ajna in the right direction to complete her objectives by scrying through a crystal ball
• Ratna and Mani are two religious beings that can increase the cast's offensive or defensive power when brought talismans called Ringsels
• Kogi, a professional chef

So I've been rooting with the idea of a framed backpack that can fold out into a small workstation for work on the go. I work at a booth selling goods crafted by some else at my local ren faire each year, and go to larps here and there when a friend invites me to tag along.
I'm not looking for a full collection of all the tools. Just some basic tools for working on simple projects, belts, wallets, watchbands, phone holder / pouches, ect. and repairs. I'm comfortable fixing damaged work, and making really simple stuff, but I'm new to the craft, and still figuring things out. My question is, if y'all were to make a tool kit with a focus on portability to do said small orders / repairs at these style of events, which tools would you consider must haves? There is already a 10lb steel plate in the plan so if need be I can use the ground and have an ok anvil, but after that I want to cover most of the bases, but not be lugging around 100lb tool bag. Any ideas welcome, and thanks in advance.

One of the greatest things about this game is the story which of course is driven by We the People. (How appropriate). With that I came up with an effective "Lore" Build that is not only fast on its feet but effective vs Bots. I play on 7 and 8 difficulty.
I call it the 701st Freedom Raiders Build (Based on the US Army Rangers and 101st Airborne Division)
Armor - Infiltrator Armor - Offers better protection and yet shares the same traits as the scout. - The Marksman Helmet - personal preference but make sure it's yellow and black. The Hood Works too or the Exterminator helmet that looks like its Kylo Ren's - A short cape, remember fast and mobile. Same color scheme.
Weapons -

• AR-23 Liberator. As the saying goes sometimes the basics are the best. I like the Sickle and Penatrator but the Liberator is still very effective at lvl 66. It teaches patience and accuracy. The Sickle ruins the skills won when we all used the Liberator early in the war. I also hate that you have to spool up the Sickle vs a point and shoot like the AR-23.
  
• P-4 Senator - As a Freedom Raider my job is for quick strikes, the other pistols are designed for when the user gets into trouble. 5 out of 7 instances I use this pistol as my primary when I raid Bot Outposts.
  
• Impact Grenades....nothing needs to be said.
  

Strats -
Shield Generator - CQC and a fast playstyle makes this thing shine. A juggernaut would not find the generator useful. The Shield Backpack is another story.

• Grenade Launcher - for Bot Patrols and Bot Factories, vent weakpoints on heavy weapons
  
• EATs - dropships, gunships, turrets etc.
  
• Eagle Airstrike - the OG Eagle, like the Liberator still is top dog in my opinion.
  

Yeah I know I maybe nuts for still running around with the AR-23 but for some reason, having tried all of them, I just have better luck with the Liberator. Stangely the US Marines felt the same way for years about the M-16 up till 2016 even though the US Army jumped at the M4 immediately.

I used to play this game long ago, i cannot remember the name but it was something like "flo" "flu" "fa"
It was a girl who carried a blue/green creature on her back like a backback (or inside her backpack)
Here are things that i remember vaguely :
1- her uncle was a monsteghoul
2- there was a boy her age in the game, she met him sometimes
3- her room was all pink
4- we battled some monsters as her blue/green creature
5- the blue/green creature might have been an axolotl or an alien or something of that sort
6- the game entry was like a short animation of the girl sleeping, leaning against a tree and there was a strong wind that moved her hair and the leaves flying everywhere, then when she wakes up the game begins in her room
7- at some point in the game there was a lake with lots of pink lotus/ren flowers in it
Please Imk if you know the name of the game l've searched the entire internet ; (

The results are in for Match 5. The winner is…
”Talk ’bout a workout…“
“Yeah I’m getting tired too,” confessed Amelia, “might as well wrap this up. Sure hope Mooney stayed close enough to give us a ride afterwards...”
Bonnie walked over, stretching her arms. “You ‘ready done, kid? Guess there’s no point wreckin’ th’ place further, yeah.”
Amelia stood silent for a second, completely ignoring being called a kid again. “You know, Brick was the type of guy to want to go out with a bang. Like one last dynamite punch.”
“Like a firework?”
Bonnie and Amelia looked each other right in the eye, feeling their wavelengths aligning fully.
“Y’bring th’ boom?”
“If you bring the bang.”
It took Esmond a moment to catch his breath, battered and bruised as he was. His resolve had been well met, his opponents putting up an intense, grueling brawl. Minali was similarly winded - she was the first to notice something amiss.
“Hey, Esmond.” She stepped back, getting a very, very bad feeling. “What’s with all of these chairs?”
She raised a good point - the chairs had been scattered into a large pile around them, forming a makeshift ring. Was this what Amelia had been up to? It didn’t matter, because something gleaming up above caught the man’s eye.
Brick Punchwell’s coffin soared over the wall of chairs, like a great, majestic eagle.
“Oh my god.” Minali resigned to her fate in an instant. “Are you fucking for real right no-”

Amelia Flores with Bonnie "Diamond" Wes, with a score of 77 to vs Esmond Root with Minali Meteora’s 62!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Amelia w/ Bonnie	19 (7.5+0.5+2) - 11 (3.5+0.5+2)	An explosive victory! ...Winner has to clean up the viscera, right?
Quality	Amelia w/ Bonnie	22 (8 8 6) - 21 (7 7 7)	Reasoning
JoJolity	Amelia w/ Bonnie	26 (8 10 8) - 20 (7 6 7)	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	Nothing to report!

The coffin came down with the force of a thousand punches, splintering apart in an explosion of kinetic energy, sending everyone and everything flying. Esmond could barely keep conscious long enough to register the viscera and bits of steel that he was now covered with. Despite the loss, he felt... Different. Good or bad, he was yet to see.
The four of them looked to the sky, in the wake of Brick’s final procession. It was a vision the four shared, one that would intertwine them at that moment with a sense of knowing peace.
Brick Punchwell, behind the clouds, gave a thumbs up and a grin, fading into the sunset beyond. A man who lived how he wanted, and went as he pleased—maybe we all have something to learn from a guy like that.

If you want more bombast, then bear witness to an ancient, underground temple where the forces of earth, rain, and flame do battle!

There once was a valley bathed in shadow, abandoned by the light of the sun. Only the strong survived in this wild land, and the strongest beast was the King of Elephants. Its footsteps tore the ground, and its trumpet shattered the sky. The other beasts lingered beneath its shadow, and all who did not follow its path were crushed.
The Elephant King could never slow, could never rest, and so it reigned alone.
But before long, its skin was torn by countless challengers, and its heavy steps became trapped in the earth. Younger beasts with sharper claws would spill its blood and claim its crown. All that remained of the King was an ivory tower, a grave woven from its bones. The only thing that pierced the shadow and tasted sunlight.
*Beneath the shadow of the tower, the beasts fought and killed as all beasts must. They fought for the crown for so long that the old kings were forgotten. Yet, even in death, the King of Elephants could never rest.
Before long, the jungle would shake with unseen footsteps and the trumpet that shatters the sky.

ACT 5 — Thy Love is PLENTY

Scenario: Night Train Movie Studio, Reshmerasta — 6:38PM
Vasant Verve stared at a closed door and found that no matter how long he looked at it, it would not open. Granted, it wasn’t as though he could stare for very long uninterrupted, as every time he looked away from the young woman sitting next to him, she twirled into the center of his vision.
“Uncle Vas! Uncle Vas!” Ichi Ni San took his hand again, capturing his attention, as she swung it side to side. “Look at my drawing!”
For a moment, the man’s gaze lingered on the doorway, waiting eagerly for the knob to turn. It had been thirty-eight minutes since Xenagoras entered Sing Now!’s office, and each passing second worsened the ache in the pit of Vas’s stomach. Sure, Sing Now! was someone Xenagoras considered a trusted colleague, even a friend. But the way he had acted towards his own daughter, just for trying to follow them into his office…it didn’t sit right with Vas. Neither did the judgemental looks that Sing kept shooting him. Offering to watch Ichi felt like the best way to get both of them to get away from him for a while.
But Xenagoras was insistent on meeting with Sing. He had told Vasant, time and time again, how important this meeting was. Xen always had this glimmer in his eye whenever he was invested in something. It was one of the many things Vas loved about him. It was something he missed now, trapped on the other side of this door.
“You’re not LOOKING!” Ichi yelled, just about blasting Vas’s hair back. He blinked once, before staring down at the drawing she had made with the supplies he scrounged.
“You…really like the red pen, huh, kid?” he chuckled, flashing her a grin. She smiled back, before pressing the piece into his hand. He looked down at it for a long, quiet moment, gently running his thumb across the paper.
“...I remember the drawings my little siblings used to make. We always said one of them could have been an artist, if we were-”
Ichi gasped suddenly, bouncing up and down.
“Cousins? Cousins? Could I meet them, Uncle Vas? Please? Please please please?”
Vas grimaced a moment, staring back down at the picture.
“Oh, I…I’m sorry, Ichi I haven’t really…seen them, in a while. They all have their life, and…I have mine. It’s best if we don’t mix those lives up, anymore.”
Ichi pouted for a moment, balling up her fists… before nodding and laughing to herself.
“It’s okay! Daddy wouldn’t let me see them anyways. They’re just supposed to watch me sing! Otherwise they’re just dis~trac~tions. Even when I wanna play with someone and I promise to be reeeeally good, I can’t play with them if daddy doesn’t like them…”
Vas just stared back at her, a frown deepening the creases in his skin.
“...You know, Ichi. Sometimes, you can do things because you want to do them, okay? Not just because your daddy wants them too. It’s okay to follow your heart, too.” He gently poked her beneath the collarbone, above her heart, causing her to break out into a fit of giggles.
“But I wanna do what daddy wants to do, even if I don’t wanna do it! Cause I loooove daddy!”
“Love isn’t just doing what someone else wants, sweetpea.”
“You love Uncle Xen, riiiight?”
Vas flushed a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “Of course. I… love him more than anything.”
“So, you do whatever Uncle Xen says, riiiiiiiiiight?”
“I…no, I don’t do whatever he says, Ichi. I told you, that’s not what love is. If anything, he’s been letting me do the things I want. He’s been supporting my dream, giving me the things I need to make it all real, and… giving me someone to share that dream with.”
Ichi grinned, throwing her arms around Vas, and giving him a squeeze. Smiling, Vas returned the gesture, closing his eyes and imagining the hugs he shared with his own family, all those years ago. Ichi giggled to herself, before whispering to him.
“I know you don’t wanna be here, Uncle Vas… you don’t like my daddy, but you love Uncle Xen. So, you have to do what he says… or else he won’t love you anymore.
Vas froze a moment, as tension tangled in his stomach. He tried to heave up some words that would prove her wrong, that would cure her of this poison Sing had fed to her.
But he couldn’t find the words to say, nevermind force them past his throat. So instead he stayed locked in that embrace. All he could do was watch the door.
—
Outside the studio, under the cover of twilight, two investigators rolled into the Night Train parking lot.
Inago brought his bike to a steady halt, cutting the engine as he flipped out the kickstand. He gave a long exhale as the engine exhausted its last, gradually letting go of the handlebars. He watched his hands shake as they rose before his face and clenched to force them steady.
In some senses their investigation was going smoothly. The unsafe working conditions from Calabasas’s investigation into Sing Now! might have only borne out settlements, but the scandals—both literal and posted to the Paparazzi network—sketched out the shape of his reach, the extent of his shadow. The network alleged that he and Dr. Eris Apollo were members of the Metropolis Suite, but as the doctor herself said, the allegations needed to be supported by more than gossip. The Moonbeam Riders had gotten leads on individuals; it was now a matter of finding new ones or pressing forward.
‘Press forward’, that was what he was good at. “A blow not just to the body, but to evil itself. A critical strike empty of malice and filled with conviction. Something stylish, something defining, something that castigates evil and fills the viewer with awe,” as he put it. Windy had reminded them that the targets of their investigation came from somewhere.
The serial killer he brutalized came from somewhere too.
“Aight!” Luna let go of him, letting go of Inago and swinging her legs around to hop onto the ground. Night Train was a large complex; bringing multiple people to the investigation would help them find intel on Sing Now!, and Luna’s Stand ability was the best suited to moving stealthily. “I’ll send my dogs out ahead, we can attack from multiple angles an—”
“No,” Inago hissed.
“…no?” Luna’s tone was ginger, almost hurt. While she was glad that jet black locust had torn the bastard a new one—he went after teenagers in the Rahaman School District, for fuck’s sake—Inago had been distant since she had shown him that beatdown against that serial killer. Yet this flare of confrontation was…new.
“No, I mean,” Inago sighed apologetically. The two of them had butted heads in the past, but he didn’t mean to dismiss her so out of hand. Even if her gung-ho attitude towards their investigation was occasionally gauche, it was never ill-intentioned. “No attacks. We get in, we get out—make it look like we were never even here.” He tapped his cell. “I’ll go in first and let you know when the coast is clear; you stay by the bike, and if anything feels off, head out.”
Before Luna could protest, Inago made his way towards the studio, leaving Luna to familiarize herself with the motorcycle. He was the vanguard, the tip of the spear of the Moonbeam Riders’ investigation. If he could at least blunt himself, then maybe he would minimize the bloodshed in that spear’s wake. A hand instinctively went to where the scabbard would be at his waist, wincing at the uneasy peace that it gave him. He was Kamen Rider Shastra, purger of evil for a perfect future.
“Shastra” as in “sword”.
The moment Vas finally convinced himself to be patient and stop checking was the moment Xenagoras finally made his entrance. He seemed as composed as usual, and yet, Vas looked at him with a flash of concern. He had learned the little tells Xen tried to hide: the slight flush of embarrassment, the force with which he’d opened the door, the way he kept readjusting his sleeves. Giving Ichi a pat on the shoulder, Vas got to his feet and quickly bounded over to the other man’s side. Up close, he could see the tension held in Xen’s frame, a coin from his Stand held tight within his fist.
“...Xen-” Vas began, reaching out a hand to touch him, before the other man recoiled away.
“It’s fine, Vasant. Simply a…temporary divergence of opinion. It seems Sing and I have different views on what would be best for our city.” His brow furrowed, creasing his nose. “Perhaps he thinks I am not capable.”
“Oh, Xenny…” Vas hummed, trying once more to touch him. He could feel the man tense under his palm, but this time, Xenagoras relented, letting his eyes close. “You’re plenty capable.”
“I know that. I am not the one who’s hiring delinquents to kill each other. I am not the one who sent out a hit on a public activist at the peak of her notoriety, not to mention the fact the assassin was caught on camera by an investigator whom they killed as collateral.”
He turned suddenly, gripping onto Vasant’s shirt. “I am not the one who keeps playing our hand, over and over again, putting us under more and more scrutiny and painting us in a worse and worse light, until it obscures all the good I have worked so hard to achieve.”
Now it was Vasant’s turn to recoil a moment, taking in a sharp breath as he watched the intensity flare in his lover’s eye.
“Yet Sing Now seems perfectly content with our leadership. We each have our own role to play,” Xenagoras sneered, glancing back towards the door. ”No sense in rocking the boat.”
Vasant tried to find some words of comfort, but they just snagged in his throat. All he could do was hold the other man, and keep breathing slowly, as if hoping the other man’s shallow breaths would fall into tune.
Slowly, in the silence, they seemed to do just that. That gleam in Xen’s eyes began to fade…betraying all the frustration and exhaustion beneath. Finally, he managed to truly meet his lover’s eyes, his own gaze softening. He parts his lips again, and-
Ichi Ni San rushed forwards, wrapping them both in a hug. “Yayyy! Uncle Xen is back! Back from the big meeting!”
All the tension immediately flooded back into Xen’s body, as he went completely still, as if faced with a wild animal about to bite him. Vasant, on the other hand, just chuckled and ruffled Ichi’s hair again.
“That’s right..! Now the uncles are finally reunited,” he laughs, causing Xenagoras to blush slightly, this close to the rumble of his chest. He shot Vasant a pleading look, still tensed like a coiled spring.
Yet, something seemed to catch Ichi’s attention. While Xen was initially all too relieved to get his space back, he paused as he watched her bound towards a nearby window, cooing about some pretty lights. Vas chuckled, watching her skip off, before leaning in, eyes half lidded. “I’ll get back to watching her soon, but now that we have a moment…”
But Xenagoras placed a hand on the man’s chest, holding him back before he could complete the kiss. All the while, Xen’s gaze remained locked on the window. “I need to make sure of something. Please let go of me, Vas.”
Relenting, Vas let the man step out of his embrace and make his way towards the window. Even from far away, Vas could see the tension pinning his shoulders as he peered through the glass. It was hardly shocking when he whirled around, eye wide. Still, Vas did not expect his words.
”They’re headlights. Someone’s coming,” he hissed, before storming back in Vas’s direction. Confused, Vas tried to reach out to him, to get him to slow down and explain, but Xenagoras shook off the touch and kept rushing to reach Sing Now!’s office.
“Damn it! This is exactly what I was saying about scrutiny!”
“Xen..?” Vas couldn’t help but startle at the bitter taste of his lover’s voice.
“Find somewhere to hide, do not let either you nor Ichi be seen. I need to inform Sing.”
Vas took a step forwards, yet it felt as if a chasm had torn open between them. “Xen, you’ll- you’ll be alright, won’t you?”
Finally, the man paused, turning back to Vasant for just a moment. “Of course. We’ll both be perfectly alright. Just keep your head down. I have it all handled, my dear.”
Then with that, he vanished into the office, leaving Vas alone with Ichi Ni San, and the pretty lights that pierced right through him.
Those lights belonged to not just one motorcycle, but two. The Moonbeam Riders wasn’t the only group who had gained some interest in Sing Now!, though not every group would consider themselves dedicated investigators.
To Vasant and Soichi, this was just helping out a friend. After all, Gioia couldn’t act on her own suspicions without compromising both her job and her ability to investigate from the inside. So after she had mentioned this meeting offhandedly, the two of them had offered to look into it on her behalf. Though, it wasn’t like anyone could trace them back to her. That was the nature of their friendship, nothing formal, nothing concrete.
“Have you ever watched anything from this studio?” Soichi asked, lingering next to Vasant as he parked his bike.
“No,” the other man answered simply, before retrieving his keys, and turning towards the building. He paused for a moment, only moving once Soichi began walking beside him.
“Haha, yeah…” the backpacker responded. “Me neither.”
With that, the two approached the studio. Finding the doors to be locked, Soichi gestured for New Way to possess the entrance, controlling and unlocking it.
“The lights are on,” Vasant commented, glancing around the empty studio, before both of their eyes settled on a pair of figures. A bearded, green-haired man in an apron appeared to be pleading with a much taller young woman, who herself appeared to be laughing at him. The moment Soichi and Vasant noticed the strangers, both of them were noticed in turn. The man seemed quite surprised, but the young woman began quickly striding towards them both, a gleam in her eyes.
“My, my, my! There are little mice sneaking around the studio!” she exclaimed, before stopping right in front of them, smirking down with her arms crossed. The man quickly bounded forwards, before stopping right next to the young woman, his eyes wide. His gaze flickered between Soichi and Vasant, before shrinking slightly at the latter’s imposing figure. Noticing this, Soichi laughed to ease the atmosphere.
“We’re not sneaking,” he smiled, “maybe scurrying? But we’re not here to intrude. We just heard a couple things, and wanted to see if they were true.”
“...What kind of things?” the man responded, trying his best to smile back.
“There are rumours going around,” Vasant replied. “Normally, they don’t concern us, but these ones did. We’re here to look into them. Why are you here?”
The man blinked, looking to the young woman for a moment. Offering no help, she simply laughed. “Oh, what cute little squeaking… now that I’ve caught them, I simply must keep them, mustn’t I, Uncle?”
“These nice gentlemen are…just here to chat. No one needs to catch or keep anyone,” said the man, before turning back to the two of them. “I’ve been asked to watch over Ichi here, while her father is working.”
The two of them nodded, as Vasant glanced around the studio, and Soichi continued. “Oh, that’s sweet…! Is her father here right now?”
“I’m not sure,” the man responded, before pausing for a few moments. “Hah, look at me, I introduced Ichi but not myself…” then, he stuck out a hand to shake. “My name’s Vasant, Vasant Verve, I run a tea estate in the South.”
“Oh, I guess we didn’t introduce ourselves either,” the backpacker laughed. “I’m Soichi, and that…”
“We share a name,” Vasant commented. “I go by Vasant as well.”
At that, the man seemed to shed his nerves and light up, his smile becoming a grin. “Is that so! Haha, that’s wonderful. We should start a club! But if it gets confusing, you can just call me Vas.”
“Understood,” Vasant commented… before finally cracking a smile of his own.
“What’s it like running a tea estate?” Soichi asked, cheered by the unwinding of that underlying tension. “The teafields in the South are so beautiful.”
“Aha~!” Vas boomed. “Tending the fields is wonderful work, at least-” He paused, deflating a little. “At least when I’m able to do it. My partner handles most of the logistics. With his help I’ve become a bit of a runaway success… I could have never imagined how much business was involved! It’s a far cry from the little roadside tea stand I used to run…!”
Soichi nodded, a smile on his face. “I’ve done some work like that in my travels, whenever I’ve needed to build up the cash to catch a flight. It’s funny- I used to work in architecture, but it’s just so much more satisfying to make something with your hands, you know?”
Vasant, in turn, made eye contact with Ichi. They stared at each other for a few seconds, sizing each other up. He had heard a good deal about her from Gioia, who professed a soft spot for Ichi in between all of her popstar bluster, speaking of the monstrous abuse her father put her through and how it ended up affecting her.
Now that they were in the same place, his intuition was giving strange readings. There was something about her, her stance… It put him on edge. She was a Stand user, no doubt about it. The electrical flavor of fighting spirit could be practically tasted off the air. He held pity for her, but in enemy territory, he knew he couldn’t lower his guard.
“I’ve heard about you.” He said bluntly. “Gioia has spoken of you a few times. It’s good to finally meet you.” He figured he should at least make an effort to be friendly. He wasn’t great at communication, and by extension he wasn’t really all that good with particularly sensitive and eccentric people. He felt a little awkward, especially considering his pre-existing worry of what she might be capable of.
Ichi eagerly clasped her hands together. “Won-der-ful~!” She cooed, enunciating her words. “Dear, dear Gioia… She’s like a porcelain doll. So finely crafted, made by an artisan’s hand. So pretty~! The best little porcelain princess dolly a girl could ever ask for~!”
Vasant just stared at her. “...Yeah.”
He quietly brushed off that whole little spiel, not really wanting to engage with whatever that mess of words was trying to express. Gioia did mention that Ichi Ni San had “bouts of eccentricity”; perhaps he had walked into the middle of one.
“Could you tell us where we could find your father?” he asked, hoping that might lead him and his fellow traveler somewhere. “We have…business to discuss with him. Anything you know would help us, even if it’s just where he’s working tonight.”
Vas quickly broke off from his conversation with Soichi, putting a hand on Ichi’s shoulder and chortling before she could say anything—the sound clearly strained. “All I know is he’s really quite busy, he never gives any details. For all we know, he could be in North America!”
Ichi turned to look at him, her arms crossed. She gave him this cold, dissecting look, her head twitched slightly to the side. It made him sweat a little, like she was piercing straight into him. She turned back to Soichi and Vasant, happily and confidently chirping out “He just left here a few minutes ago~!”
Vas blanched, eyes wide. He should’ve mentioned that she needed to keep quiet on her father, should’ve brought up that not everyone had his best intentions in mind… that they were now under ‘scrutiny’...even her. Even him.
Unless, this was a deliberate act of rebellion. He swallowed harshly, accepting that perhaps this was what she had taken from his words–some attempt at ‘disobedience.’ After all, love isn’t doing what you’re told, right?
Vasant gave her a wordless, guarded look. His expression was almost unreadable, but it looked a little like pity. Soichi looked up from a small piece of paper that had his phone number on it, putting it in Vas’s hand as he started to walk off. “Keep in touch! I’d love to talk more about this, but me and my friend oughta get going!”
Vas tried to say something to stop them, but the words got caught in his throat. Still, he forced the words out, he had to. Xenagoras was depending on him.
“W-Wait!” He said, reaching over to grab Vasant’s shoulder. “Please, you can’t- Just wait a second and liste-”
Then the world went white.
—
Scenario: Sing Now!’s office, two minutes earlier
For the past thirty-eight seconds, Xenagoras found himself staring at an empty desk. Sing Now’s computer and documents had been quickly cleaned out, and there was no sign of the man himself. No sign of someone who, up until this very moment, Xenagoras considered his trusted associate.
Now Xen wasn’t sure what he thought. For those seconds, his mind was empty, his blood simmering with frustration, his empty eye pulsing with phantom pain.
Yet, even with one eye, Xenagoras could clearly see that he’d been sold out. Part of him couldn’t even be mad at Sing!’s opportunism. Perhaps, in his position, he’d have done the same. But that rationale did nothing to quiet the pounding of his heart. Xenagoras had given everything to this damnable cartel, and now his reward was to be abandoned to the wolves that everyone else had angered? It wasn’t fair.
But it wasn’t over yet. Xenagoras had rode wave after tidal wave of loss and success. He had survived them all, and this would be no different.
He simply had to show these people what he was capable of.
”Square One.”
Flourishing with a hand, a vibrant market stall appeared in front of him, subsuming Sing!’s desk as it sat there, waiting for his next move.
Stepping towards it, Xenagoras brushed his fingers against the fabric, before [The Square] opened around him, revealing its wondrous possibility.
He would grant this city a glimpse of its shining future.
Those snarling hounds and scurrying mice had best be careful, lest they lose themselves in Twisted Logic.
Scenario: Times Square, ???
Inago’s vision steadily returned. He had been stalking through the halls of Night Train moments ago, and his eyes gradually focused on an environment that was familiar, yet wrong.
Times Square, New York—at least in name. Billboards loomed overhead, and shops displayed their wares all around him, but all the life and color had been drained from it. While Times Square was defined by the bustle and noise of tourists and locals alike, what Inago processed first wasn’t sight, but silence. His senses had returned, only to be presented by a sheer lack of stimulus and meaning. For all the criticism that the real thing had received, this was a fabrication, a bleached monument to commerce.
His breathing pitched, but he forced himself to process the situation rationally. Was it a Nightbloom trial? Unlikely given the spiritual emptiness of this place, but possible if this was a particular person’s trial. That, however, pointed to the more likely possibility that this was someone’s Stand attack. The faint, ethereal glow of his surroundings would support that conclusion, and if this was a recreation of the square, would imply the Stand’s high Range and thus difficulty in finding the user.
Even worse, he didn’t know the full capabilities of that Stand. He had walked into Night Train alone, eschewing his backup whose mobility could have at least let them regroup, and now he was stuck here, at the mercy of this Stand without his motorcycle of all things.
But he was not without options.
His hand began to shake again as he raised it to his scabbard. If he was surrounded and overwhelmed by this copied city, then he needed the power to tear it down. The Stand user responsible for their entrapment was likely under Sing Now!’s employ, an observation that only reinforced the seemingly inexorable conclusion. The Ace of Swords remained in its scabbard, yet with a grimace, Inago spoke:
“Henshin.”
Soichi sat on a bench, breathing steadily. Suddenly his eyes opened. “Vasant!”
The man perked up, allowing himself a slight smile as Silver Dollar was rolled down the empty city streets, dutifully commanded by a swarm of New Ways. Once the motorcycle reached its master, Soichi’s Stand dispelled, leaving the two as the singular splash of color in the Times Square streets. “Do you think it’s either of their doing?”
They seemed just as unaware of that flash of white as we were.” Vasant slowly shook his head. “Ichi seems to be a Stand user, but Vas seemed to be actively covering for Sing Now!. Why he would do so is beyond me and worth looking into once we get out of here.”
Vasant stopped speaking and looked down the street, where the pallid glow of the buildings and billboards was blotted out by a swarm of black, 40 meters wide. “We’re not the only ones trapped here.” As it approached, the two could distinguish that the swarm was composed of locusts which ate and eroded anything they landed on, and at its center was a steadily advancing figure. It was a carapaced being of overwhelming, indiscriminate power.
“Do you think we can escape it?” Soichi asked, but Vasant shook his head.
“With a swarm that big, even if we’re not its primary target, it’ll eat through everything and then likely us.” Vasant swung his legs over his bike, starting its engine as ｢Midnight Rider｣ bloomed into existence beside him and planted a seed onto a ｢New Way｣. “If we engage now, at least we’ll have cover.”
A few minutes prior, Luna raced through the fake Times Square streets on Inago’s motorcycle. Her wolf ears remained alert in case anyone tried to jump her, and a hand loosely gripped the handlebars in case she needed to reach for her attache case. There was no time to kick herself for not speaking up when Inago went on ahead; they had been separated and now they needed to regroup.
Once she rounded the corner, she saw it.
Within the maelstrom of locusts that buzzed and gnawed on the panelling was a figure, marching forward with dark determination. She had seen it on that video weeks ago, and in person, she could see it more clearly: a metallic carapace that was black as pitch compared to the organic, lively green of Inago’s ｢Cyclone Effect｣.
Luna didn’t need to be a detective to conclude that the two were more than matching in silhouette, but were the same person. “Inago!”
But the figure didn’t respond. Shock dawned on Luna’s face, and she slammed her fist on the motorcycle’s handlebars with a cry of frustration. She was a field operative, capable in her discipline, but the situation was spiraling out of control. Nevermind the revelations, her teammate and the brains of the operation was not themselves, and she still needed to fend for herself and him. Her face contorted into a grimace, locked in place not out of fear or panic but sheer analysis paralysis, having to process the sheer unknowns and unknown unknowns.
An ear twitched and she looked up to see two others in Inago’s path, a biker and a backpacker their Stands summoned in opposition to Inago.
She gave a sharp exhale and knocked herself back into her OODA loop: Inago wasn’t in the right frame of mind, but at the very least she needed to keep him in one piece. If that meant incapacitating the others, then so it would have to be. “Ren, intercept.”
The seed bloomed into a Lotus which ｢Midnight Rider｣ launched as a warning shot towards the swarm, only for a ghostly wolf to dive in front in front of the flower. Vasant and Soichi watched as a hole was Drilled into it, causing it to dissipate into nothingness. Immediately, they scanned the area for where it came from.
In the distance, sat a woman on a motorcycle who held a similarly grim resolution in her gaze. “I…I can’t let you do that.” Orient. Observe. Decide. Act. They’d be unlikely to hear her out given that interception, yet Luna exhaled. This would be a gamble, but she had confidence in herself and in Inago. The decision was made, it was time to act.
Meanwhile, at the attempted attack, the figure’s red eyes fell upon Vasant and Soichi with…not quite malice, but acknowledgement, that which an automaton would have for its next task.
Soichi sighed with resignation. It appeared that they had fallen into a Stand fight, trapped in this false New York by a suspicious party as a tarnished wind blew through the streets. The four had limited tools to manage the situation, but he and Vasant would get through it the same way they always had. “Just gotta ride out the storm, eh Vasant?”
“Very well,” Vasant nodded across the way as he and Soichi held tight to Silver Dollar.
“Open the game.”
Location: A recreation of Times Square, created by Xenagoras’s ｢Square One｣. Each building is 40 meters wide and each street is 10 meters wide: the total size of the match area is thus about 490 x 265 meters. Inago is at the center of the map, beginning with 5 locusts in his immediate presence, approximately 25 meters from Luna and Evergreen. Luna is in an alleyway 20m from Evergreen, with one of her wolves (in magenta) located a street away, relatively near to Inago. The map is NOT to scale, but the relative locations of everything is sound.
Note that this is a simplified, top-down map of everything in the area—there are shops, food stalls, billboards, and more to consider. By the aforementioned Stand ability, everything in the map is bleached white and Stand affecting, and the aforementioned shops are fully stocked with whatever one may reasonably expect. However, everywhere above the first floor of the buildings are bricked up, and are off limits for the match.
Each side of the street is full of parked cars. There aren’t so many that it's difficult to find openings for a motorcycle to drive between, but there’s no parking spaces you can see. You don’t have the keys for the cars, and even if you somehow started one, it would have to be taken out of parallel parking; but all are technically functional.
Goal: RETIRE your opponents!
Additional Information: Luna’s Eternal Arms Mastery: 5 applies to items she acquires from the map, and for this match it applies to their non-combat use, albeit at reduced effectiveness due to the skill’s generality. Specifically, this is how she has access and effective use of Inago’s motorcycle.
Inago begins in the match in ｢All About My MONSTER｣, and is mostly stuck in that form. He may access ｢Cyclone Effect｣ in short bursts, specifically in absolutely necessary defensive or utility situations. However, in-universe reasoning must be given in some form why the necessity would break Inago out of his berserk mode. While ｢Cyclone Effect｣ is in use, the locust swarm will persist.
However, if Inago is able to calm himself and significantly regain his bearings and sense of things, he may at some point lose access to ｢All About My MONSTER｣ and gain unrestricted use of ｢Cyclone Effect｣, as well as access to both ｢Pride of Lions｣ and ｢Tongues of Fire｣.
If Inago were to RETIRE both of his opponents without switching fully away from ｢All About My Monster｣, gravely injuring two fundamentally good and decent men will be such a blow that he will RETIRE from any pretense of being able to help others. Thus, character development is required for Inago to have any sort of ‘win’, and failing to do so will have significant ramifications on Quality.
Inago while in ｢All About My MONSTER｣ considers Luna and her Stand to not be active threats; she may teleport him around with ｢Footloose｣ as long as he’s occupied with other things, but after being teleported, he will immediately destroy the wolf.

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
Evergreen	Soichi Utsumi and Vasant Bulsara	“If I rip through your skin with these steel clackers and then flow Hamon into you, it covers up my weakness. Cool, huh?” It’s easy to panic and wildly throw bugs and lotuses around, but you’ll have to be calm and clever to get through this. Make well-considered, robust, and interesting use of your environment and the objects in it!!
Moonbeam Riders	Luna Pines and Kibō Inago	“This much? In the middle of the city like this? Where did he get a Thompson machine gun…?” The situation might be chaotic, but you’ve fought in urban environments before; there’s so many ways to get things done. Make well-considered, varied, and interesting use of your environment and the opportunities it gives you!

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(IF you want a TL:DR you can just read the paragraphs that start like A), B) etc.) and are of interest to you)
As with any big release you will have probably come across some content from this game and are wondering if this game is worth the money for you. I saw a handful of comments on here from people who said the lack of depth of the romance system is the reason they won’t get this game. While I understand we all have different preferences to which game mechanics are important to us - the way that some of these comments were phrased made me realise some of you appear to be under the impression that this game is similar to Dragon Age or Baldur's Gate in terms of gameplay. It is not. Nor is it trying to be.
So, I am making this lengthy post for anyone new to the series.
Before that let me just say, if you have played Dragon's Dogma/Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen I can make it simple for you. DD2 is insanely similar to its predecessors, warts and all. If you were hoping for a polished version of mechanics you have come to know and love, wait until it's on sale. If you wanna play your old favourite - but with gorgeous graphics (and they are amazing) then go for it.
First things first, the setting (no spoilers or details, this is just to make you understand the following paragraphs.
A) Setting: Every player has their own world, interlinked with others through rifts kind of like a multiverse. In all worlds and times, it is a common occurrence for a dragon to show up and torment whatever locales it chooses to inhabit. Every dragon has one person (the player) to be an "Arisen": the dragon's mortal enemy who will be the one to slay the drake - both through their own abilities and with the help of the local armies - in this game that of a human country and a beastren one (kind of like Elder Scrolls Khajit) and a legion of "pawns" - the closest confidants of previous and other Arisens. The story has some impressive cutscenes and does occasionally have its moments and very occasionally it hints at becoming really good but it never sticks the landing. The pacing is not ideal - I believe the common consensus of people who have finished the game was "I thought I was halfway done with the story, and then it ended”. I am about halfway through the story so I can't attest to that...wait. If I think I am halfway through the story, does that mean I almost finished it? Oh damn...well, the game can’t end if I have it paused and write lengthy reddit posts instead.
Now that that's out of the way, let me start by pointing out the key ingredient to what makes DD unique:
B) Pawns:
Every player character gets one Pawn. This character can be customised just like the player character, given a personality inclination (calm, straightforward etc.) and given a vocation (fighting style) although not all vocations available to the player will be available to the Pawn. Pawns are AI controlled but here's the key ingredient: They learn and adapt from and to the player's behaviour. I am an absolute hoarder, my pawn was greatly annoyed by this at first but guess who now runs ahead to pick all the apple trees and corpses (even in combat...might have botched my role as educator here)? They adapt to combat as well, remember strengths and weaknesses of enemies you discovered, remind you and employ techniques based on them. They remember treasures and gathering spots, they will remark on story and plot decisions you made based on how you have shaped them. You will travel in a band of 4: You, Your Pawn and 2 Pawns from other players. Your pawn will be travelling through other worlds as well while you are online where they can be hired by other players which is where it gets really fun - other players will see the nonsense you have caused in your pawn or get to admire what you have managed. I hired one pawn that - despite being a Mage (healing/support class) wouldn't stop picking up smaller enemies and "delivering" them to me like a pizza and when I ignored them, she carried them to the nearest cliff to throw them down. Very funny but holy hell was she useless - her player must have been having the time of their life though. And some pawns are judgemental as hell and will tell you funny titbits. I am pretty sure one of my hired pawns slut-shamed her Arisen. This multiplayer aspect does occasionally have some downsides however:
B-) Pawn Downsides:
I'll get to the point quickly here: There is a good deal of porn addicts who play this game. It's rather awkward when you see another player's pawn walking up to you trying to get hired like "I am great at finding ingredients, Arisen" like yeah BUT FIND SOME PANTS FIRST. In my experience it's not the majority of pawns but there are more pretty human women than any other race/gender and from those I'd say a third will be dressed in whatever the skimpiest outfit for their vocation is and usually have...interesting body proportions. There is no way to avoid them completely other than playing offline which imo would take a lot of the fun out of it.
It's also awkward that there is a possibility for the players to undress your own pawn, I modelled my own pawn after Liliana Vess (feel free to google her if you're not familiar) and she often comes back from her adventures telling me the Arisen she went to was strangely into changing her equipment and considering I gave her good, upgraded gear...
Another possible downside is the Dragon plague, mind you: I LOVE this mechanic. It's one of my favourite gaming innovations in the past years and I am unashamed to say I think y'all haters can suck it. BRING BACK THE SIMS BURGLAR, BRING BACK RESETTI, GIVE NUKES TO GHANDI- Raise those stakes. But now for the uninformed: When battling a dragon your pawns have a chance to get infected by a sickness, their behaviour will change, slowly at first and then they become unruly and eventually outright mean and their eyes turn red. I am not 100% sure what exactly happens then as it hasn't happened to me but from what I can tell the plague spreads to NPCs which will eventually wipe out your world's population. (Did hear it isn't permanent though) You can "cure" the plague by drowning your pawn (you can get them back at a riftstone). And the plague spreads through pawns to other players - so you can get it by hiring an infected pawn. Some people hate this mechanic so I thought I'd include it here.
C) Combat
I find it hard to put into words just how much I am enamoured with the fights - at least some of them (more on that in the next point) so I will just paint the picture by giving an account of my last fight in the game: I was fighting a cyclops, things were going well, I shot an explosive arrow to the enemy's face that ripped off his helmet, My Pawn hit him with an ice attack that formed a ramp I could race up and jump onto the cyclops arm, clambering up until I reached his head, my character took out an arrow and started repeatedly jamming it into his eye until he went into a rage. My character jumps backwards, firing arrows as she spirals downwards but he manages to grab her and smash her into the nearest rock, and as my character struggles to regain her senses - I grow panicked but then: the 3rd pawn - a melee character rams her sword into the cyclops' heel which send him reeling and the 4th pawn has rushed to my side helping me up. My main pawn has now conjured up an ice storm that envelops the entire battle. As my visions grows dim from the whirling snow and I start following the sounds from my headset as the giant suddenly fades into my line of sight - the melee pawn in hand but: completely iced over. This is my chance so my character drops to her knee to line up a devastating shot and as her stamina depletes as it charges up the cyclops begins to melt, the epic music grows louder as he gets free and starts to roar - I fire and the game goes into slow motion as he falls to the ground and his scream goes silent.
I had a ton of fights as good, but non EXACTLY like it, because they aren't scripted. They're not cutscenes, not quick-time events, there was no "Now press X to mount the monster and press Y to this", no "do a barrel roll until you get an attack window of opportunity" all of the moves happening from my character where mine to make. I chose to jump on the enemy (honestly there isn’t really a point for archers to do this I just think it looks cool lmao) I could have climbed onto any part of him, maybe hit his hand until he drops his weapon, or his leg so he falls down but I didn't feel like it. When I jumped off, I pressed the button to jump, and the direction to jump into- every arrow I fired as I fell I chose to fire, that pawn that rushed to my aid I had chosen for the inclination to be attentive to my character, The melee pawn was trained by another player to knock over this enemy. It feels special, unique - epic even. Like they were truly MY accomplishments and not just the game railroading me into a cinematic experience and all of this while still looking cinematic. Honestly just have a look of some gameplay footage and tell me those fights don't look amazing, But alass, the big guys aren't the only enemies looking to get beaten up.
C-) Combat Downsides
A lot players are disappointed by enemy variety, but I only agree in terms of the big guys. Especially as a returning player, there are almost no new monsters to fight, there are 5 common big monsters, usually with one or two variations within its species that can be found all over the game world. but 3 of them have a very similar vibe to them. There's two (or 3, I dunno, I haven’t finished the game) more unique bosses.
There are tons more smaller enemies, but THIS is where a big problem stems from - see, I KNOW that these smaller enemies have a lot of variety to them despite what many other players are saying, but I know that, because I started sneaking up on them to avoid combat and then observed them, so I know that there are types of goblins that will play piggy in the middle with their torches, some of them have little parties, some plan ambushes and I really mean PLAN them, like they get together have a little chat and then all go to respective hiding places, occasionally peeking out to see what’s up, these behaviours appear to be unique to different sub-types of goblins recognisable by their looks and gear. And this same level of variety can be found in all the other enemy types as well but...why? I mean seriously...WHY THE HELL would Capcom put so much resources into these enemies - they are cannonfodder the lot of them. We run from one group of goblins into the next and each time my pawn cries out "We don't have the means to exploit our enemies’ weakness!" Liliana, my dearest, a gust of wind is this enemy's weakness. As it was with any other enemy group we encountered. Small enemies are so weak to virtually everything as soon as your character has levelled up a handful of times (probably around lvl 10 I'd say) that there is simply no point in remembering any form of strategy to them, so every player just does what is easiest to them, all fights blend together and you never realise you didn’t just fight the same enemy over and over. Those goblins might have had dreams and aspirations - but in the end, an arrow to the knee was all it took, may they be reborn as Skyrim guards.
Now on to the aspects that are more common and can be more easily compared to other RPGS:
D) Vocation
You will start with 4 Vocations to choose from: Mage (Mostly Support Magic), Archer (Normal bows), Fighter (Sword + Shield), Thief (Daggers). Over the course of the game, you can unlock 6 more. You cannot equip items not meant for your vocation (some gear can be worn by multiple or even other classes though. Every vocation gets skills (like being able to fire multiple arrows at once, planting an explosive, spitting out fire etc.), core abilities (passive things like thieves can get an ability that will have them sometimes get stuff from the enemy’s inventory while they attack) and Augmentations (passive things that can be acquired by levelling up a vocation and then changing to another voc. but still keep that passive, like having a better defence to magic).
4 Skills can be equipped at the same time, they can be changed at every Inn and at camp. Vocation can be changed at some Inns and Vocation guilds - so keep gear you find even when it doesn’t match your or your pawns vocation at the moment, you might wanna try it out later.
Vocations also impact Exploration. Mages and Sorcerers can levitate, and get to spots others cannot reach, Thieves can double jump, Occasionally there will be obstacles that I have seen get destroyed by both Warriors and Sorcerers. I have shot open doors with explosive arrows...although I genuinely always wonder if the game knows I can do that...really awkward walking through caves backwards. All enemies just stare away from you, like walking in on your surprise party through the backdoor. Oh and Warriors can apparently use a skill that makes them rush forward to spear up an enemy to walk faster - Is it a bird? is it a plane? No it's that Weirdo who is supposed to save our country with his really big sword. the devs DEFINETLY didn't anticipate that but I am here for it.
All vocations I have tried felt great and versatile and while I wish there were more skills to be used at once I don't have much negative to say. I saw other players say that Thief is overpowered and Trickster is underpowered (I think? I don't know, I don't pay that much attention when something isn't arrow or spear shaped)
E) Exploration
The world is riddled with secrets, treasure chests and Seeker Tokens that need to be spotted and reached. Pawns that already got to the loot in another's players world will often ask you to show you the way, if you're the first Arisen this pawn has travelled with to have found something they will remark on it as well. The chests will mostly contain generic things, I won't lie - but you should still go for them as some of the best equipment can only be found at the end of some random caves. "Honey, where did I put my Ice Dagger? Oh Sweetums how could you forget you put it in the elaborate tunnel system behind a waterfall where all the hostile Lizard people live!" The world is gorgeous and free from invisible walls. The water is evil (don't question it). There's different biomes, cities and settlements. muddy forests turn into a misty swamp, beautiful elven stone architecture, an unyielding desert or a rocky mountain range. A river can be crossed over destroyable bridges, big rocks, shallow parts (don't forget though, the water is evil), or by having me shoot my arrow so hard into you, you get speared up to the other side. You can enter almost every house and grab their stuff (don't destroy it though. you can rob every peasant and queen while the guards are looking at you but someone, they draw the line at stomping on a box). Navigation through settlements and cities especially feels rewarding, you can tell the artists put effort into creating spaces that feel inhabited. And an occasional attack on these spaces always sends me into a panic, afraid that some Ogre is gonna kill one of the merchants.
F) Travel
Now here's the downside of the Exploration. Itsuno seemed adamant in interviews pre-release that the issue with people using fast travel so much is that games just don’t make travel fun - and then he made travelling not that fun. Like don't get me wrong, the first times out and about feel incredible, as does exploring a new area. but then the aforementioned cannon fodder enemy thing kicks in and you run from one enemy group to the next always doing the exact same thing and it gets tiering, especially if you have been to the area before and looted everything empty - plants regenerate but no one bothers to refill treasure chests. Tsk. You can use ox-pulled carts, from several of the bigger settlements, you will most likely be attacked on the way, if the cart gets destroyed you’ll have to walk. or try to find another cart on the way. You can also buy teleports (Ferrystones) for egregious prices, find them or get them as gifts from NPCs. These can teleport you to Portcrystals - of which there are only 2 in the game and they're almost next to each other. (Like the water, don't question it) You will get a small number of portcrystals over the course of the game that you can place yourself. You will still have to walk to the location you want them in but afterwards you can teleport, or pick up the crystal and place it somewhere else.
Personally, I don't think it's too bad but once again - I saw other people complain so I think it's only fair I paint a bigger picture. I use oxcarts a lot, am smart with my teleports and poolmy quests so there is not too much back and forth. I also plan my routes so that I uncover the map bit by bit instead of trying out every single cave system and hidden path the first time I get somewhere so that helps. Moderation is key.
E) Crafting & Inventory
Many freshly picked items can deteriorate over time in your backpack (they keep inside your storage box that is accessible at every Inn). They have 3 stages. Fresh, Aged/Ripened, Rotten. At the second stage you can combine two items of the same type (Fruit, Meat, Fish, Harspud) to make non-perishable food which you can then use to make better healing items. Everything has weight, and it usually lightens your burdens to craft, some pawns may do this on their own. If your backpack gets heavier your character feels it. Your stamina runs out quicker and it impacts the game physics. Make sure to spread out your stuff evenly among yourself and the pawns if you're a loot gremlin like me. You cannot craft your own gear (crafting is mostly for potions, oil and food items.) but you can collect material that can be used to upgrade your gear at blacksmiths (there are 4 different blacksmiths whose upgrades all have different effects, so be mindful when upgrading unique gear). You don't need to have stuff in your inventory - you can craft from your storage box menu and blacksmiths can take mats from your box. Minimise your inventory contents before setting off on long journeys.
F) Quests
DD2’s quests get the most out of its mechanics, that admittedly are mostly combat focused. The game makes an attempt at stealth passages. They feel like they were designed by my cat who "sneaks" on top of the dining room table while holding intense eye contact with me. Lucky for the game I HATE any form of stealth so I wasn't too bothered by it. A Handful of quests have multiple endings, a lot of quests can be missed or time out which makes the few quests that are given to you by random peasants who just REALLY want the Arisen, the Dragon Chosen, The Sovereign to be - to like get them a nice pair of glasses or whatever. But in all honestly, there is definitely variety to them, it's not JUST fetch quests. and I find them nicely written for the most part although it does sometimes feel like the writers just got a terminology cheat sheet for a ren fair and threw a dart at it for some sentences. As someone who uses old timey words instead of modern insults - game recognise game you gosh darn offspring of harlots...it does occasionally sound a lil' silly though. Make sure to talk to a lot of NPCs, and check the quest log for a timer and don't be too down if you do miss or fail something. And when stuck - search for a pawn in the rift who has "quest helper" while having the quest you are stuck on set as active. They can lead you to where you need to go (mind you that might be on the other side of the map). Oh, and I heard some people say the quest density is greatly diminished in the second part of the game - I only just crossed the border and have found plenty but I can't speak for what is to come, which might very well be nothing.
G) Romance
I already went to it on another post. Here is a link to it, OP elaborates in the comment and so do I and some others so you should have a bigger overview of opinions. https://www.reddit.com/GirlGamers/s/iNOLZLK4GK
I don't wanna rehash the topic fully but it's basically like inFable 2. which is to say: It is there.
H) Character Customization
I have never seen a character Editor as detailed as this one but I will say upfront - I just remebered a really interesting post by a fellow gamer girl who went into detail about the lack of diversity when it comes to black hairstyles in games and I will admit- I did not pay attention in this regard. I am sorry but when it comes to inclusivity y'all will have to look into it yourselves. And I dont think I toggled much with the skin colour option either. They'll definetly have something but I can honestly not say how much. The most important thing for me (and what I spend the most time on) were the tattoos. You can put I think 10 in total per character on them and they are highly customisble. Everything and a mom has a slider or toggable option.
When it comes to gear - that's a different matter though. There aren't too many equipemnt options and there is usually a clear winner for every progress range and vocation so when going to the rift to pick pawns you will see the same outfit over and over again. And - yes. The controversial mage bikini has rather good stats. I personally don't think it's necessary to wear it, Upgrading your gear will make it sufficent for a rather long time. And I think overall the game is rather easy so for me it's really more about the aestethic than any stats. I am not even bothering putting on a hood unless I come across on of the 2 enemies I find somewhat challenging. I am not hiding that flawless hair, the dragon is just gonna have to have respect for a good hair day.
I) Difficulty
As already mentioned, - I find the game too easy. That is not to say I am bored or that I never felt challenged - far from it. Fighting an ogre was fun when I didnt know what I was doing when it took me 10 minutes and it's still fun now that my pawns can obliterate them in 30 seconds without me even bothering to draw my bow. Big Fights are just impressive to watch and play. But most fights will be cannonfodder enemy sprinkled. I am a bigger danger to myself than a hobgoblin could ever be. Well, maybe the water. The water is evil. But other than that - I truly feel like there is a balancing issue here. I hope enemies get buffed and pawns and some skills get nerfed honestly. I saw a post of someone saying they’re late game and the pawns who are travelling their world (not even the ones hired by that OP, just the ones walking around) have killed bosses before OP could even get to them - and I am not surprised at all. I usually get annoyed by how a lot of games give you fairly useless AI companions that shoot like Stormtroopers and yes for a while it felt nice being protected by 3 tall Magic Mommys (DONT SHAME ME FOR MY PARTY COMPOSITION MY PAWN IS ALREADY DOING ENOUGH OF THAT, Yes I know we are all ranged. What do you want me to do? WALK UP to enemies? Smh, I get oxcarts for that) Anyway, this ain't it Chief.
Will say though, this would make the game eligible for players who see themselves more of the casual variety. Really nothing is stopping you from playing a support class and watching your pawns do everything for you.
.......................................
So, Should You Buy Dragon's Dogma 2?
I love the game and enjoyed almost every minute of it. But it's still a "No" for a recommendation from me.
........................................
The reason for that, are 10€. Yeah I am being serious. If this game had the normal release price of 50-60, I think I would have recommended it in a heartbeat but this those extra 10 on top...they feel like an insult. Like a 10€ capitalistic middle finger. Capcom, You guys don't need those 10€ and you don't deserve it. This game was released too early, and your resource management in terms of work that was done on certain aspects of the game was dreadful, if you had no way around the release date than you should have managed this. I can't imagine the work that most have gone into the cannon fodder enemies. But you couldn't hire some more writers and quest designers? Or Design some more big enemies? Why are your artists working on GOBLIN skins instead of wearable outfits? I don't fecking care about the gobo swag they could all be wearing the same loin cloth for a very awkward "Who wore it better" competition for all I care. Now that I am looking at all the game aspects respectively - it feels like an art exhibition where someone is displaying 2/3 Van Gogh paintings and then some random toddlers finger paintings. And those Van Gogh paintings? I think they’re worth 60€. But those toddler paintings aren't worth 10. Now, that I have whined about DD2, I will go back to wasting my entire weekend playing DD2 like the hypocrite I am.

Conjuration, 80%
Utility ability: Personal Storage Dimension
Create a backpack that opens to a personal pocket dimension for storage that only the conjurer can access. It has the same weight, qualities, and appearance as a normal backpack.
It has a weight capacity for the total items in the pocket dimension, 2 tons. If an item is unable to fit due to the weight limit, the bag will not allow the item to enter. The bag will stretch and open to allow larger items if the conjuror wants to place it in the pocket dimension. When the user opens the bag, the item(s) they want or need will be what they grab.
When opened, the bag will display a list of all items in the pocket dimension, the weight of each item, and the total weight. Only the conjuror can see these.
There is no limit to how many items can be placed into or removed from the pocket dimension at a time.
Restrictions

• Can only hold non-living items. No living objects or nen.
• Maximum weight capacity 2 tons.
• Must use Ren to open Bottomless Backpack after conjuration, similar to the water divination test to determine aura category.
• Bottomless Backpack can only be conjured for 30 minutes at a time.
• 1 minute cooldown time between conjurations.
• Bottomless Backpack cannot be conjured with any other Hatsu abilities active.

I know this is a powerful ability, which is why I put 6 restrictions on it, to make it sustainable.
Feedback is appreciated.

Look, I was gonna go easy on you not to hurt your feelings But I'm only going to get this one chance (Six minutes, six minutes) Something's wrong, I can feel it (Six minutes, six minutes, Slim Shady, you're on) Just a feeling I've got Like something's about to happen But I don't know what If that means, what I think it means, we're in trouble Big trouble. And if he is as bananas as you say I'm not taking any chances You are just what the doc ordered
I'm beginning to feel like a Rap God, Rap God All my people from the front to the back nod, back nod Now who thinks their arms are long enough to slap box, slap box? They said I rap like a robot, so call me rap-bot
But for me to rap like a computer must be in my genes I got a laptop in my back pocket My pen'll go off when I half-cock it Got a fat knot from that rap profit Made a living and a killing off it Ever since Bill Clinton was still in office With Monica Lewinsky feeling on his nutsack I'm an MC still as honest But as rude and as indecent as all hell Syllables, skill-a-holic (Kill 'em all with) This flippity, dippity-hippity hip-hop You don't really wanna get into a pissing match With this rappity brat Packing a MAC in the back of the Ac Backpack rap, crap, yap-yap, yackety-yack And at the exact same time I attempt these lyrical acrobat stunts while I'm practicing that I'll still be able to break a motherfuckin' table Over the back of a couple of faggots and crack it in half Only realized it was ironic I was signed to Aftermath after the fact How could I not blow? All I do is drop "F" bombs Feel my wrath of attack Rappers are having a rough time period Here's a maxi pad It's actually disastrously bad For the wack while I'm masterfully constructing this masterpiece yeah
'Cause I'm beginning to feel like a Rap God, Rap God All my people from the front to the back nod, back nod Now who thinks their arms are long enough to slap box, slap box? Let me show you maintaining this shit ain't that hard, that hard
Everybody want the key and the secret to rap Immortality like I have got Well, to be truthful the blueprint's Simply rage and youthful exuberance Everybody loves to root for a nuisance Hit the Earth like an asteroid Did nothing but shoot for the moon since (pew) MCs get taken to school with this music 'Cause I use it as a vehicle to 'bust a rhyme' Now I lead a new school full of students Me? I'm a product of Rakim Lakim Shabazz, 2Pac, N.W.A., Cube, hey, Doc, Ren Yella, Eazy, thank you, they got Slim Inspired enough to one day grow up Blow up and be in a position To meet Run-D.M.C. and induct them Into the motherfuckin' Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame even though I walk in the church And burst in a ball of flames Only Hall of Fame I'll be inducted in is the alcohol of fame On the wall of shame You fags think it's all a game 'Til I walk a flock of flames Off a plank and Tell me what in the fuck are you thinking? Little gay-looking boy So gay I can barely say it with a 'straight' face, looking boy You're witnessing a mass-occur like you're watching a church gathering take place, looking boy Oy vey, that boy's gay That's all they say, looking boy You get a thumbs up, pat on the back And a "way to go" from your label every day, looking boy Hey, looking boy, what d'you say, looking boy? I get a "hell yeah" from Dre, looking boy I'mma work for everything I have Never asked nobody for shit Get outta my face, looking boy Basically boy you're never gonna be capable Of keeping up with the same pace, looking boy, 'cause
I'm beginning to feel like a Rap God, Rap God All my people from the front to the back nod, back nod The way I'm racing around the track, call me NASCAR, NASCAR Dale Earnhardt of the trailer park, the White Trash God Kneel before General Zod this planet's Krypton, no Asgard, Asgard
So you'll be Thor and I'll be Odin You're rodent, I'm omnipotent Let off then I'm reloading Immediately with these bombs I'm totin' And I should not be woken I'm the walking dead But I'm just a talking head, a zombie floating But I got your mom deep-throating I'm out my Ramen Noodle We have nothing in common, poodle I'm a Doberman, pinch yourself In the arm and pay homage, pupil It's me My honesty's brutal But it's honestly futile if I don't utilize What I do though for good At least once in a while so I wanna make sure Somewhere in this chicken scratch I scribble and doodle Enough rhymes to Maybe try to help get some people through tough times But I gotta keep a few punchlines Just in case 'cause even you unsigned Rappers are hungry looking at me like it's lunchtime I know there was a time where once I Was king of the underground But I still rap like I'm on my Pharoahe Monch grind So I crunch rhymes But sometimes when you combine Appeal with the skin color of mine You get too big and here they come trying to Censor you like that one line I said On "I'm Back" from The Mathers LP One when I tried to say I'll take seven kids from Columbine Put 'em all in a line Add an AK-47, a revolver and a nine See if I get away with it now That I ain't as big as I was, but I'm Morphin' into an immortal coming through the portal You're stuck in a time warp from two thousand four though And I don't know what the fuck that you rhyme for You're pointless as Rapunzel With fucking cornrows You write normal? Fuck being normal And I just bought a new ray gun from the future Just to come and shoot ya Like when Fabolous made Ray J mad 'Cause Fab said he looked like a fag At Mayweather's pad singin' to a man While he played piano Man, oh man, that was a 24/7 special On the cable channel So Ray J went straight to the radio station the very next day "Hey, Fab, I'mma kill you" Lyrics coming at you with supersonic speed, (JJ Fad) Uh, summa lumma dooma lumma you assuming I'm a human What I gotta do to get it through to you? I'm superhuman Innovative and I'm made of rubber, so that anything you say is Ricocheting off of me and it'll glue to you I'm devastating more than ever demonstrating How to give a motherfuckin' audience a feeling like it's levitating Never fading, and I know that haters are forever waiting For the day that they can say I fell off, they'll be celebrating 'Cause I know the way to get 'em motivated I make elevating music You make elevator music "Oh, he's too mainstream." Well, that's what they do When they get jealous, they confuse it "It's not hip-hop, it's pop." 'Cause I found a hella way to fuse it With rock, shock rap with Doc Throw on "Lose Yourself" and make 'em lose it "I don't know how to make songs like that I don't know what words to use." Let me know when it occurs to you While I'm ripping any one of these verses that versus you It's curtains, I'm inadvertently hurtin' you How many verses I gotta murder to Prove that if you were half as nice Your songs you could sacrifice virgins to Unghh, school flunky, pill junky But look at the accolades these skills brung me Full of myself, but still hungry I bully myself 'cause I make me do what I put my mind to And I'm a million leagues above you Ill when I speak in tongues But it's still tongue-in-cheek, fuck you I'm drunk. So, Satan, take the fucking wheel I'm asleep in the front seat Bumping Heavy D and the Boyz Still "Chunky, but Funky" But in my head there's something I can feel tugging and struggling Angels fight with devils and Here's what they want from me They're asking me to eliminate some of the women hate But if you take into consideration the bitter hatred I had Then you may be a little patient and more sympathetic to the situation And understand the discrimination But fuck it Life's handing you lemons Make lemonade then But if I can't batter the women How the fuck am I supposed to bake them a cake then? Don't mistake him for Satan It's a fatal mistake if you think I need to be overseas And take a vacation to trip a broad And make her fall on her face and Don't be a retard, be a king? Think not Why be a king when you can be a god?

From now on, I’ll be experimenting, some Games with three Districts and six focuses, others with six focuses from different Districts. I hope you all enjoy it!
District 13
Leonora Coin, the representative for District 13 since it had no victor, reached into the female bowl. She chose the name of sixteen year old Twyla Morton. A girl with shorter brown hair and blue eyes walked to the stage, nervously shaking Leonora’s hand.
Twyla was one of three daughters born to a wealthy family of oil depository owners. After watching her district partner Calem be reaped, Twyla visited with her family, but didn’t think she would come back.
Upon walking onto the train, Leonora called Twyla and Calem over to the table. She asked them about their skills, and Twyla showed off her decent knife throwing skills, as her father had trained her and her sisters.
After working with Calem for a short while, Leonora worked with Twyla, giving her advice on how to throw knives better and also seemed impressed with Twyla’s knowledge of plants and fruits, due to her mother being a botanist.
During training, Twyla scored a 6 for knife throwing. Her interview was a bit rocky, with Twyla being shy on stage. Leonora seemed to think Twyla had a better chance of survival than Calem, and hugged her, wishing the young girl luck.
District 12
District 12 was the District who had been there the longest with the least Games won (4) and tied with District 7 for the least victors (5), besides District 13 (0) and District 14 (2).
After the retirement of Gale Hawthorne after Game 100, Rue Mellark (90) was allowed to mentor again, in the hopes of producing interesting tributes.
After reaping a twelve year old named Lula, Rue hoped for a better tribute deep down. She sort of lucked out with Sherman Stowers, a young man from the Seam with olive skin, black hair, and gray eyes.
Sherman was one of three children born to a struggling family. He and his older brother worked in the reopened coal mines with their father, which now had a minimum working age of ten, while their younger sister helped mend clothing with their mother.
After saying goodbye to his family, Sherman met up with Rue, who taught Sherman how to use an ice pick. Rue seemed happy enough with Sherman, but still realized that he and Lula were weaker, just like her other tributes.
Sherman scored a 4 for ice pick throwing, but impressed the Capitol with his gentle heart and well spoken nature. Rue wished Sherman luck, hoping that one of her tributes would make it out alive one of these days.
District 11
Delphine Dubois (92) and Easter Rollix (83) seemed upset to perform another reaping. The two hoped that District 11’s new track record of one victor every fifteen years would occur, even though this was the longest time without in a while.
Delphine chose sixteen year old Terra Pruitt. Silence was heard before a girl was seen walking to the stage. Terra had ebony skin and dark braids laced with green wooden beads.
Terra was the eldest of seven children, and had taken a large amount of tesserae to support her family. She looked crestfallen by her reaping, and after watching her partner Vern be reaped, she said goodbye to her family, realizing that they would struggle without her,
Delphine treated Terra with respect and attention, making sure that she was comfortable. Terra’s knowledge of plants was the best this year, and Delphine taught her how to use a pitchfork as a weapon.
Terra later scored a 4 for her plant knowledge, and during her interview spoke of how her family needed her. Terra made Delphine promise to support her family if she died, before rising up into the arena.
District 5
Linnet Laurier (82) tired of so many Games with no luck for District 5. She chose sixteen year old Stellara Povel. The poor thing didn’t hear her name get called, as she was deaf. Peacekeepers dragged a thin blonde girl to the stage, who yelled incoherently about why they were hurting her.
Stellara was one of three siblings, with a younger sister and older brother that could hear. After the reaping of her partner Fissure, Stellara visited with her parents and siblings before heading to the train.
Linnet treated Stellara and Fissure equally, although Fissure could hear. Linnet poured some tea and taught her tributes how to use handheld flamethrower. She signed with Stellara about doing whatever it took to return to her family, as she was a homebody.
Stellara later scored a 3, although it is unknown what she did, as she just stood there repeating the periodic table. Stellara’s interview went well, with Linnet playing interpreter. Linnet seemed sad to say goodbye to both tributes, as both were very kind.
District 4
Naida Waterford (102) and Turt Ketchum (103) were the mentors for District 4, with Marius stepping down to raise his children. Maybe District 4 could pull off a fourth victor in a row.
Naida chose fourteen year old Kishi Okamura. A smaller girl with jet black hair and dark eyes walked to the stage. Kishi and her older brother lived near a fish oil factory, where they worked alongside their parents.
After a visit with her family, Kishi was taken to the train, where she and Naida connected over some cooked salmon. Naida taught Kishi how to use a trident, while Turt worked with her partner Cray on his skills.
For her trident skills, Kishi managed a 5. During her interview, she was well spoken and kind, and made an impression on the Capitolites. Naida seemed sorry to see Kishi go into the Games, hugging her and wishing her luck.
District 3
Finally in District 3, Gif Schneider (91) and Sparky Danger (102) both seemed unhappy to perform the reaping, but pushed through it anyway as.
Gif chose seventeen year old Nvidia Hertz from the female bowl, and a tall young lady with long, auburn hair and silvery gray eyes walked to the stage. Nvidia and her twin brother Nick lived together in a house near the forest after the death of their parents.
After a short visit with Nick, Nvidia met with Gif on the train, while Sparky worked with his tribute, Driver. Nvidia’s skills with a taser were some of the best Gif had ever seen, and he seemed very pleased with Nvidia.
Nvidia scored an 8 during training for her taser usage. Her interview went well, with Nvidia promising a show in the arena. Gif told Nvidia to stay out of the way of the careers.
The Games
Bloodbath
The arena this year was a beautiful botanical gardens. During the bloodbath, Kishi grabbed a trident, arguing with Silk (8) over it before eventually stabbing him in the neck. Alison (8) ran at Kishi and was also stabbed.
Stellara had a flamethrower in her hands, and when Canyon (6) rushed at her she burned his head until he died. Terra grabbed a pitchfork, stabbing Cashew (9) in the back with it. Twyla grabbed knives, food, and water before fleeing into the distance.
Sherman grabbed an ice pick and a water bottle, stopping to grab a block of cheese off to the side before fleeing. Nvidia held her taser, and seeing Agon (14) stabbing her district partner Driver, tased him in the back.
Nvidia then turned to Richard (1) and Vern (11), two larger tributes that she also tased. The last death of the bloodbath was Oleana (2) when Nvidia gazed her in the heart, before fleeing with a backpack full of supplies.
Day 1 End
Stellara fled from the bloodbath, spotting Cray (4) in the distance. She used her flamethrower to burn him. The screams of Cray caused Cedaretta to come forward, but she was quickly also killed. Many in the Capitol were shocked by the lethal attitude of the formerly sweet Stellara.
Sherman saw Toyota (6) up ahead chasing her until she climbed a tree. Sherman shocked many when he stabbed her in the leg, causing her to fall from the tree. Sherman stabbed Toyota a second time in the head, taking her supplies and leaving.
Kishi ran deep into the gardens, arriving at a small rose garden. She saw Organica (9) and shoved her into the roses, causing Organica to be hit by thorns. She then stabbed her trident into Organica’s chest.
Terra walked over a small bridge, admiring the lily pads below her. Kandy (10) tried to push Terra into the water, causing Terra to stab her pitchfork into Kandy’s neck.
Meanwhile, Nvidia attacked Lula. Despite Lula being twelve, Nvidia showed no mercy and tased Lula in the head. Nvidia was sent a large feast, with a note from a Capitolite congratulating her on five kills.
Caleb tackled Twyla to the ground, showing no mercy to his own district partner. Twyla grabbed a knife and stabbed it into the side of Calem’s head. She seemed genuinely confused by the attack, as both could technically win.
Day 1 Deaths-Richard (1), Oleana (2), Driver (3), Cray (4), Toyota and Canyon (both 6), Cedaretta (7), Alison and Silk (both 8), Organica and Cashew (both 9), Kandy (10), Vern (11), Lula (12), Calem (13), Agon (14)
Day 2
The second day began with a cannon. Nvidia tased Diarella (1) in the heart, right as Valerius stabbed Fissure (5) and Vittoria (14). Valerius rushed into the cornucopia, leading Nvidia to tase him in the heart.
Nvidia was sent a charger for her taser, which she used for three hours while watching for other opponents. Kishi sat near a pool of water, hiding underneath a bridge.
Stellara sang to herself quietly underneath a tree. Terra thought about home, while Sherman ate some of his supplies. Twyla wondered to herself what would have happened if Calem hadn’t tried to kill her.
Day 2 Deaths-Diarella (1), Valerius (2), Fissure (5), Vittoria (14)
Day 3
The third day was a bit messy, with members of the “3” group breaking in yet again. They were shot by peacekeepers, but unfortunately Acker (7) and Tack (10) got caught in the crossfire.
Nvidia remained near the perimeter, while Kishi stayed at the pond. Stellara decided to leave the trees for safety in a large bush. Terra walked into the rose garden, finding the remainder of the fight between Kishi and Organica. Sherman stayed up a medium sized tree, while Twyla was in a thick garden of arboreal bushes.
Day 3 Deaths-Acker (7), Tack (10)
Day 4
The final six was lured back to the cornucopia, as their trackers were threatened to be detonated. Sherman was the first to fall, to a taser shot from Nvidia, before Twyla threw a knife into Stellara’s head.
Kishi screamed as Terra stabbed her in the chest with her pitchfork. This left Nvidia and Twyla to fight. Nvidia fired her taser, missing Twyla by mere inches. Suddenly Terra slammed her pitchfork into Nvidia’s back, making the infamous line “please don’t dear, an outlier will never be a career.”
A final cannon sounded, and sixteen year olds Terra Pruitt of District 11 and Twyla Morton of District 13 were announced as the victors of the 104th Hunger Games.
Aftermath
Neither of the girls were injured, and they were released to their mentors, Delphine and Leonora.
Terra returned home to her family, living a rather quiet life for the next ten years. She married her long term boyfriend, Rush, having two sons and two daughters with him.
Meanwhile District 13 was overjoyed to have Twyla as a victor. Twyla made appearances in several Canadian movies and television series. Twyla eventually married a fellow actress named Julianna Ren, and later had two children by donor, a daughter and a son.
Something was boiling underneath the surface, which led to the Arctic Takeover, which took six months to occur. District 0 was created from this, and both Twyla and Terra had a hand in the takeover.

A/N - Hello once again! I have a teaser chapter for you from the rewrite of Book 1. There probably won't be any more for a while, as it's proving to be a bigger challenge than I thought. Who knew going back through your old work and sprucing it up would be difficult? Not me, that's for certain sure.
I tightened the screw on the workstation I was building. It was snug, the metal slightly stressed from the torque, and I was certain it wouldn’t move. Following the blueprints I had been given by my supervisor, I marked out the bolt holes for the standing rack that would hold the small components the operators needed for whatever part they were using this workstation to build.
With a confident ease, I drilled the twelve holes, then placed the rack on the desktop. A fair match, and I bolted it down. Testing the functionality of the actuators, I was rather pleased at my work. Not only did the workstation rise and fall like expected, but the various bins were still accessible to the operator, regardless of how tall they were.
I unplugged the workstation, levered it up onto a pallet jack, and slowly delivered it to the main production floor.
“Here we go, Dan. Special workstation, just like y’all asked for. D’you need anything else?” I looked over at the floor supervisor, a man of average height and a portly build, much larger than my own.
Dan looked over at the workstation and nodded. “Looks good, man. Appreciate your work. You need a hand getting that off there?”
“Nah. It wasn’t an issue getting it up here, won’t be an issue getting it off.” I gripped the table at both ends, lifting it up easily, and set it down on the square of floor they had marked out.
“Geez, dude. What’s it like being even more related to a gorilla than the rest of humanity?” A second voice met my ears, somewhat mocking but mostly playful.
“I dunno, Christian. Wanna come over here and let me show you?” I grinned and held my hands out like claws.
“Nah, I’m good. I remember how you nearly broke my hand when we met.” He unconsciously flexed his right hand.
“I told you I was sorry. Dan should have warned you about me.” I gave Dan the stink-eye.
“I did! I told him you were strong, but he didn’t believe me. Oh no, he just had to test it out for himself.”
“In my defense, I was expecting a human-level handshake. Not Mr. Gorilla Paws over here,” Christian said with a laugh.
I joined in with the laughter. I knew that I often didn’t seem to realize my own strength, and it made for moments like this. I’d just finished tightening a guard on a machine when Dan introduced Christian, one of our newest Production Engineers. I’d shaken his hand without thought, and had only just barely realized that I’d inadvertently squeezed his hand too hard. He complained for weeks, but only to tease me.
I wound up liking the goofy bastard immediately.
“I gotta get some stuff done back in my area. I’ll catch you guys later.” I grabbed the handle to the pallet jack and headed back.
“You could probably just carry the damn thing instead of dragging it.”
“That’s an OSHA violation right there. He won’t run that risk. I kinda wanna see that, though.” Dan scratched his beard, a smirk on his face.
“Dan’s right, dude. Not gonna get OSHA on my ass. Gotta run, guys.”
The day went smoothly after that, with just a few calls out to various areas for a minor fix here or there. I was looking forward to the evening, as it was my monthly D&D game. The stars had aligned and the gods were merciful to give me and six of my friends the same Friday night free.
After work, I went home and showered, grabbed my gaming backpack, and headed out to Mike’s. I ordered a couple of pizzas before I left, and messaged the group to let them know what was coming their way. By the time I got there, the pizza guy was leaving, and I settled in for a good, long night of roleplaying as Richard the Polished, the level nine, one-eyed Sorcerer of the Flame.
***
“Okay. And with that, it’s your turn, Ivor. What’s ol’ Slick Rick gonna do now?” Mike asked, gazing over the table.
I looked at the map we had. Richard was more or less protected from melee attack due to his higher vantage point, and would likely be protected from most missiles, too. I studied the layout of the enemies, and there was only one option.
“I’m gonna send a fireball up that bugbear’s ass.” I pointed at a figurine that had two others just like it nearby.
“Ooo. Roll it!”
I prayed to RNGesus and dropped my d20 down my dice tower. It clattered on the internal ledges and rolled out onto the incorporated tray. I grinned and turned the tower around, displaying my roll to Mike.
“Fuck. That’s gonna hurt them. You gonna do anything else to it?”
“Nah. I think that should be plenty. Rolling my damage.” I pulled the d20 off the tray and dropped eight six-sided dice down the tower. Counting it up, the initial bugbear took twenty-five damage, one of the others took forty-one, and the third took thirty-four. Thanks to our home rules regarding nat 20’s, the damage was doubled.
“Soo… With a screaming roar, your fireball leaps from your hand, across the canyon, making a devastating impact on Arlok the Leather Daddy Bugbear. His fur immediately ignites, and he howls in pain. The impact yeets him about twenty feet” -he slid the figurine to a rocky wall- “deeper in the cavern, and is immediately set upon by these” -Mike placed five goblins around the bugbear- “little guys who start to put him out. The other two are instantly vaporized into piles of ash.” He started rolling several dice behind his screen. “Thanks to the blast, this orc and this goblin are Frightened, and start to run.” He turned a pair of figurines around. He consulted his initiative list and said, “Scotty? You’re next.”
We continued playing, and I rode a gamer’s high for the next four hours. Rolling a nat 20 wasn’t too common, especially with my dice, and that encounter just made it all the more fun. Arlok the Leather Daddy Bugbear managed to escape, thanks to his goblin minions, but we slaughtered the other critters and made off with about thirty gold, plus some sellable items.
“And that will have to end it for the night. I’m getting tired, and I know Ivor has a long drive home. Scott, you got this all written down?”
“Yep. We’re waiting outside the castle, ready to slip into the sewer grate now that Eladria has managed to pick the lock. I’ve even drawn some stick figures on a little map. I’m free the third Friday of next month?”
We hemmed and hawed about the day for a few more minutes, eventually settling on the third Saturday, as my camping trip was coming up in the next couple of weeks. I said my goodbyes to my friends, and began the long drive back home. A full half-hour on the road. At least I’d have my music.
Once I got home, I shucked my clothes and crawled into bed, dropping quickly into sleep.
I found myself sitting at a table with Odin and a tall, motherly-looking woman of indeterminate age. She had beautiful, wavy black hair and piercingly beautiful bright blue eyes. Her body, though hidden beneath a flowing gown, called to me, and I ached to have her. I dared not move, as I was certain she was a goddess.
“Wanderer, I chose this one as I feel he has what I need,” She said.
“He is ours. You cannot have him.”
“Nonetheless, I will be- ah! He is lucid. Such a strong will. Sleep, dear one. All will be revealed in time.” She waved her hand across my face, and I felt drawn into the deep abyss of slumber.
I woke up around ten, my head feeling somewhat fuzzy. I tried to grasp at the fleeting memory of the dream, but the endeavor was akin to catching a moonbeam in a net. I sighed and shook my head, deciding to just go about my day. If the dream was truly important, I’d remember it eventually.
I filled my day with some anime and games, a bit of leatherworking, and as the sun dipped down, I decided to head to my favorite Asian buffet. I knew it wasn’t necessarily good for me, but damn was it tasty.
Sunday was spent target shooting, both with my rifle and my pistol, as I wanted to make certain I could kill a deer at fifty yards, if needed. I even got in some target practice with my bow. The evening brought me the reality of chores, and so I occupied myself with helping my mom clean the house. Once I finished with the chores, I retreated to my room for a lengthy meditation session, as I had been feeling a little more irritated than usual lately, and wanted to dive into my Mind Palace to see if something was amiss.
The next couple of weeks were spent working and making sure I had enough jerky and dried fruit and vegetables to last a week or so, should I not be able to kill anything while out. I also sorted out a few unread books from my vast collection to include, as I’d definitely have a lot of downtime. I met up with a couple of friends here and there after work, and even managed to go out on a “date” with a coworker the day before I was to leave.
I met her after work at a little mom and pop place near downtown. It was near dusk, and the light was shining on her just so, making her skin glow as if lit from within.
“You look amazing Tanya! Are you hungry?”
“Well, I did bring my appetite, so yes. Yes, I’m hungry. Let’s get a booth. And thank you for the compliment.”
I opened the door for her and smiled; she thanked me and we sat down near the open grill. We chatted about work for a few moments until the server was able to make her way to us, a pad and pencil in her hands.
“What’ll it be, guys?”
Tanya spoke first. “I’ll have a sweet tea, cheeseburger with fries, hold the ketchup, and a chocolate milkshake, please.”
“Okay. And you, darlin?”
I looked over the small menu one last time. To Hel with it. I was going to enjoy my night. “I’ll have a double bacon cheeseburger with fries, no mustard, and a sweet tea as well, please.”
“No milkshake for you?”
“You got strawberry?”
“I sure do.”
“That’ll work. I’ll have one, please.”
“You got it. I’ll get this in for you two and get your drinks.” She walked off to give the cook our order.
“So why’d you ask me to dinner, Ivor? Not that I’m complaining, of course. I just don’t normally go on dates with men.”
I gave her a look. “You think I don’t know that? You’re my friend, Tanya. I wanted to spend some time with you before I go camping. That’s all.”
“Oh yeah! I’d forgotten about that. When are you headed out again?”
“Tomorrow morning. I’ll be out for a little over two weeks. I’ve got most of my food ready, too.”
“Oh shit. You hoping to bring back a deer?”
“Bring back? Nah. I expect to eat whatever I manage to shoot. The jerky and fruit are for emergencies. I’ve got enough to last the entire time, just in case. I’m mostly just trying to get away from work.”
The server returned with our drinks. We thanked her, and she rushed off with a smile to tend to other guests.
“I understand that. Sarah and I were talking about doing something like that soon. Probably not for as long as you are, but we need to get away, too.”
“Speaking of, where is she tonight? I half expected her to come with you.”
“She would have, but she had work tonight. You know how it is. She did say that she’s looking forward to seeing you at the holiday party. You usually do well at the trivia, and she wants to make sure she’s on the winning team.”
I laughed softly. “Just the holiday party, huh? I see how it is.” I placed my hand on my heart, trying my best to sound hurt. “She never loved me for my body. Just my brain!”
Tanya laughed and playfully smacked my arm. “Oh stop. You know she thinks you’re cute.”
“Perhaps, but she’s in love with you. I’d never dream of trying to woo a woman away from her partner. That’s low. I’m happy to be her and your friend.”
“And I, for one, am glad for that. It’s so nice to spend time with a guy that isn’t trying to get in my pants.”
“Perish the thought, my lady! You may well be my type, but without an equal desire, I’ll never make the attempt.” And it was true. She ticked off most of the boxes in my head, but she just wasn’t interested. Without that, I may as well try to date a brick wall.
The server, bearing two plates with cheeseburgers, returned a second time, handing them to us. Tanya thanked her, checked that her burger had no ketchup, then dug in with a groan of pleasure.
I checked mine, seeing the absence of mustard, and smiled. Tonight would be a good night, indeed.
We ate our burgers, chatting about work, the state of the world, and my distinct lack of a love life. Our server brought out our milkshakes after taking our empty plates.
“Look, all I’m saying is that you deserve a good woman in your life. There aren’t many men that I think are worth the investment, but you’ve always shown yourself to be one of the few. Even your ex, what was her name again?”
“Erin.”
“Erin, yes. Even she says you deserve a good woman. We still talk, you know. She’s hoping you’ll come to the Ren Faire this year.”
I sighed. Fucking Erin. I still had feelings for her, but I really didn’t want to exist in the same spaces as her. Not yet, anyway. She’d gone back to her ex, Mike, and I simply couldn’t see them together just yet.
“I know. I also know that it’s been two years, but I still can’t bring myself to be around her. Please don’t tell her that I said anything about it.”
“My lips are sealed.” She checked her watch, reading a message that had just come in. “That’s Sarah. I need to get going. She wants to watch Hellraiser tonight.”
I smiled and stood up with her, wrapping her in a strong hug. “Be safe getting home, darlin. Tell Sarah I said Hi.”
“I will. You take care tonight and be super careful, okay? I want to hear an epic tale of masculosity when you get back!”
“One epic tale of Masculosity with a side of Epicution will be yours to feast your ears upon once I return! Bye, darlin.”
I watched her leave the restaurant and sighed. The server returned with the check and I took the ticket with a smile, then handed her my debit card. “Here we go.”
She handed me my card and the receipt, and I added a generous tip, then began my drive home.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
So there's chapter one! I hope you've enjoyed it.
So, as I've said previously, I've been crafting an interactive for English Magic. It's not complete by any means, as the books aren't done, but I've got a fair bit of the world that we've seen so far laid out.
Once you start digging and poking about, you'll see that there is a wealth of information I can put in, so rest assured that I'm still working on everything.
As usual, all suggestions are always welcome, and will be listened to and considered.
Without further ado, Welcome to Chaia!
**Note** An account is not needed to see the site.

Hi, I've been playing a modpack made with my friends for some time now, and as we are trying to gather honey from hives we have made the bottles disappear out of my inventory.
We have tried to spawn in honey bottles and can't replicate the bug in that way, it only works on fresh foraged honey.
Does anyone else have this problem, or now how to fix this?
Modlist:

Chipped (by terrariumearth) Create: More Drill Heads (by Forsteri123) EMI (by EmilyPloszaj) Rechiseled: Create (by SuperMartijn642) Xaero's World Map (by xaero96) EMIffect (Status Effects EMI Plugin) (by fzzyhmstrs) Just Enough Items (JEI) (by mezz) Create: Design n' Decor (by MilkyFur) Create Stuff & Additions (by Furti_Two) Rechiseled (by SuperMartijn642) SuperMartijn642's Config Lib (by SuperMartijn642) bad packets (by badasintended) Oculus (by Asek3) Create: Garnished (by DakotaPrideModding) Storage Drawers (by Texelsaur) EMI Loot (by fzzyhmstrs) Create Crafts & Additions (by MRHminer) Tree Harvester (by Serilum) Collective (by Serilum) Create (by simibubi) Bookshelf (by DarkhaxDev) Create Confectionery (by Furti_Two) Create: Biomimicry (by WitherTM) Resourceful Lib (by ThatGravyBoat) Create Enchantment Industry (by DragonsPlus) Create Sifting (by oierbravo_mc) Comforts (Fabric/Forge/Quilt) (by TheIllusiveC4) Create: Interiors (by sudolev) Ars Nouveau (by baileyholl2) Casualness Delight (by TsukimiRen) Miner's Delight + (by soytutta) Sophisticated Backpacks (by P3pp3rF1y) FerriteCore ((Neo)Forge) (by malte0811) SuperMartijn642's Core Lib (by SuperMartijn642) [Let's Do] API (by Cristelknight) Farmer's Delight (by vectorwing) Curios API (Forge/NeoForge) (by TheIllusiveC4) Create: Steam 'n' Rails (by mattentosh) EMI Trades (Villager Trading EMI Plugin) (by fzzyhmstrs) Patchouli (by Vazkii) Athena (by CodexAdrian) Architectury API (Fabric/Forge/NeoForge) (by shedaniel) Ars Creo (by baileyholl2) Crop Harvester (by WallyWhip) Kotlin for Forge (by thedarkcolour) Better Beekeeping (by InspectorCaracal) FTB Essentials (Forge & Fabric) (by FTB) FTB Library (Forge) (by FTB) Xaero's Minimap (by xaero96) [Let's Do] Vinery (by satisfy) Fusion (Connected Textures) (by SuperMartijn642) ModernFix (by embeddedt) Create Slice & Dice (by possible_triangle) Delightful (by brnbrd) Sophisticated Core (by P3pp3rF1y) 

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about alternative media and their application to Solarpunk activity. Agitprop is a key role of Solarpunk, seeking to educate and influence culture on the possibility of a better way of life depicted in various ways. But traditional media --print, music, radio, video/motion pictures-- have long presented access barriers created by the corporate hegemonies that dominate their production and distribution, rooted usually in the traditional basis of Industrial Age power; the high capital overhead for initiating production. In a few cases government has worked to reduce these barriers, as with the federally mandated Public/Community Access TV in the US, which corporate interests bitterly fought against. In other instances, the advance of technology has helped undermine these hegemonies. For all their problems, Personal Computing and the Internet have greatly brought down many barriers to media creation, though in response we've seen an arms race in production value (again, increasing capital overhead) emerge as capital seeks to maintain its dominance over cultural narratives. Sadly, inclined to shortcuts to overcome our own ignorance when it comes to evaluating things on their own merits, we have become conditioned to accept apparent production value as a measure of credibility based on the premise that information is more credible the more money people seem to have spent on presenting it. A fallacy grifters and demagogues have been exploiting for generations.
But alternative forms of media have a certain advantage in novelty. Engaging us in new and unexpected ways makes us less concerned about production value as we don't quite have a feel for the difference between 'professional' and 'amateur' production, leaving us to think more about the message itself. They tend to be ignored by commercial interests and thus less burdened by the annoyance of advertising and the taint of commercial influence on content. Also, alternative media foster different subcultures of creatives with less class and cultural barriers built up around them. Often being lower-tech and lower-cost in nature, they offer ways to reach audiences willfully underserved by the mainstream media and provide contingency options for when conventional communications infrastructures fail. And, of course, they also tend to fly under the radar of the powers-that-be for some time, avoiding their compulsion for suppression and censorship. So I thought I would share some info about the other alternative media forms that have been occupying my mind lately and which might be more in reach of the Solarpunk movement. I'm also interested in learning of other alternative media forms people may be aware of.
Kamishibai:
Storytelling is perhaps our most ancient form of public performance and news communication and though we assume it has been largely obsolesced by electronic media, it persists in many interesting forms and has lately even become a political lightning rod. (ie. the Drag Queen Story Hour program offering storytellers for libraries that so triggers American Christian conservatives) Perhaps the most quintessentially Solarpunk form of storytelling is Kamishibai; the relatively modern Japanese tradition of bicycle-traveling storytellers. Originating during the Great Depression, Kamishibaiya (Kamishibai performers) would travel among neighborhoods on bicycles equipped with a unique type of wooden theater box used to display ordered picture cards depicting a story which the Kamishibaiya would narrate and elaborate on. Narration and dialogue for each picture would be printed on the back of alternating cards. The box also featured storage compartments for candy and small toys which the performer would sell to his audience after the show, and thus earn a living. Kamishibaiya would often work with dealers who commissioned the story card artwork which would be rented to the performers and stored in large libraries. Though mostly performing for children with stories from folklore and comics, during the Post War occupation Kamishibai took on the additional role of daily news reporters. The practice started to fall out of fashion with the rise in availability of television but, famously reluctant to abandon their traditions regardless of the advance of technology, Japan continues to host a small community of Kamishibaiya to the present day and the art form has slowly spread worldwide. Many teachers and library storytellers have also begun to adopt the form, using a table-top style of theater box carried like a briefcase and more suited to classrooms.
Kamishibai's roots can be found in the ancient practice of 'yomiuri' street news vendors luring people to buy broadsides by singing news stories (notorious for their salacious content…) as well as Buddhist E-toki storytelling using painted picture scrolls displayed in exhibit hallways, which derive from the ancient Indian tradition of Cheriyal Scrolls using painted cloth storytelling scrolls depicting a series of sequential images like a comic book and presented by a storytellestorysinger. Often considered one of the roots of the comic book art form. Though typically made so that the performer can roll the scrolls on sticks held in their hands as they perform, these scrolls can sometimes get quite large requiring assistants or wooden frames and reels. This storytelling form is still in use today and has been employed as a method of passing along public health information to rural communities in India and Africa. There are many historic variations on such storytelling forms and we see it in the history of things like the Magic Lantern shows which had portable forms that could be carried in a backpack, facilitating similar traveling shows. Today technologies like portable audio systems, LED lights, and roll-up e-ink displays offer interesting possibilities for expanding on these art forms.
PechaKucha:
A more high-tech take on mobile storytelling emerged at the start of the 21st century, curiously among a community of western designers residing in Roppongi Japan in the early 2000s. Dubbed PechaKucha 20x20 it was intended as a way to streamline the standard business slide presentation by limiting them to 20 slides with 20 seconds of explanation each, but became a multimedia art form in itself that has spread around the world. Similar in basic idea to the 'lightning presentation', as a product of designers, it was more artistic in nature and started being regarded as a novel form of small venue performance art, diversifying to be used for many subject areas. Since the early 2000s, there have been various PechaKucha clubs and cafe/bar venues hosting PechaKucha Nights rather like the poetry performances of the beatnik era. It may have some relation to the emerging practice of Science Pubs/Cafes starting in Europe in the 1990s; where scientists began giving lectures in cafes, pubs, and restaurants as a way of reaching out to the public through a more casual form of 'edutainment'.
Trade Show Labyrinths and other Mobile Exhibits:
A focus of some of my work in space advocacy, mobile exhibits offer many possibilities for creating modest-cost public exhibits, if one can find the art production for them. (a chronic problem for the futurist…) In her Urban Nomad series of designs, Winfried Baumann has explored a variety of mobile display structures that fit right into the Solarpunk aesthetic. Some of the most useful forms are modular panel 'labyrinths' often used in corporate exhibits at industrial trade shows. Based on the use of modular trade show display stands/partitions usually used within a 'booth' space, when extended into larger connected complexes they become winding walk-through exhibits that can be used to portray narratives, sharing some of the artistic aspects of dark rides and museum halls, but being completely portable and far less costly. In some ways this is another derivation of the concept of the cheriyal scroll, but making the most of modern printing, lighting, projection, and sound with motion sensor technology now offering a level of automation to presentation. (interestingly, many trade show displays now offer backlighting or can function as rear projection screens, which again, harkens back to the cheriyal scrolls which, in ancient times, were sometimes back-lit with oil lamps so they could be displayed at night, leading to the invention of shadow-puppetry eventually spreading all across Asia) With MIDI-controlled lighting systems now a common item for home holiday decorations, quite elaborate automated multimedia performances are now in the reach of the DIY crafter.
There are many kinds of trade show display structures with potential for these, but the most portable are bannetension fabric displays using a tubular metal frame tensioning digitally printed fabric panels and sometimes supporting lighting and other gear. These come in sizes from 2'x5' to 4'x8' with some very wide forms up to 20' wide and featuring curved areas. There are many possible accessories for these allowing them to host different graphic media like paintings, hung display objects, encased objects, or take-away items like pamphlets and booklets in pockets or shelves. The commercially made trade show products tend to have a common problem of an 'executive premium'; rather inflated pricing due to their being marketed only to corporate executives who, being commonly out-of-touch with reality, don't know the market costs for things, won't shop or research, and ultimately don't care about cost as long as they get what they want yesterday. But DIY modular building systems often make good substitutes for these products and systems like Maker Pipe may be particularly suited to this application.
Fanzines, APAs, poly-casting. and stand-alone digital media:
Underground print is a traditional form for agitprop and has a long history. In the 20th century it evolved into a subculture of diverse fanzines and underground comic books or 'comix' that would rise up in response to the American moral panics of the 20th century (see the weird but all-too-familiar story of Seduction of the Innocent and come to inspire an independent publishing revolution that would spread from comics, to games, to mainstream publishing. The original punk movement itself is very closely associated with fanzine history. Though today we tend to see amateur print media as superseded by the Internet, there are some interesting forms that offer some possible future prospects. One of these is the Amateur Press Association or APA.
APAs are an alternative form of publishing where groups of contributors to a 'zine send in their periodic submissions by mail to a collatopublisher who then assembles them into the finished publication to duplicate and send out to all subscribers. Building on the idea of the Amish Circle Letter, they are, affectively, an early form of social media, functioning similarly to email forums that would soon follow them, but with the full creative flexibility of print on paper. In some cases the APA contributors would pre-make and send the collator all the copies of their work for all the expected subscribers. With the advent of spirit duplicator and then mimeograph machines (well known to anyone who went to school or church in the late 20th century), they would send their work on special master sheets the collator would use to duplicate the needed copies, though these were limited in the number of copies that could be made before the master sheets wore-out. With the advent of cheap photocopier machines more diverse original media could be used with paste-up page-layout techniques and copied indefinitely. (though these old forms of copy machines have seen some revival today, due to their being hand-crank powered and their somewhat variable print quality now seen as an aesthetic feature) In many cases APAs were limited in distribution to a small circle of contributors. Others were open to more general subscribers, though this could become quite expensive and burdensome for the collators. Artist APAs, in particular, had a tendency to get as big as phone books and some would rotate the collator duties among their contributor circle to share this burden.
APAs were closely associated with play-by-mail games and one of the most famous originated as a wargame that evolved into a long running role-playing game; the APA Slobbovia, which concerned the often dark-comedic Machiavellian intrigues of an imaginary Slavic country. (taken from old Lil' Abner comics) Slobbovia ran for decades and created a persistent community around it. APAs were also very popular among amateur and semi-professional SciFi writers and comic book artists, providing motivation to develop skills and a means to get work seen by others at a time when it was still not possible to get to print without corporate publishers. This proved especially catalytic for many fandom subcultures. Some story or comics based APAs, known as ’zap-APAs’, would allow interaction between contributors' characters across different contributors' stories through cameo appearances, creating long-running narratives.
Why is this relevant today in an era of web and social media? Because the architecture of the APA represents a simple form for communal creation of media to turn to when server-centric Internet services fail, become corrupt or censored, or digital communications becomes intermittent. Though concepts like Holochain are trying to develop decentralized alternatives, server-centric web hosting and social media represent hegemonies where the work of many individuals, communities, and organizations is at the mercy of corporate hosts and the vicissitudes of their software, data connections, unknown hardware, and security. As a medium, the Web has been allowed to become commercially polluted, overcomplicated, and progressively dysfunctional, its once open software now dictated by a handful of corporate giants. It was supposed to be as easy as word processing, but it turned into a horrid mess as commercial interests sought to make it more TV-like and suitable for advertising and data scraping. It now requires hired experts to develop web sites or corporate services with proprietary front-end platforms intended to make certain content creation easier but completely dependent. The emancipation of media the Internet originally promised and the digital commons we once created was thus stolen, facilitating a hegemony of capital built on escalating server and production value costs.
While we wait for the advent of more decentralized, resilient, P2P public Internet architectures, using stand-alone data formats makes it possible to once again return to a simpler, more accessible, set of content-creation tools and, with models like the APA, for communities to relatively easily and communally create and distribute Internet media independent of these hegemonies, free of the annoyance of advertising and the threats of online information gathering and censorship, supporting a large diversity of cheap devices (computers, phones, tablets, e-book readers), and alternative digital communications such as torrent P2P file sharing, community meshnets, othernets, asynchronous file sharing webs, sneakernets, and digital dead drops when necessary. There are practical examples of this, such as Cuba’s long-established El Paquete Semanal; a condensed collection of Internet content shared underground through thumb drives to circumvent that country’s prohibitions on Internet access.
Poly-casting is a term this author just invented to refer to the idea of applying the APA model to podcasting based on stand-alone audio and video file formats that can be digitally gathered and collated like paper. This relates to the old practice of tape trading by mail, which was a phenomenon of the amateuunderground music scenes of 1980s akin to ‘zines. Much like web hosting, podcasting and video streaming have become dependent on server-centric corporate hegemonies, subjecting content to the nuisances and corruption of commercialization. But, again, applying the APA model to stand alone media forms it becomes possible for communities to independently create and distribute their own audio/visual media by alternative, off-line if necessary, means and through the efforts of globally dispersed groups. Audio also has the virtue of being suited to lower bandwidth communications and the lower-end of access devices, such as feature phones and stand-alone digital audio players.
Applying formats from traditional radio variety shows of the early 20th century, a poly-cast APA project could serve as a community news, information, and locally-made entertainment journal. And, just as APAs were good mediums for role playing games and communal comic books, that same old variety show format could be used in the radio theater portrayal of communities of the future --just as suggested by examples like the audio drama podcasts such as Welcome to Night Vale.
Literary Hypertext, Visual Novels, and other Ergodic Literature:
Computer games have already proven a very useful medium for Solarpunk, but coding and digital art remain barriers for many. One area of computer gaming that offers some solutions to that, but as yet is not much explored, is the Visual Novel. Visual Novels have an interesting history with an unusual web of connections from the roots of the World Wide Web. the development of early Virtual Reality, to current social media trends like Vtubing, and leading right up to the latest developments in AI. The topic probably deserves a whole book of is own, but for now we’ll focus on Hypertext and the Visual Novel.
Invented by computer scientist Ted Nelson, Hypertext was the technology of digital texts using cross-links that would inspire the creation of the World Wide Web. A form of what is known generally as ‘Ergodic Literature’; texts that require a person to perform tasks to navigate them, such as the well known Choose Your Own Adventure game books. In fact, it was originally intended to be the basis of the first Internet which Nelson imagined as a system known as Xanadu, but which never attracted support from a computer industry that, at the time, could still only image the utility of computers in a business and engineering context. However, it did become the basis of a class of text adventure games that would pioneer the entire computer and video game industry and evolve into the first text-based forms of Virtual Reality known as MUDs (Multi-User Dungeon), MOOs (MUD, Obect Oriented), and MUCKs. (Multi-User Construction Kit) Hypertext persists in the form of Literary Hypertext; a useful stand-alone form of digital literature created with accessible editing tools like StorySpace and the basis of personal knowledge management tools like Tinderbox.
Originating as a very short-lived intermediate stage of development between the text adventure games like Adventure and Zork that derived from the original stand-alone hypertext technology and sprite-animated adventure games developed by companies like Sierra Online, hybrid graphic/text adventure games employed still images to enhance text descriptions while still functioning the same as command-line controlled text adventure games. They were quickly obsolesced in the west by those animated graphic games which, in turn, were displaced by 'multimedia' games like the famous Myst series based on photorealistic 3D rendered images and making use of the then seemingly vast storage capacity of recently introduced CD-ROM, and then again displaced by games using real-time rendered 3D graphics. But these simpler graphic/text adventures curiously persisted in Japan for a number of interesting reasons. From the start, early Japanese PCs often had superior baseline graphics resolution then their western counterparts in order to accommodate their more complex written language, thus affording potential for higher quality still images allowing these relatively low-tech games to tap into a huge pool of chronically underemployed Anime/Manga art talent. At the same time, there was an even worse proliferation of competing non-intercompatible early PC platforms in Japan than in the west, limiting computer games to simpler architectures in order to be portable across these many platforms. They appealed more to adults using character-driven story-based content which, in that country, more easily shifted toward adult and erotic themes. An adult computer game market would go largely unrecognized in the west until the first generation of gamer kids grew up (despite the role of the PC as a repository for hidden digital porn inscrutable to parents being more important to its early market growth than the industry will ever admit…), emerging in a short-lived ‘cybersex’ software craze of the late ‘80s and ‘90s influenced greatly by Cyberpunk literature and built on multimedia software platforms inspired by Apple’s Hypercard and Macromedia’s Director. Curiously, the layered sprite graphics used with characters in these early adult games would later influence Visual Novel design.
With the innovation of menu-driven interfaces replacing command lines eliminating the annoying guesswork of typed text commands, these games evolved into the form now called Visual Novels, as well as the closely-related 'dating simulators'. (using the same technology, but focused on the 'adventure' of exploring adult relationships with individual characters) These would remain a largely Japanese phenomenon for decades, but the Visual Novel's close relation to the Anime/Manga subculture would see it return to the west after the turn of the century with the global wave of Anime fandom where struggling independent game developers would discover the technology's potential for breaking through the western game industry's intractable hegemonies.
Aspiring woman game developers in particular struggle with a notoriously misogynistic game industry culture forcing them into independent development and the pursuit of projects on the most untenable out-of-pocket budget levels. The Anime fandom market was large yet largely ignored by the western corporate game industry and the essential economy of VN creation offered a very low entry point for starting developers. Basic tools could be found available free, such as Ren’Py. Improving things even further, when Japanese software developers began to realize there was this new western demand emerging for Visual Novels, they began creating more advanced yet still modest cost editing tools to make their creation even easier. One of the most popular of these is Visual Novel Maker. But much more importantly, the links to the Anime/Manga culture presented fledging developers with a huge international pool of independent art, music, and voice talent accessible online, circumventing the corporate hegemony on talent. VN technology also has an essential economy in art asset use that seems to have have been inspired either by Kabuki, Kamishibai, or by the traditional paper theater toys of the Victorian era, later evolving into the Colorforms toys based on sticky vinyl figures. VNs feature a theater-box model of scene presentation with characters as layered sprites —akin to paper dolls— with different costume overlays against a ‘back cloth’ scene picture with ‘cut cloth’ and ‘scenery flat’ elements much like the parts of a traditional theater stage set. Thus art assets are modularized and recombinable to create different scenes. (an architecture that would later prove very useful to the craft of Vtubing, whose graphic avatar tools currently derive directly from VN tools, made by some of the very same developers) Unlike other classes of computer games still competing by pushing technological envelopes and helping drive perpetual hardware obsolescence, the line between 'amateur' and 'professional’ products with VNs rests primarily along the quality of art, audio, graphic design, and writing. Thus VNs have allowed aspiring independent game developers a low cost way to get a foothold in a generally intractable, corporate dominated, industry.
So while still not regarded as a 'mainstream' class of games in the west, Visual Novels are now common and persistent here and are arguably the most accessible class of computer games to create, offering a powerful potential alternative media form to explore, with one caveat; the stigma --if one can call it that-- of ‘otaku’ subculture and the erotic nature of many of these games. In no way is the technology aesthetically limited to this and I feel there is much potential for storytelling beyond the stereotypical models. Just like any of the other forms of hypertext, there's no limit to the possible types of content it can present. But for Anime fandom their Anime association is part of their appeal, and that has served its enthusiasts well enough that we don't yet see too much experimentation beyond that.