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hamstermastersamster · 1 year

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I finished Koudelka and started playing Shadow Hearts again and . . .

Well xD SH is not as great as I remember. The weird thing is, though, that it's sort of exacerbated by having played Koudelka first.

I totally understand why Koudelka tanked. It looks like a Resi Evil on the outside but it's a random-battle-driven slow, turn-based RPG that explains absolutely NOTHING about itself and is very prepared to trip players up on unforgiving things like breakable weapons, weird RNG and needing a hard-to-find item to get anything but the worst ending. The game mechanics really kinda work once you figure them out, but most gamers wouldn't have given it that chance, not in the era it was released.

And it's a damn shame, because I really, really love it. The dark horror atmosphere, the soundtrack and sound design, the creature design, and . . . the cast.

Like, don't get me wrong, the cast aren't characters you'd make friends with. They are deeply flawed individuals whom you will actively dislike at times, but they are meant to be grounded in a level of realism and they are incredibly fascinating and entertaining to watch develop. Most of the narrative scenes that aren't FMV are actually just character interaction scenes, and they are presented with a real sense of craft. A documentary on Koudelka that I watched described the aesthetic as 'stage play' and they were so right.

The voice actors are clearly professionals and they do a really good job (even if none of them have British accents xD), despite the recording sound quality not being the best. But they dramatise and project like they're on a stage, and in what MUST be mo-capped or at least heavily-referenced animation the characters themselves move around the set and gesticulate and interact with it in unique, scene-tailored animations that bring them to life - no stock hand gestures, standing still and stilted hands-on-hips poses here (cough RE cough).

So no, the game isn't perfect, but its vibes and aesthetic and sense of stagecraft are, as they say, immaculate.

Then we jump to Shadow Hearts and . . . the levels of infantile JRPG trope smacked me in the face almost as soon as I got past the first few scenes. And that jump from playing Koudelka, with characters expounding on matters of faith and sincerely quoting poets like Byron and the narrative itself riddled with detailed, respectfully-researched alchemical and occult history . . . to anime fanservice 'pervy men are hilarious' and 'all gay men are lecherous perverts' jokes is a LEETLE bit jarring.

I wish I could say it was a product of its time, but the gay men perv joke trope was present as recently as Persona 5 so it's still pretty common in JRPGs. Sigh.

I can't say I didn't REMEMBER that SH leaned into lewd 'humour'. Of course I did, it's part of the scenery there. But coming from Koudelka, where the closest it got was seeing too much of the protagonist's underwear because of her short skirt and her incredibly funny, witty remark about "that handsome carpenter's son' made specifically to rile up the bigoted priest of the party? The writing, aesthetic and the atmosphere of SH are a definite downgrade in retrospect.

And it sorta makes sense to me because I knew that SH got arguably worse, but certainly aesthetically DIFFERENT enough to be off-putting over the course of its 3-game run. By SH2 it had strayed further and further from its horror roots, and SH3 had almost no horror and was just a mess of 'quirky' silly JRPG characters and all-out fanservice with a butchered Native American female protag who spent most of her time in eyeroll-worthy transformation sequences stark-naked.

Beyond that, SH reverts to cheaper stock character animations, 90% text dialogue and anime emoticons in speech bubbles (think sweatdrops and hearts) for emotional expression, and again, just . . . such a downgrade, aaaaa.

Koudelka really was something very special. I guess I'm just retrospectively sad all the good things about it got totally nerfed for SH.

It's okay, though. Sometimes the nostalgia goggles are wrong, sometimes you are a different person to when you originally played and liked a thing. SH isn't BAD and I will probably warm up to the cast again as I play. A bunch of stuff in it just hasn't aged well at all.

Soundtrack still slaps though <3

#shadow hearts #koudelka #hamster plays

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haikuprajna · 2 years

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Part One of #TogetherinForever is available to read on Amazon Kindle!

Get your copy and read on any device at https://read.amazon.com or on your Kindle device/app!

Also, if you are in the Brampton Ontario area on Saturday June 18th 2022, then please come say hi to us downtown by Gage Park at the Farmers' Market during the Brampton Library's Local Authors Showcase!

Star's restless burning\ pull the bodies close, around.\ Gravity of love.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Orbital Rotation (Updated)

Thank you for reading,

Allen W. McLean

...

Need more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering?

These poems will be collected in a future edition of the HaikuPrajna Collection. Stay tuned to @electricarmchair and @haikuprajna for book previews, mindful meditation haiku \ scifaiku poetry from my metaphysical and magical realism stories (like the sci-fi superhero novel "Escape Perennial City", available on Kindle Unlimited) and more Alchemic Wisdom via the emailing list and social media over here:

https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

Every week, you can collect an ebook on Free Fridays! All one needs is an Amazon account! Kindle ebooks can be read on any device through one's web browser at https://read.amazon.com - Selection rotates every few weeks; collect them all!

“Hector Blake” is free to read online alongside book reviews and articles:

https://haikuprajna.medium.com

April's latest psychedelic music, videos, art and poetry available on all streaming platforms: Electric Armchair - Feast of Fools

"Fishing for Caribou" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices, and with Kindle Unlimited; previews and more:

#meditate #mindful #chakra #psychedelic #metaphysics #loa #yoga #books #haiku #poem

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haldsahin34 · 9 months

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Exploring the Alchemical World of Little Alchemy 2

In the digital landscape of informal video games, few titles handle to capture the imagination and curiosity of players fairly like Little Alchemy 2. This enchanting sport invitations players to embark on a journey of discovery, the place the primary objective is to combine varied elements to create new ones. With its simple yet engaging mechanics, Little Alchemy 2 provides a delightful platform for users to train their creativity and problem-solving skills. In this blog, we'll delve into the world of Little Alchemy 2, exploring its gameplay, unique options, and the enduring attraction that has stored gamers captivated for years. A World of Elemental Combinations Little Alchemy 2 is a game of infinite potentialities, the place players are introduced with a set of basic components corresponding to hearth, water, earth, and air. The goal is to combine these components in numerous ways to create new ones, in the end unlocking a vast array of objects, organisms, and ideas. The recreation options over 700 totally different components, offering ample room for experimentation and discovery. Gameplay Mechanics

The gameplay in Little Alchemy 2 is elegantly simple, but it provides a rich and rewarding expertise. Players start with a few fundamental parts and should drag and drop them onto each other to create new elements. The recreation follows a logical and intuitive pattern, making it accessible to players of all ages. As players progress, they'll encounter more advanced combinations and challenges, requiring them to suppose critically and strategically. What https://littlealchemy2.online is its dedication to realism. The game's creators have gone to nice lengths to guarantee that the combinations make sense, often incorporating scientific principles and real-world knowledge. This provides an academic dimension to the sport, making it a wonderful selection for educators and oldsters seeking to engage children in a enjoyable and educational activity. Endless Exploration One of essentially the most captivating elements of Little Alchemy 2 is the sense of exploration it instills in players. As they discover new components and create extra advanced combos, a feeling of marvel and curiosity takes hold. The game's intuitive design encourages gamers to maintain experimenting, driving them to uncover every attainable component. The satisfaction of discovering a new mixture or unlocking a rare element is a strong motivator that keeps players engaged for hours on end. Artistic and Aesthetic Excellence Beyond its gameplay, Little Alchemy 2 boasts a captivating and visually interesting design. The sport's components are depicted as colorful and quirky icons, every with its personal distinct character. This visible type adds to the game's general allure and makes it significantly interesting to younger audiences. Additionally, the soundtrack complements the gameplay fantastically, making a soothing and immersive ambiance that enhances the overall experience. Little Alchemy 2 is a shining instance of how simplicity and creativity can combine to create an enchanting gaming experience. Its blend of schooling and entertainment, coupled with its intuitive mechanics and infinite possibilities, makes it a recreation that appeals to a variety of gamers. Whether you are an informal gamer looking for a calming pastime or a father or mother seeking an academic but enjoyable exercise on your youngster, Little Alchemy 2 offers something particular. So, dive into the alchemical world of Little Alchemy 2 and let your imagination run wild as you uncover the secrets and techniques of creation, one component at a time..

#Little Alchemy 2

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js589 · 1 year

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11 and 17 for the writing ask game!

You asked...

11. What's something neat you've learned while doing research for something you were writing? Also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

I do a lot of really inane research, mostly related to weather. I think my favorite has been searching the meanings of flowers and accidentally coming up with a more meaningful combo than I'd thought in chapter 24 of Disharmonic Aria. I chose red and white rosebuds for their meaning according to some probably now-defunct website, and had it pointed out to me that it matched up with some alchemical symbolism very relevant to Royai, so that was fun!

As for how much I worry about doing research in general, it varies. Most of the time, it's little to none, and I just wing it or very shamelessly note that I have done no research. I'm usually very surface level about it. But I will absolutely research weather/geography for realism.

17. What is your favorite line you've ever written?

I genuinely cannot narrow this down to absolutely one line, or even one scene of everything I've written. Even in stories I don't like, I'm usually proud of at least one bit of them, and I hold many of them precious in my heart.

I'm choosing this one (well, these two) from Midnight Rebellion in the Newsroom to show off because it's one of the less blatant bits of symbolism I've written. Subtle, I am (usually) not.

Only when she was safely in bed after her conversation with Marilla would she notice the faint inky fingerprints on her hand where Gilbert had caught it to help her keep her balance. Her last thought before she drifted off to sleep would be that there was something rather poetic about it, but it would be only when she'd wake that she'd have clarity on it.

Thank you for asking!

Ask game here

#ask game #fanfic asks #twiilys

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nerds-in-wonderland · 2 years

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✨🔮BOOKS ABOUT WITCHES🔮✨

A Discovery Of Witches

By: Deborah Harkness

"A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism."

~Alice 🌌

#nerd humor #nerdy memes #nerd #book reccs #bookblr #a discovery of witches

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hamliet · 3 years

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So, I have a question. How DOES one do a Redemptive Death well?

Darth Vader.

There's a reason everyone and their brother tries to copy Vader's death, but they neglect to consider the numerous factors that make it work. It depends on the framing, mostly, but there are many variations of what that includes. It depends on the genre of story (a tragedy or a death-ridden alchemical romance--literary romance--like ASOIAF having death via redemption is a lot different than say a superhero saga including it). It depends on the themes. It depends on that particular character's arc, and on the ramifications for other characters' arcs. It depends on the plot and when in the story it happens, even. Also, if you're going to use death for something as impactful in a story as removing a character, how is death framed in the story overall? (For example, I'll also talk about Hazel from RWBY and how RWBY does not frame death as a punishment.)

The problem with redemptive death as a trope is that not only is it oversaturated in a culture that already leans towards punitive punishment, but that it is cheap. If you peel back the layers behind why an author made such a choice, it's usually... lame.

See, if a redeemed character lives, then you have to wrestle with all those pesky thematic questions that absolutely beg to be explored. What does redemption mean? What constitutes forgiveness? Reconciliation? What about punishment--should we dismiss it? So, killing a character off is just easier. It means you don't have to ask those questions--because here's the thing about them. No writer will satisfy 100% of their audience with their answers to said questions. In fact, I guarantee you that some will be alienated because these are deeply personal questions (which is precisely why they matter so much and must be treated with nuance and empathy). But many writers, especially at the end of a book, don't want to open that can of worms.

Redemptive death offers an emotional punch that can make an ending resonate, but also offers closure in an easy way: see, the villain took themselves out! But if you peel back the surface, there's no substance to it. It offers nothing to the story.

So let's talk Darth Vader and Hazel Rainart.

Storywise, Star Wars is a coming-of-age hero’s journey story. The tone is hopeful, but let’s look more at the genre and structure. Coming of age (in real life as well as fiction) includes confronting death since that’s how everyone’s life ends. It has to be confronted and accepted in this genre. Not only that, but the hero’s journey literally contains steps involving confronting just this as well. The point of the genre/structure is that to grow, you must accept a realistic version of the world--but there’s no reason to assume realism shouldn’t include optimism.

Character-wise, I think people misinterpret Vader's choice as one to redeem himself. It wasn't really. It wasn't about himself at all: it was just to save his son. As for Vader’s character himself... this is going to sound ageist but I don’t intend it to be; it’s just how the trope tends to go: in a coming-of-age story, an elderly character is a lot more likely to die than a young character in their prime. An elderly person dying is sad, make no mistake about it, but even in real life when a young person dies there’s a sense of injustice that isn’t necessarily the case for someone who has lived their life. (I promise this comment is relevant to the next paragraph.)

As for Luke, the central question of Luke’s arc the entire saga had been wanting to know his father. So of course the most emotional moment at the end should be part of this. The plot, too, contributes to this: Luke had decided that an attempt to reach his father was worth potentially sacrificing his own life--and to tie into what I said about young people dying earlier, this is wrong. Vader realizes it’s wrong: the child should not have to teach the father. The child should not die. And so he sacrifices his own life to save his son to keep Luke from doing just that for him--and symbolically, by setting a family dynamic right, he helps set the galaxy right.

After Vader dies, those pesky questions are actually not entirely ignored despite him being dead and it being the end of the story. We see Leia’s troubled reaction, and we see the end scene is everyone celebrating while Luke hangs back. While hanging back, he sees his father’s ghost reconciled with the ghosts of Luke’s two mentors (and his father’s mentors as well). In other words, we do see that Vader reconciled with his past, and that he is at peace.

In contrast, let’s look at a blatant Vader rip-off attempt that did not work: Ben Solo. Oy. A child-coded character (tantrums) struggling through a story littered with death the entire way through choosing to die in the end and then never being mentioned again is... a choice. It also doesn’t work for Ben’s arc, which was about reconciling with his family legacy, unless you want to say the family legacy is death. Having a child repeat a cycle of sacrifice does not leave the same emotional resonance nor the same hope for change that Vader's death does; in fact, the fact that it repeats is pretty hopeless and negates the impact of Vader’s death... especially because Vader’s death apparently didn’t kill the Emperor after all.

Onto Hazel, who is a minor character in RWBY. But his arc is pretty similar to Vader’s: giving up on revenge and power for the sake of saving a child. (RWBY is also coming-of-age, and a repeated motif is again that the children have to right the wrongs of the past.) The adult character (Hazel) choosing to sacrifice himself to save kids and specifically to give a child character who was specifically looking for redemption (Emerald) a chance is a way of setting the world right in a small moment. Emerald's arc isn't over yet. The difficult work of redemption and all those pesky questions lie ahead for her, so it’s not a cheap “way out” for Hazel, who was mostly there to serve Oscar and Emerald’s arcs. It reinforces to Oscar that he matters, not just Ozpin, and it reinforces to Emerald that she has value as a person and that someone cared enough to die to give her a chance (in contrast to Cinder’s “family” with Emerald). It shows her how family should be, and I have no doubt that will influence her as she works out her own redemption (especially when she sees Mercury again). Hence, again, those pesky questions aren’t being ignored.

Anyways, if you’re going to do redemptive death, it should be the pinnacle of their arc, something that encapsulates everything they were working towards and their best traits, and their death should matter for the story. (Showing mourning is not the same as negative framing.)

#ask hamliet #writing #redemptive death #good tropes #darth vader #star wars #luke skywalker #rwby #hazel rainart #emerald sustrai #oscar pine

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aquietwritingcorner · 2 years

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March Mildness Day 18: Fortune Telling Word Count: 651 Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl Rating: K/G Characters: Izumi Curtis, Sig Curtis Warning: Summary: Izumi doesn’t believe in fortune telling. Except maybe this time. Notes: AO3 || ff.net

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Fortune Telling

Izumi never put much stock in things she couldn’t confirm for herself. She knew that there was more to the world than she knew, of course. To think that she knew everything would be sheer arrogance. However, there was a difference between knowing that there were empirical things she did not know, and things that people claimed were true based on anecdote. Certainly, sometimes anecdote turned out to be true, but Izumi had a tendency to be skeptical. Sig was similar, except that if it was someone that he trusted telling him something, he’d believe it.

However, there was one area where they had a slight disagreement. Once, while traveling, they had been stuck on a train for quite some time due to a problem with the engine. Of course, that meant that people had to kill time somehow. One woman on board claimed to be a fortune-teller and, to pass the time, she offered some fortunes for free. Izumi had scoffed at this, but Sig had been curious enough, so Izumi had reluctantly given in.

The woman had told them that they were strong in love and wouldn’t be broken apart, except by their own doing, and even that could be overcome if they wanted it. She also said that they would face hardships in their family, but that in the end they would be surrounded by grandchildren and loved ones. Izumi had dismissed it. Anyone could see how much she and Sig were in love. And who wouldn’t want to be told that they’d end up surrounded by grandchildren? Throwing in the bit about hardship was just adding a little realism to it so that she wouldn’t be suspected.

Sig, on the other hand, had taken the woman’s words into consideration. He admitted that it likely could just all be a con game of reading people and telling them what they want to hear, but he thought that there was the possibility of it being true.

They had agreed to disagree on this one thing, and Izumi had gone on dismissing the fortune-teller’s words. That belief had only hardened after they had lost their baby, and she had made the mistake of human transmutation. There was no possibility of that future after that. She couldn’t have children. That meant there would be no grandchildren.

Or so she had thought.

Now, however, as she looked around her crowded living room, she wondered if that fortune-teller wasn’t right after all. Edward and Alphonse were visiting, along with their wives, Winry and Mei, respectively. Edward had a gaggle of about four blonde-haired children running around, wreaking havoc on her house. Alphonse had three, and there was another on the way. Mason had dropped by as well, having finally married, and he had his two with him. All in all, she was surrounded by nine children running around her house and yard.

Ed and Al weren’t her biological sons, but she cared about them as if they were. And while Mason didn’t have that exact same sort of relationship with them, he was definitely family to her and Sig. Having them all over was like having a house full of grandchildren. She balanced a baby on her knee and heard the shrieks of laughter from outside as the kids playfully attacked Sig and he “fell” under their attack. Ed, Al, and Mei were arguing something alchemic, and Winry and Mason were swapping stories about what it was like being around alchemists so much. It was like having the family that she had always wished she had.

Izumi still didn’t believe in fortune-telling. She didn’t think she ever would. But she did have to wonder if that fortune-teller knew something that was unexplained or just happened to get in a really lucky guess. In the end, Izumi supposed it didn’t matter. She was happy and satisfied being surrounded by her family, biological or not.

#March Mildness 2022 #Izumi Curtis #sig curtis #fma #Fullmetal Alchemist #fma fanfic #fullmetal alchemist fan fiction

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old-archivist · 3 years

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Botanical Projects

Since I have no chill and I want to talk about what I’m working on... So I’ve mentioned the Healer’s Field Guide previously, and mentioned how, depending if it goes well I would work on a more exhaustive resource. Which honestly if it doesn’t I still might do it but not to the scale I dream of. That is the Healer’s Handbook. So lemme tell you the difference because it is sort of the embodiment of the original project, but I want to release some plant stuff before DA 4 so we’re making a compact version first. So the Healer’s Handbook would be more encyclopedic. Where the Field Guide has the illustration and basics of medicinal and alchemic uses, as well as where to find the plant and a description on a two page spread. The handbook would have more thorough spread with each plant at about 8 pages. Why? Because I like plants and I want to write more.

This would include the basics of the field guide as well as additional information that expands into more in-depth ethnobotany, additional recipes, astrological meaning, ways to cultivate, herbalist notes, best practices for the plant, and a section of additional uses.

I have a rough idea of what I want as well as all the plants canonically mentioned in the game that serve, historically in the term of real plants, medicinal and alchemic uses. So... This is the plan for the Handbook as of now. (Its long due to all the plants so its going under the cut sorry)

How to Use This Book: Plant Structure Building Your Apothecary Maintaining Your Apothecary Cultivation Harvesting Herbs Drying & Storing Herbs Making Your Own Remedies

Plant Profiles:

Amrita Vein Anderfels Mint Andraste's Grace Andraste's Mantle Arbor Blessing Arcanist Deathroot Barbwood Beetle Spore Bitter Elfroot Black Lotus Black Walnut Blackthorn Bleeding Russula Blightcap Blighted Morel Blood Lotus Brimstone Mushroom Catsbane Cattails Cherry Clover, Red Clover, White Cloves Coconut Cranberries Crystal Grace Dark Embrium Dawn Lotus Deathroot Deep Mushroom Destroying Spirit Dragonthorn Drakevein Elfroot Embrium Felandaris Felicidus Aria Fern Foxite Foxmint Garlic Ghoul's Beard Ghoul's Mushroom Ginger Gossamer Elfroot Harlot's Blush Heatherum Itchweed Ivy Jasmin Juniper Lavender Lichen Licorice Lotus Lunatic's Deathroot Madcap Mint Mintroot Morel Moss Nightshade Oakmoss Onion Oregano Parsley Peony Peppermint Pomegranate Poppy Prickleweed Primaetas Root Prophet's Laurel Rashvine Rashvine Nettle Redmoss Rose Rosemary Royal Elfroot Sage Salubrious Embrium Seaweed Spindleweed, Aquatic Spindleweed, Landform Sponge Root Stripweed Sundew Thyme Tobacco Tree-Moss Vandal Aria Verdant Spindleweed Willow Winterberry Witherstalk Additional Recipes Toxins and Antidotes Agents and Extracts

Medicinal Uses Biomes Seasonal Availability Flower Language: Tevinter/Orlais, Elven, and Antivan? Speculative Designs Bibliography Glossary

Something that should be noted is that there are multiple listings for Spindleweed, Deathroot, Embrium, and Elfroot. As in not only their varieties but a common name. I explain why I chose that in the foreword of these projects, but to summarize simply, it is because in the scope of the game it would be rather cumbersome for them to have varieties for every area. So, for the sake of realism and to expand in the area the games cannot and allow for all designs and changes in the plants we see from Origins to Inquisition, I have the “Common” variety. Which is simply their name.

It is also derived from the fact that there is some cut content that I came across where they did fiddle with things. Like the landform of Spindleweed. There are a few more cut content plants that would be 100% speculative as I only have their designs and none of the possible content for them and as such I’m still debating if I want to include those.

But yeah. Along with my maps and other things I’m working on this. Though the botanical project is taking up my main focus do to its easy accessibility when my health knocks my legs out from under me.

#Dragon age #Thedosian botanicals #botanical project #healer's field guide #healer's handbook #I really like plants okay?#Feel free to ask any questions #thedosian botany

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silvermoon424 · 4 years

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Recommendation: Sleepless Domain

Read Sleepless Domain HERE

Sleepless Domain is an ongoing webcomic by Mary Cagle that began in 2015. I think TVTropes already wrote a perfect summary of it:

By day, a nameless, isolated city is safe under the Great Barrier. Every night, however, monsters come in from the surrounding lands and terrorize the city. The first line of defense against these monsters are young magical girls, such as the five teenagers that make up Team Alchemical. Practically celebrities, these girls are regarded as champions, are honored and respected above all else, with all the support that implies, especially if they are registered.

It would be almost perfect... except for the part where they have to risk their lives every night.

One night, that risk becomes tragedy and one of the girls of Team Alchemical, Undine, also known as Alchemical Water, decides to find out why it happened. Even if that means she has to do it alone.

Sleepless Domain is a coming of age story about expectations, loss, friendship through healing and hardship, and the price of magic.

I decided to read this webcomic upon the recommendation of a follower. I thought the premise sounded intriguing (Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of my all-time favorite anime, and I love dark magical girl shows in general) so I thought I’d give it a shot. I ended up devouring all currently available 15 chapters (as of July 2020) in a matter of hours, only to be struck by the realization that from now on I’ll have to wait for updates. It’s a double-edged sword; I’m addicted to binging media in one go so it sucks having to wait, but on the other hand I’m glad I have something to look forward to getting updated every week.

Anyway, as the summary implies, this is a darker and more mature take on the magical girl genre. Although the girls get to enjoy cute costumes, magical powers, a much elevated status, and the adoration of the public, they must also risk their lives every night against dangerous monsters that are more than capable of hurting or even killing them. They’re essentially child soldiers, albeit glorified ones. Their fame and idolization is also a mixed blessing; while magical girls get to enjoy their boosted status, they’re also put on a pedestal, to the point where people forget they’re still teenage girls who don’t solely exist to fight and die for the public.

Speaking of the public, I absolutely love the setting. I’m really fond of stories where magical girls/superheroes/etc are a known thing and we can see how the rest of the world reacts to them. In the city where Sleepless Domain takes place, magical girls are essentially celebrities. Their fights get followed by camera crews and broadcasted every morning, they have managers, they get interviewed, they have officially licensed merchandise, they’re featured on the front covers of magazines, etc. Many of the magical girls have outright monetized their popularity, doing ad deals and sponsorships.

Another detail I really like is that almost all magical girls attend Future’s Promise, an exclusive private school where everything from the education to the facilities to the food is high-quality, as a reward for them for protecting the city. The classes even start at 11 AM to give magical girls enough time to sleep after their nightly patrols (the Great Barrier is inactive from 10 PM to 2 AM, which is when magical girls are active). It’s also cool to see a school that’s exclusively for magical girls and we get to see a lot of interaction between various magical girls.

I also really love the design and mechanics behind the magical girls themselves. They each have a unique costume and powers, although some magical girls may be “thematic,” meaning they have teams where the girls' powers, costumes, and symbols match (for example, Team Alchemical, the magical girls featured in the picture, have a team based on the classical Greek elements of water, air, earth, fire, and aether). Members of thematic teams usually know each other before they are granted their powers, although this is not always the case. There are also non-thematic teams, meaning that there is no common element among the girls' powers. In any case, each magical girl has her own unique costume, powers, and sigil/symbol. Their hair and eyes also often undergo a supernatural color change (for example, one character’s hair and eye colors went from brown to pink), which I am an absolute sucker for (PreCure is another series that utilizes that concept a lot, although in Sleepless Domain the eye/hair color change is present even when in civilian form).

Aside from the great and interesting setting, I also really appreciate the tone of Sleepless Domain. It’s mature and thought-provoking without becoming a grimdark edge-fest like a lot of dark magical girl media. Without going into spoilers, the main character, Undine, suffers a major loss towards the beginning of the comic and much of the story is about her trying to heal and connect with other people. Another main character, Tessa, having suffered the same loss, displays classic signs of PTSD and depression and she has a much harder time trying to move on. This is just one example of the realism of Sleepless Domain despite its fantastical setting, where people are actually emotionally and psychologically affected by death and loss and need help getting through it (another detail I really like is how therapy is made readily available for current and former magical girls, although not all of them take it). But despite the mature themes and tone, things never get too dark and there’s always plenty of fluffy interactions between the characters to give you hope.

Oh, and I should mention that the series is very LGBTQ friendly. One of the magical girls is a transgirl, and homosexual relationships seem to be quite accepted amongst magical girls. Again, I won’t go into spoilers but a very popular lesbian ship was just confirmed as well.

Overall, I can’t recommend Sleepless Domain enough. If you’re like me you’ll finish it in one sitting and be left desperate for more. If anything about this recommendation sounds appealing to you, I guarantee you’ll love the series.

#Sleepless Domain #magical girl #magical girls #webcomic #recommendation #long post

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thusatlas · 3 years

Note

I have been wondering how to answer this for a few days now. For reference, the post and the subsequent question (feel free to ask for more):

Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

The obvious one story to go to is the Crownless. But I've been scratching my head on how to answer this without giving any spoilers because most of the stuff that I'm like 'aljnglajbgklrbgl' about, has been planted, but has not yet come to fruition.

So, I'm going to say that there will be spoilers in this post up to Chapter 20 if you have not caught up yet, and the rest is going to be a massive tease for what's to come.

(Which I think is rather fitting as we enter the last few chapters of part 1.)

Continue past this point at your own peril.

Hidden References

There are loads. I was brought up as a gamer, finding Easter Eggs is my crack. I'd love to go on about how, with the theme of wanting to fully embed the world in magical realism, I have incorporated a number of Easter Eggs from real life to enrich the text in a meta way - but that just simply isn't true.

I'm just a fiend who has a lot of fun with the freedom of fanfiction.

The most obvious one that near enough everyone who has commented has picked up on, is the Pirates of the Caribbean reference in Lucius' chapter.

My favourite Easter Egg of them all is that I have actually given away Raine's true identity and further hinted and the lore that goes with that identity. It's buried within the text, hidden in plain sight, which is in keeping with the theme of the story.

There's a fair few references to the Grimm Brother's, especially where the Black Forrest is concerned.

The narration style of 'describing the wallpaper' is a homage to Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, who have greatly influenced the humour and style of this entire fic. In particular here, the items that Hermione carries on her person is a direct callback to 'Hitch Hiker's Guide to Galaxy'.

There's a reference to Deborah Harkness' 'All Saints Trilogy' (highly recommend these books). I read these and fell down the alchemical rabbit hole that led me to the Voynich.

There are all sorts of popular culture references, from Marvel to Jane Austin hidden within the text, simply because they were on my mind as I wrote them and it brought me great joy to have the freedom to write them.

Not everything is serious. However, I am seriously considering going through and making an Easter Egg masterlist, and anyone who can name them all will get a cookie.

Characters, relationships and hidden foreshadowing (because I love spinning webs)

There are loads, every character has an arc, whether it be big or small. Someone once commented that they weren't sure whether some details was a red-herring and what was real, while another commented that every detail given is a clue.

Both are right, unfortunately - all details mean something but whether they're there for worldbuilding or character development is only something that can be seen when the point comes to light.

The two characters who show this the best are Theo and Raine.

With Theo, we start with this roguish, glib, charming character, who's a touch flamboyant but generally a smooth white-collar criminal.

With Raine, we start with a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde character - Dr Jekyll being quirky, weird and unassuming. In the beginning, we only see brief touches of Mr Hyde - the serious, cold and calculating General. The overall effect is a character that I am pleased to see no one trusts.

But the clues are in the names. They always have been, they always will be.

Just the same way that Fear was a foreshadowing from chapter 1...

For Theo, the reader has had some indication of his character arc since Chapter 2. This was re-affirmed in Chapter 13 and again recently in Chapter 20. Theo is closely tied to my favourite Easter Egg, whose name ties into this whole thing, and further builds upon Harry's canon identity, as we see in Deathly Hallows. I shan't say more, because spoilers. But you will find out soon.

For Raine, it's trickier. Again, it's all in the names, and as I've stated, I dropped that Easter Egg a while ago. But then the reader is told that 'Raine Willows' is infact a careless name, thought up in the spur of a moment. A name is an identity, ergo, what sort of Being cares little about that? Further to this, his journey is closely tied with Hermione's - always has been. The more Hermione has fallen down the rabbit hole, the more Raine has moved away from Dr Jekyll and become Mr Hyde.

The crux of their arcs is closely tied to the heart of the story. For Raine, he is Hermione's mentor. The other characters - Draco included - move around Hermione. She is the constant.

Much the same as the central plot. No matter how many side plots or whatever there are, it's all a helix towards the same focus point.

Part 2

It is my hope, that by the time we begin part 2, all the pieces will be lined up, ready to go. The Fuckening is one really really long introduction, setting the scene and laying the foundation. In order for the plot to exist and for our characters to go on the journeys that they will in part 2, everything has to break.

The allegory

Don't mind me whilst I put on my pretentious hat and dust off my critical thinking robes.

There is a fuck tonne of symbolism, sometimes in the staging of a scene, sometimes in the character's behaviour - Narcissa and Draco chapter 20, the character development of a Messiah.

But by now, if you've been following me or have spoken to me for more than 5 minutes, inevitably 'worldviews' would have cropped up. I sincerely apologise, I am aware that I am a broken record.

I started this fic in a really uncertain time in the world. As a STEM social science researcher, it's my job to look at the big picture and at the time (and still relevant to me now) the question was, wtf is going on?

So for me, along with it being a conversation about the psychology of love and friendship in a deterministic world, I wanted to highlight the importance of belief systems. I wanted to show from a psychological perspective how civilisation is built upon a very fragile network of beliefs both individual and collective, and the agreed-upon social norms only continue to exist, because we as a collective continue to perpetuate them.

I wanted to show how easily those belief systems can break which is why we begin with the disappearance of a horse and a somewhat intelligent cat. And the only way I could do that was to base canon in magical realism. A norm so adjacent to the ones we accept today, is one that will fracture everything so thoroughly and so quickly, that I won't have to write a tome to get my point across.

The Crownless is a story told from multiple perspectives, seeing and living the same long and winding conspiracy. And in worldbuilding, I have tried to show perspectives of different stakeholders, how politics is again, a delicate promise spun from beliefs. The Crownless is not meant to be a serious piece of literature, but it's my way of showing the hypocrisy of claiming Absolute Good and Evil in any situation.

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rpmemesbyarat · 3 years

Conversation

RP meme from Tori Amos quotes

- Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.

- I think that people who can't believe in fairies aren't worth knowing.

- I know I'm an acquired taste - I'm anchovies. And not everybody wants those hairy little things.

- Some of the most wonderful people are the ones who don't fit into boxes.

- I have so many different personalities in me and I still feel lonely.

- The violence between women is unbelievable.

- I'm too wacky for most weirdos. Who am I to judge?

- If they keep crashing stuff into the moon, the moon's gonna get pissed off, and the tides'll change, and all the women'll start PMS-ing together. Then you guys are going to fucking regret it.

- If you really want a challenge, just deal with yourself.

- I don't see myself as weird, I just see myself as honest.

- I see the dream and I see the nightmare, and I believe you can't have the dream without the nightmare.

- Some people are afraid of what they might find if they try to analyze themselves too much.

- Once the bleeding starts, the cleansing can begin.

- On some of my darkest days, Lucifer's the one who comes and gives me an ice cream.

- Most people would rather be sheep than stand on their own with antlers on.

- The sense of loss is such a tricky one, because we always feel like our worth is tied up into stuff that we have, not that our worth can grow with things we are willing to lose.

- When you've got the virgin and the whore sitting next to each other, they're likely to judge each other harshly.

- I think you have to know who you are.

- Get to know the monster that lives in your soul.

- Dive deep into your soul and explore it.

- I don’t want to renounce my dark side.

- The truth has always held an enormous interest for me.

- Healing for me is being able to sit next to the butcher and say 'Yes, I’m sitting next to the butcher now,' instead of saying 'there is no butcher'.

- This is very simple in the world of chicks; some are hoochies, some are not, and some should never try to be.

- We don't often see our own stories. Good artists are the ones that whisper our own stories back to us.

- Music is about all of your senses, not just hearing.

- Again, we go back to the power of words and how they can make you feel. They bring liberation or stagnation, they're chains.

- You don't have to apologize for growing and learning and changing your mind.

- Music has an alchemical quality.

- Certain relationships can just wear you down.

- Containment of your opinion is a must if you are going to nurture an artist's development.

- It's a good thing I'm curious, because sometimes I just research how a soccer player kicks a ball and the impact it has on his foot. I haven't used this yet, but I might.

- But over the years you can cultivate hate for the art you love.

- I don’t believe anyone’s story is boring. Every story has value because it belongs only to you.

- Sometimes I fantasize backstage about how people do their laundry. Woolite? Mixed-color loads? Do they fold? Do they press? Do they Shout it out? And the thing that kills me—do their whites come out dingy?

- Our generation has an incredible amount of realism, yet at the same time it loves to complain and not really change.

- We like our pain. And we’re packaging it, and we’re selling it.

- Festivals or radio shows can be the heavyweight championships of arrogantly detached clusterfucks.

- People who are addicted to power can live on the same street or attend the same school as us or even play on the world stage.

- None of us are this light and dark fantasy. What's dark to you may be light to me and vice versa.

- I don't think that many performers necessarily want to see their audience empowered. I think a lot of performers, no different from priests, need the hierarchy.

- Modern, celebrity-driven entertainment turns the stage into an altar, and so many celebrities refuse to be removed from those altars once they manage to ascend.

- All storytellers, all troubadours worth their salt knew their myths.

- The Sídh's historical myth is the source of the bastardized concept of a fairy—as if anyone gives a rat's ass.

- The problem with Christianity is, they think everything is about outside forces, good and evil. There's not a lot of inner work encouraged.

- Over the last few hours I've allowed myself to feel defeated, and just like she said if you allow yourself to feel the way you really feel, maybe you won't be afraid of that feeling anymore.

- I'm the queen of the nerds.

- Don't give up. Don't listen to these foolish critics that are so small minded they don't get it tonight.

- Sometimes listening to music can motivate you.

- I think even in a good marriage, especially if you stay together long enough, there are going to be events that happen.

- An ounce of breast milk is even more potent than the finest tequila.

- Music is always a reflection of what's going on in the hearts and minds of the culture.

- Many people lock a part of themselves away. It's a bit sacred.

- I've always seen the songs as having a consciousness.

- Our world is a huge mess right now, and not big enough for masses of intolerant people.

- We are all fairies living underneath a leaf of a lily pad.

- That is some funky-fresh, pop lockin' shit.

- If I saw someone destroy a piano I'd fuckin' kill 'em. Wouldn't think twice.

- I experiment with things that are usually an internal experience, because that's just what excites me. And yes, it does sometimes give me visions.

- Some of those trips were eighteen hours long and I'll never forget, once I ended up sitting by the bush trying to ask the flowers why they didn't like me. It's like, Why can't I be your friend?

- You might not like my story because I'm not gonna tell you how it ends yet, and you need to travel it with me.

- I just imagined a huge juicy vagina coming out of the sky, raining blood over all those racist, misogynist fuckers.

- You can't control your popularity

- If you can't create physical life, you find a life force. If that's in music, that's in music.

- I started to find this deep, primitive rhythm, and I started to move to it.

-I held hands with sorrow, and I danced with her, and we giggled a bit

- I usually get myself into situations that cause sparks.

- I love feeling alive, I love walking out in the cold in my bare feet and feeling the ice on my toes.

- For the most part, pianos are female to me.

- Anger is natural. It's part of the force. You just have to learn to hang out with it.

- In our minds, love and lust are really separated.

- I think all the boys that write the screaming stuff would write the best love songs

- When you stop putting yourself on the line, and you don't touch your own heart, how do you expect to touch other people?

- Guys would sleep with a bicycle if it had the right color lip gloss on. They have no shame. They're like bull elks in a field.

- Your worst enemies are made when you ignore people.

- It's as if the horses have come to take us back, to descend, to find the dark side. By dark I mean what's hidden, not necessarily satanic.

- There's room for everybody on the planet to be creative and conscious if you are your own person. If you're trying to be like somebody else, then there is isn't.

- Sometimes you have to do what you don't like to get to where you want to be.

- You know that saying, bad things don't happen to good people? That's a lie.

- I'm not a habit, I'm a lifestyle.

- There are a lot of hidden nerds.

- People who become the front runners often used to be outcasts or loners.

- Um, don't get me wrong because I love boys, it's just that sometimes we don't need you.

- There are only ten ideas under the sun. What makes the difference is how you spice them.

- So I'm in Virginia, and I had crabs--I keep saying that! I had crab sickness, I had eaten bad crabs in Maryland!

- I'm a winter girl; I like coming out when things are desolate and everybody's ready to slit their wrists.

- You can only be you. A lot of times it's never enough for people.

- I've never played the guitar, except throwing it against the wall cause it was pissed off I couldn't play it.

- Truly, I was a sweetheart when I was little, like the Honeysuckle Faery. Sweet-pea. But sweet-peas are not popular after second grade. Sweet-peas become nerds really fast.

- I really enjoy having a giggle with a friend, but then someone crosses my line, then I don't really take it lightly.

- I sometimes forget I'm not 7'2" and a Viking.

- A boundary was crossed. And maybe I drew a boundary, consciously.

- It was a bit violent, a bit sexual.

- When nothing makes sense, music seems to come and bring me a margarita and sit down with me.

- You don't have to justify everything. Being pissed off is just absolutely okay.

- There is a level of the vampire in me, which is OK.

- It hurts me when a woman doesn't come through for me, more than a man.

- I'm a grown woman. I've earned my experiences, my scars.

- What is an angel but a ghost in drag?

- I'm beginning to accept and love the parts of me, of women that I was trained to hate all my life.

- People can be so vicious toward the imaginary world and it saddens me. You kill a lot of little people's dreams that way.

- Even if you don't read history or you aren't interested in anything that happened before the '60s, there are reasons why we think the way we do.

- That's how the story goes but I don't believe the story.

- I would find myself either the lovey-doveyest-woviest sweet pea, or a mad-woman.

- I believe in eating.

- You can't change what happened. And nobody's asking you to forgive.

- Why be afraid of these cuddly, soft, adorable things?

- I have good days. Like if I get really good coffee ice cream with just the right amount of chocolate syrup.

- A lot of people see themselves as victims, even when you have to stand in line for ice cream.

- It's so difficult to be critical of children because they need to discover themselves. We're always telling them, "No, the tree has green leaves!"

- I'm tired of being a rebel. Now I just want to be me.

- When things get really empty for me, empty in my outer life, in my inner life, the music world, the songs come across galaxies to find me.

- Do you know what it's like to be a girl and have blood running down your legs and think that you're dying, just because no one's told you that's what happens? It's horrible.

- An angel's face is tricky to wear constantly.

- Mess with me and you will not survive.

- I think that happiness is when you can let yourself feel every emotion you want at any time instead of being a lying little fuck.

- I'm not into this dieting thing.

- The cross has been used as a weapon, as it has been used against all women throughout the ages. And that's the greatest evil of all.

- I think you've got to find a giggle somewhere in stuff that would scare the poop outta ya.

- A cornflake girl is Wonderbread whereas a raisin girl is whole wheat bread.

- I would like to think I'm a raisin girl, because in my mind they're more open minded. Cornflake girls are totally self centered, don't care about anything or anybody.

- I like butter and the people who like butter."

- I'm known as that girl who has tea with the Devil.

- I'm not afraid of sadness.

- Everybody has creativity and each person has it in a different way. Some people aren't musical, some musicians can't even think about painting or gardening. There's so many different ways to be creative.

- I wanna be burned, definitely burned, like the witches.

- Give the kids tools, so they can go build their own houses; not the blueprint of what the houses should be.

- Look at me now. I'm breast feeding pigs.

- I wish I had more of a sense of humor.

- I can be so hard on people.

- If somebody's being a jerk, I would like to go wee on their head. And then I do that, mentally.

- The people on the internet know more about what I am doing than I do. Like, they will say that I am going to be in this mall on this day, and sure enough, I am there!

- I'm like a lioness who kills her own prey and no one else has to kill for her. But if some other lioness comes to me and says "I just got a good prey, do you want a piece?" I can say "of course" - and the other way around.

- There are things that I would disagree with Jesus about, and I feel really good about that.

- History has recorded some pretty nasty things that have happened to people. I think we remember. I think it's in our cells and I think it can still hurt sometimes."

- I don't believe in the saying that it all happens for the best, it's just not appropriate.

- Of course I believe in past lives, I mean, three quarters of the human race believes this, it's not like a great new thought here.

- I use innocence in my demeanor like a Venus flytrap.

- I do like to talk about things no one wants to hear at the dinner table.

- I'm not interested in being a really nice person; I want to be a creative, responsible person that's balanced.

- Boys are cute but food is cuter

- Do any of you dream about crocodiles?

-I know I dream about crocodiles. I'm obsessed with them.

- If people can't see things from the other side that's not my problem, it's theirs.

- I think I give equal time in my hatred, right?

- Sometimes I'm mad at some guy, sometimes I'm mad at some girl, and sometimes I'm totally loving some guy, so and sometimes I'm loving some girl.

_ Well, Pele is the volcano goddess and I thought of like, um, sacrificing some of the boys in my life to her but then I decided that that wasn't really a very good idea.

- Anger originates from envy and outrage, not being seen, not being heard.

- We don't know where souls go when they die. We don't know a lot of things. We didn't create the planets. We didn't do this all by ourselves. So, therefore, why wouldn't there be a creative force if it can create humans and planets?

- I've been hanging out with some of the Hell's Angels in England. They're some of the sweetest people I've ever met.

- Real friends have to be understanding of each other, and their faults.

- I think I'm really hard to get to know on a personal level.

- Thailand is calling me.

- People I see laughing all the time, check for razor blades in their anal-force underwear, because it's just a little lie.

- I'm not interested in taking drugs. I do hallucinogens once in a while for journey experiences.

- I hear the wine. It's like a structure. I see it as a piece. I hear it before I taste it. It's calling me. And then I start to hear it when I'm tasting it.

- Not that I use crystal suppositories, I'm not New Age.

- A peach tree says, 'Some of me will be juicy and some of me will be dry I'm not growing for you; I grow because that's what I do.' You always hear some person complain about how dry their peach is and the peach says, 'It's not our fault you have no understanding on the proper use for dry peaches.'

- My theory is that women were the Mona Lisas for a long time and now men are Mona Lisas with little goatees. They are our muses.

- If you're gonna tell a story, you have to grow into the head of the rapist as well as the raped.

- He was a lite sneeze, and not the flu. Most boys would like to think they're the flu, wouldn't they? But they're really just a achoo.

- If you call me an airy-fairy new age hippy waif, I will cut your penis off.

- It's a double-edged sword and if you pretend you don't want it you're a liar and that is going to rip your soul to pieces.

- I'm always dreaming that these bulls are chasing me. Half the time I don't get away - I almost get over the fence, and then they gore me.

- I believe in energy, everything is energy. And therefore sometimes magic can be created if somebody is open to letting energy do what it does, instead of being so cynical, that you miss magic happening.

- I feel like a work really has many sides to it when people have such extreme reactions. When a work is greeted with just, 'Oh, you know, it's nice', then it's not affecting people. So love it or hate it, that's okay.

- I am a real believer in looking at pain and taking it out shopping.

- The music is the magic carpet that other things take naps on.

- I just try to strip myself, peel myself like an onion. At different layers I discover stuff.

- Why is the world where it is? It's so deep-rooted, if we really start looking, and we might not like what we find. But I think we have to, we have to ask the questions.

- I'm beyond the fury of youth.

- I love young women who are angry. They're wild mustangs.

- I didn't want her looking and hearing me and thinking, "Oh my God, that's a scary lady!"

- They felt that it was detrimental material for their children and that it was blasphemous.

- They've decided they kinda' have you figured out.

- My nightmares are so bad, that I mostly reject it when my friends want to take me to a cinema to watch a horror movie. Then I say, "No, thank you. I will dream in a few hours."

- I don't know of anybody who's gonna be fulfilled if they get hit by a bus. You have to surrender to that eternal need to be fulfilled.

- How do you know I'm not having a margarita with Jesus tonight at 10 o'clock?

- Let's be honest, religion has not supported women and men exploring all sorts of their sides, their unconscious. It has not been supportive of, you know, go into the places without shame, without blame, without judgment, and just let yourself really see what's cooking in there.

- I think human beings are so much more capable of what they told us we're capable of.

- Anyone can attend yoga, kabbalah classes, church, lectures by the 'Dalai Lama', yada, yada, yada - but can you be present for your life, and live with the way you treat other people?

- Only a few people should have a "greatest hits". I'm not one of those people.

- I feel like our leaders have hijacked America's personality, and taken her to personality plastic surgery school. And they decided this is who she is.

- The playground is the biggest war-zone in the world.

- You have to read visionaries to have visions.

- They squash the baby bird because their bird got squashed.

- I love reading. I'll read the first sentence and if it makes sense to me I pick it up.

- It's ridiculous saying there's only one true faith, it's like saying there's only one map to get you up the mountain. I want to see those other maps, man.

- I kinda have all the aspects of my personality round one table for spaghetti.

- If it's too loud, turn it up.

- I was doing drugs with a South American shaman, and I really did visit the devil and, well, I had a journey.

- There is no passion without broken crockery.

- You have to ask, how could a nation nearly vote in somebody who isn't qualified for the job?

- We're living in a frightening time and I wish people would wake up and realise they're surrendering their civil liberties.

- Who wouldn't want to shag a queen?

#rp meme #rp memes #rp starters #roleplay memes #roleplay meme #roleplay starters #tori amos #tori amos quotes

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boukenboy · 3 years

Text

#18: ユーディーのアトリエ / Atelier Judie

I've always been curious about the Atelier series - created by developer Gust, there are over 20+ games as of 2021, and judging from what I've read online, it's very popular both here and in Japan. Later entries in the series are localized nowadays, but the first few games have yet to see any kind of English release, so I decided, pretty much at random, to start with Atelier Judie. I considered starting from the beginning with Atelier Marie, but I screwed up my PS1 emulator settings somehow, and the thought of redoing everything made my spirit hurt.

True to its title, you play as a young alchemist named Judie, who lives in the outskirts of Life village. She makes a living doing odd jobs for the townspeople and the occasional adventurer. One day, a stranger asks Judie to create a magical McGuffin that can temporarily stop time. This task turns out to be a tad beyond her alchemical skills, and our unfortunate protagonist is sent 200 years into the past.

She takes it well-enough, despite losing literally everything and everyone she cared about - and takes up residence in the town Verun, where she once again begins to work as a freelance alchemist in order to pay her benefactor, the loan shark Vitoss, and to find a way back to get back home. Along the way, you'll explore the land of Gramnad, meet all sorts of charming characters, and craft. Lots and lots of craft. Ing.

In order to actually make anything, you'll need to go foraging for ingredients - each town has its own wild area to explore, and what you'll find is naturally different in each one. Judie is a bit weak at the beginning, however, so you'll be relying on hirable adventurers to do the majority of the combat. Their help doesn't come free, but I rarely had any issues with keeping a party for the majority of the game.

The combat itself is standard JRPG fare, albeit with a few twists. Instead of the usual MP and HP stats, there's an additional LP (Life Point) stat that is used for combat techniques, not magic. Interestingly, whenever any of these stats hit 0, that character will be unable to battle. This also applies to monsters. Certain enemies, usually the undead, will use attacks that drain LP and / or MP, so they present a unique threat to your more tankier party members, as they usually have dangerously low MP values.

Furthermore, only alchemists are able to use items in battle. This can make battles a bit tense, as you have to solely rely on Judie for healing. There is another alchemist you can recruit, but in my experience, this made for a unbalanced party, unless you craft an absolutely insane amount of bombs in order to make up for the lack of melee prowess. Each character has their own special skills and abilities, with very little overlap - from what I’ve seen, only Christa and Vitoss share a technique. This makes each character feel special, even if most only get, at most, 3 or 4 at higher levels. I would have liked a few more, but this is an open-world game from 2002. Yeah.

The real meat of the game, of course, is in the crafting. You'll find recipes for items through books bought from stores, and occasionally through events. Once you find the required ingredients, you'll select your desired item from a menu, and then hope for the best. Each item has its own difficulty rating, and your rate of success will rise as your alchemy level increases through repeated crafting. Be aware that crafting takes LP and in-game time, so if you're at risk of missing deadlines, you'd do well to finish any previous commitments before going on a spree.

Depending on the quality of the ingredients used, you can increase, for example, the amount of HP a healing item restores, or even change what the item does entirely. There's an item you'll be making early on that, in theory, decreases the amount of enemy encounters on the world map once its equipped. However, if you tweak the recipe a bit, you can make a different version that actually increases it, or even influence what kind of monsters you encounter. Discovering these alternate effects is a lot of fun, and I spent an enormous amount of time unconcerned with the plot just playing around and experimenting.

You also have to be mindful of the self-life of ingredients. As time passes, many items will decrease in quality, though this is mainly an issue for organic products. I was quite surprised the first time I went on a real dungeon dive - I had prepared a few bowls of cream soup, an HP healing item, just in case I needed them. Unfortunately, they spoiled halfway through the trip, so I was shook when I accidentally poisoned my entire party instead of healing them! Thankfully, should your entire party get knocked out, you're sent back home with the only penalty being a loss of time.

Speaking of home, one of my favorite aspects of Atelier Judie is the ability to move your base of operations to one of several locations - each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, in one town, you'll have easy access to fruits and vegetables, eventually being able to plant them yourself. In another, you'll have access to a freezer, allowing you to preserve delicate ingredients. My favorite town and current base is in Prostark. Here, you're only a few steps away from a smelting furnace and a mine - many of the mid-game items require ingots, so it's a great fit. The downside to Prostark is that I'm quite a bit away from nature. When I need vegetables or herbs, I have to run the risk of them rotting before I even get home. This risk is further exacerbated due to Atelier Judie’s random event system. These can be harmful or beneficial, but most of the time, they'll either improve or decrease ingredient quality. It's a surprising element of realism that I found fresh. Pun intended.

In fact, there is a lot of randomness present in Judie. Plot-advancing events seem to happen seemingly at random: I'd spend days feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere, only to be suddenly blindsided with access to new areas or characters to meet. I was often left feeling lost, as I could not discover any kind of pattern as to what unlocks what, but in general, it's best to change up your party members and move bases every now and then. The game also features random vignettes that allow you to get a better sense of who your party members are as people. These are usually comedic, and are always accompanied with beautiful artwork.

I love the warmth present in Atelier Judie. As a whole, it's simply a delight to play. The encounter rate can grate a little, and tracking down ingredients can get a bit tedious - especially so with items with low spawn rates - but overall, it feels like a lot like a fairytale. The art-style is bright and charming, even the monsters are adorable (my favorite being the Ghost family) and the land of Gramnad feels alive and bursting with character. There's an astonishing attention to detail. I enjoyed how every town's bartender, merchant, etc, had their own unique voice actor and personality. Subjectively speaking, the game just feels like it was made with love. And that's incredible.

Highly recommended!

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