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Seaside2
A new home on the ocean floor.
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#41
Gamebar / Re: New Favorite Tekken Song
Last post by Slumber - Jul 05, 2025, 05:25 PMQuote from: TrikznHeartbreaker on Jul 05, 2025, 10:04 AMQuote from: Slumber on Jul 04, 2025, 10:08 PMI was watching replays from some of my matches today and I have my soundtrack set to play every song in the series (that they offer, anyway, it's not the whole library), and. This song came on.
First of all, why is it so fun and incredible??
And SECOND, it sounds like a Mario Kart track hahahaha
you only just discovered this stage's music?! it's such a dumb stage in the best way possible!
For me my fave from 6 stays Electric Fountain I think.
Oh THIS IS ALSO A BOP
#42
The Library / Re: System adaptation, setting...
Last post by clockworkmonkey - Jul 05, 2025, 10:43 AMBefore I dive into further aspects of the continent's geography, I would like to remark on the system of magic. It's not a "hard system," there is a lot of flexibility to it. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
To talk about how magic works, I have to first explain the Astral Sphere. If you think of the world as being 3-dimensional, the Astral Sphere is the 4th dimension, a space where the world we live in, the Mortal Circle, overlaps with other worlds, or Circles, made up of pure elemental energy. When mana is expended in the Mortal Circle, it doesn't cease to be; it cycles back into the corresponding Circle, and over time mana trickles back from those Circles to replace it. Unlike elemental planes in D&D, these aren't physical spaces where life exists, at least not as mortals understand. They are roiling pockets of pure energy, made entirely of a single element. There is no Light to form a soul, no Dark to bind it to a body. These are not places you could feasibly go. The exceptions to this are, obviously, the circles of Light and Dark.
The circle of Dark Mana is the Mortal Circle. It is the only place in the Astral Sphere that Dark Mana exists, and it is not a swirling vortex of blood and sinew because of how Dark Mana functions. Dark is more matter than energy, and binds other elements together into a tangible form.
The circle of Light Mana, on the other hand, does not overlap with the Mortal Circle, and is inhabited by living, thinking beings. It is also not a singular, contiguous mass within the Astral Sphere, but disparate floating islands. The Celestial Circles are where gods, angels, and demons live. Yes, demons are beings of Light, because Light is the element of the soul. The Celestial Circles are formed and maintained by mortal thoughts and beliefs. When mortals, attempting to make sense of the forces of the world that they don't understand, ascribe things to gods and give worship to them, those gods become real. Man is not made by god, god is made by man. However, gods are far greater than men, as they are formed from a collective of Light Mana from many mortals. When a worshiper of a god dies, their soul becomes a part of that god. Gods seek to expand their worship in order to expand their power, and when a god is forgotten by all living mortals, it dies. In order to continue their own existence and ideally expand their power, gods will offer a portion of their mana to followers to perform miracles. This falls under the purview of Pact Magic, and I'll talk more about that later. Needless to say, being born of mortal minds, the gods are fickle and jealous creatures. Many fearing the inevitability of being forgotten, create servants, messengers, and ferrymen to travel between their realm and the Mortal Circle, making deals with mortals in exchange for the tiniest sliver of the Light that makes them, and ushering that Light to their master's realm when the mortal dies. These servants, whether you want to call them angels, demons, or anything else, are middlemen working for bosses that don't want to pay them, but if the boss dies then so do they (unless they get a Mortal to believe in them, specifically) so many are less than thrilled with their existence. There's no small number of renegade Celestials living in the Mortal Circle and shirking their duties.
Oh, and what if I told you there was something beyond the Astral Sphere? It is referred to as The Void, because it is utterly incomprehensible to anything within the Sphere. If a Circle is the 3rd dimension, and the Sphere is the 4th, the Void is the 5th dimension. It isn't literally an endless sea of nothingness, but it cannot be perceived or understood by any means for denizens of the Mortal and Celestial Circles, and when something from that extra-dimensional space so much as lightly brushes against the world or even a single person, the results are disastrous. A mortal or celestial that has come into contact with an entity of the Void, knowingly or not, contracts what is known as a Voidcurse. A Voidcurse is a hole in the fabric of your very being through which mana is removed from your body, your soul, and from the Astral Sphere entirely. You may gain abilities far beyond other mortals, knowledge beyond the understanding of your peers, but it will slowly kill you in a way will leave a scar on reality itself.
Okay, so with that established, let's talk a little more about magic.
Magic is, fundamentally, the manipulation of Mana to affect a reaction on the world around you. In the very broadest sense, getting out of bed in the morning is magic, because you are willing the Mana in your body to move. The more strenuous the action, the more Mana you bleed into the Sphere. Everyone has an internal reserve of Mana they can burn through before it starts taking a damaging toll on the body. Pushing yourself too hard for too long doing everyday things can hurt you, and that is reflected mechanically. Unlike in our world, however, these people, composed of Mana as they are, are able to manipulate that Mana and project it into the world as energy. Generally speaking, one can only create effects of types corresponding to the elements that make them up unless they have studied or trained extensively, and while every living mortal is has the capacity to use magic, most do not understand that this is how the world works and will go their entire lives without performing a single magical act.
Say a person has a Fire attribute, a Wind attribute, and a Lightning attribute. This individual, with little to no training or study, could spontaneously ignite a bonfire, leap many times higher and farther than normal, and power an electrical device (not that there are many of those in magic-practicing lands). These are just examples, of course, and I highly encourage people to be creative with the ways they utilize their elements for the purpose of magic. Each of these actions has a cost proportional to its effect. Talking mechanically for a moment: Mundane, non-strenuous activities do not cost MP; pushing a heavy log or boulder by hand does cost MP; lighting a fire or producing a gust of wind might cost as little as 1 MP, depending on magnitude; once a character's MP pool reaches 0, anything that would normally cost MP deals that much damage to them instead. In this way a caster can push past the limitations of their endurance at the risk of bodily harm or death.
There are two other ways of using magic, however, that have no immediate toll on the caster. Since I've already established Pact Magic, let's start with that. A mortal may make a connection with a being of greater power than itself (which could be a Celestial, Eidolon, Void Entity, Fae, or even a sufficiently powerful mortal) that binds their soul to the object of their Pact. This entity is able to experience that mortal's senses and send mana from their own being for the Pact-holder to wield. Pact Magic is subject to the whims of another being, and as such comes with any number of asterisks, but it allows a relatively inexperienced character to harness powers far beyond would ordinarily be possible for them. I'll talk about Eidolons and Fae later.
The third method of magic is Shamanism. Shamans are in tune with the world around them, and are able to sense the ebb and flow of mana in nature. A traditional spellcaster commands the mana within themself, and it responds because it is a part of the caster. Should they reach out to the mana around them in the same way, however, they will find it resists them. Shamanic casters understand that you can catch more flies with honey; by listening to the world around you, you may beseech it to act on your behalf, though the result may not be exactly what you asked for. Natural mana has its own quirks, ways that it wants to do things, and a Shamanic caster's player will have to make suggestions to the GM who may alter or outright ignore them. A Shaman may perform small elemental feats without spending any MP at all, or much larger effects for relatively little cost, giving a part of themself to appease the natural flow.
Eidolons are undying beings comprised of a single element. They represent an entire Elemental Circle, and are the origins of all the mana of their respective element on the Mortal Circle. Eidolons are the elemental titans that shaped the world as it is, and were themselves formed when their Circles overlapped with the Mortal. Dark Mana gave energy form, and these forms, in turn, formed the world with their energy. Their presence cataclysmically alters landscapes, heavily weighting the natural mana in the surrounding area with a single element. They are not mindless or malicious beings, however, and are aware of the disaster their mere existence can cause, so they hide themselves away for centuries at a time, hibernating to minimize their impact on the lives of mortals. Being sedentary, unable to interact with the world lest it be unintentionally brought to ruin, Eidolons are eager to form Pacts with mortals who seek them out, in order to experience the world through their senses.
Fae are not mortal, but are born of the Mortal Circle. Intensely magical spirits of natural mana, they are a physical manifestation of the will of the land. By and large Fae live in places that are rich in natural mana where humans do not dwell. They are powerful, curious, and capricious, and are absolutely not to be trifled with.
To talk about how magic works, I have to first explain the Astral Sphere. If you think of the world as being 3-dimensional, the Astral Sphere is the 4th dimension, a space where the world we live in, the Mortal Circle, overlaps with other worlds, or Circles, made up of pure elemental energy. When mana is expended in the Mortal Circle, it doesn't cease to be; it cycles back into the corresponding Circle, and over time mana trickles back from those Circles to replace it. Unlike elemental planes in D&D, these aren't physical spaces where life exists, at least not as mortals understand. They are roiling pockets of pure energy, made entirely of a single element. There is no Light to form a soul, no Dark to bind it to a body. These are not places you could feasibly go. The exceptions to this are, obviously, the circles of Light and Dark.
The circle of Dark Mana is the Mortal Circle. It is the only place in the Astral Sphere that Dark Mana exists, and it is not a swirling vortex of blood and sinew because of how Dark Mana functions. Dark is more matter than energy, and binds other elements together into a tangible form.
The circle of Light Mana, on the other hand, does not overlap with the Mortal Circle, and is inhabited by living, thinking beings. It is also not a singular, contiguous mass within the Astral Sphere, but disparate floating islands. The Celestial Circles are where gods, angels, and demons live. Yes, demons are beings of Light, because Light is the element of the soul. The Celestial Circles are formed and maintained by mortal thoughts and beliefs. When mortals, attempting to make sense of the forces of the world that they don't understand, ascribe things to gods and give worship to them, those gods become real. Man is not made by god, god is made by man. However, gods are far greater than men, as they are formed from a collective of Light Mana from many mortals. When a worshiper of a god dies, their soul becomes a part of that god. Gods seek to expand their worship in order to expand their power, and when a god is forgotten by all living mortals, it dies. In order to continue their own existence and ideally expand their power, gods will offer a portion of their mana to followers to perform miracles. This falls under the purview of Pact Magic, and I'll talk more about that later. Needless to say, being born of mortal minds, the gods are fickle and jealous creatures. Many fearing the inevitability of being forgotten, create servants, messengers, and ferrymen to travel between their realm and the Mortal Circle, making deals with mortals in exchange for the tiniest sliver of the Light that makes them, and ushering that Light to their master's realm when the mortal dies. These servants, whether you want to call them angels, demons, or anything else, are middlemen working for bosses that don't want to pay them, but if the boss dies then so do they (unless they get a Mortal to believe in them, specifically) so many are less than thrilled with their existence. There's no small number of renegade Celestials living in the Mortal Circle and shirking their duties.
Oh, and what if I told you there was something beyond the Astral Sphere? It is referred to as The Void, because it is utterly incomprehensible to anything within the Sphere. If a Circle is the 3rd dimension, and the Sphere is the 4th, the Void is the 5th dimension. It isn't literally an endless sea of nothingness, but it cannot be perceived or understood by any means for denizens of the Mortal and Celestial Circles, and when something from that extra-dimensional space so much as lightly brushes against the world or even a single person, the results are disastrous. A mortal or celestial that has come into contact with an entity of the Void, knowingly or not, contracts what is known as a Voidcurse. A Voidcurse is a hole in the fabric of your very being through which mana is removed from your body, your soul, and from the Astral Sphere entirely. You may gain abilities far beyond other mortals, knowledge beyond the understanding of your peers, but it will slowly kill you in a way will leave a scar on reality itself.
Okay, so with that established, let's talk a little more about magic.
Magic is, fundamentally, the manipulation of Mana to affect a reaction on the world around you. In the very broadest sense, getting out of bed in the morning is magic, because you are willing the Mana in your body to move. The more strenuous the action, the more Mana you bleed into the Sphere. Everyone has an internal reserve of Mana they can burn through before it starts taking a damaging toll on the body. Pushing yourself too hard for too long doing everyday things can hurt you, and that is reflected mechanically. Unlike in our world, however, these people, composed of Mana as they are, are able to manipulate that Mana and project it into the world as energy. Generally speaking, one can only create effects of types corresponding to the elements that make them up unless they have studied or trained extensively, and while every living mortal is has the capacity to use magic, most do not understand that this is how the world works and will go their entire lives without performing a single magical act.
Say a person has a Fire attribute, a Wind attribute, and a Lightning attribute. This individual, with little to no training or study, could spontaneously ignite a bonfire, leap many times higher and farther than normal, and power an electrical device (not that there are many of those in magic-practicing lands). These are just examples, of course, and I highly encourage people to be creative with the ways they utilize their elements for the purpose of magic. Each of these actions has a cost proportional to its effect. Talking mechanically for a moment: Mundane, non-strenuous activities do not cost MP; pushing a heavy log or boulder by hand does cost MP; lighting a fire or producing a gust of wind might cost as little as 1 MP, depending on magnitude; once a character's MP pool reaches 0, anything that would normally cost MP deals that much damage to them instead. In this way a caster can push past the limitations of their endurance at the risk of bodily harm or death.
There are two other ways of using magic, however, that have no immediate toll on the caster. Since I've already established Pact Magic, let's start with that. A mortal may make a connection with a being of greater power than itself (which could be a Celestial, Eidolon, Void Entity, Fae, or even a sufficiently powerful mortal) that binds their soul to the object of their Pact. This entity is able to experience that mortal's senses and send mana from their own being for the Pact-holder to wield. Pact Magic is subject to the whims of another being, and as such comes with any number of asterisks, but it allows a relatively inexperienced character to harness powers far beyond would ordinarily be possible for them. I'll talk about Eidolons and Fae later.
The third method of magic is Shamanism. Shamans are in tune with the world around them, and are able to sense the ebb and flow of mana in nature. A traditional spellcaster commands the mana within themself, and it responds because it is a part of the caster. Should they reach out to the mana around them in the same way, however, they will find it resists them. Shamanic casters understand that you can catch more flies with honey; by listening to the world around you, you may beseech it to act on your behalf, though the result may not be exactly what you asked for. Natural mana has its own quirks, ways that it wants to do things, and a Shamanic caster's player will have to make suggestions to the GM who may alter or outright ignore them. A Shaman may perform small elemental feats without spending any MP at all, or much larger effects for relatively little cost, giving a part of themself to appease the natural flow.
Eidolons are undying beings comprised of a single element. They represent an entire Elemental Circle, and are the origins of all the mana of their respective element on the Mortal Circle. Eidolons are the elemental titans that shaped the world as it is, and were themselves formed when their Circles overlapped with the Mortal. Dark Mana gave energy form, and these forms, in turn, formed the world with their energy. Their presence cataclysmically alters landscapes, heavily weighting the natural mana in the surrounding area with a single element. They are not mindless or malicious beings, however, and are aware of the disaster their mere existence can cause, so they hide themselves away for centuries at a time, hibernating to minimize their impact on the lives of mortals. Being sedentary, unable to interact with the world lest it be unintentionally brought to ruin, Eidolons are eager to form Pacts with mortals who seek them out, in order to experience the world through their senses.
Fae are not mortal, but are born of the Mortal Circle. Intensely magical spirits of natural mana, they are a physical manifestation of the will of the land. By and large Fae live in places that are rich in natural mana where humans do not dwell. They are powerful, curious, and capricious, and are absolutely not to be trifled with.
#43
Gamebar / Re: New Favorite Tekken Song
Last post by TrikznHeartbreaker - Jul 05, 2025, 10:04 AMQuote from: Slumber on Jul 04, 2025, 10:08 PMI was watching replays from some of my matches today and I have my soundtrack set to play every song in the series (that they offer, anyway, it's not the whole library), and. This song came on.
First of all, why is it so fun and incredible??
And SECOND, it sounds like a Mario Kart track hahahaha
you only just discovered this stage's music?! it's such a dumb stage in the best way possible!
For me my fave from 6 stays Electric Fountain I think.
#44
The Library / Re: Art Fight Stuff!!
Last post by clockworkmonkey - Jul 05, 2025, 08:46 AMQuote from: TrikznHeartbreaker on Jul 04, 2025, 08:46 PMI do have a tendency to change shape and size according to my mood on any given day.Quote from: Slumber on Jul 04, 2025, 02:28 PMMy body size fluctuates!the fun part about cartoons and cartoon characters is that they can change and adapt to any area and style! This could be a young Rod!x3
Also species.
#45
The Library / Re: Art Fight Stuff!!
Last post by Slumber - Jul 05, 2025, 03:18 AMIt's so true!!
#46
Gamebar / Re: New Favorite Tekken Song
Last post by bunwizard_tammy - Jul 04, 2025, 10:55 PMit is only 7 seconds in, and this is SUCH a mario kart song! and honestly, i kinda love it for that
#47
Gamebar / New Favorite Tekken Song
Last post by Slumber - Jul 04, 2025, 10:08 PMI was watching replays from some of my matches today and I have my soundtrack set to play every song in the series (that they offer, anyway, it's not the whole library), and. This song came on.
First of all, why is it so fun and incredible??
And SECOND, it sounds like a Mario Kart track hahahaha
First of all, why is it so fun and incredible??
And SECOND, it sounds like a Mario Kart track hahahaha
#48
The Library / Re: Art Fight Stuff!!
Last post by TrikznHeartbreaker - Jul 04, 2025, 08:46 PMQuote from: Slumber on Jul 04, 2025, 02:28 PMMy body size fluctuates!the fun part about cartoons and cartoon characters is that they can change and adapt to any area and style! This could be a young Rod!
#49
Gamebar / Re: Animal Crossing Picture Ga...
Last post by TrikznHeartbreaker - Jul 04, 2025, 08:44 PMQuote from: Slumber on Jul 04, 2025, 02:28 PMQuote from: TrikznHeartbreaker on Jul 04, 2025, 11:32 AMHi everyone! I felt like it may be fun to share some of our favorite moments or memories of Animal Crossing here, while we wait for the next installment. I have been back on my island a lot lately! In this picture Violet was visiting my house and I thought this shot was cute so ofcourse I had to take a pic!
Yay, I'm so glad to hear people are still playing the games!! :3 Animal Crossing will never die!
Also I LOVE the lip wallpaper with Violet in the picture?? It's like she was made to live with you in your house, hahaha.
it kinda does, doesn't it? that's partly why i love the picture! though if I had Jambette there, it could have worked too, or Gigi xD
#50
The Library / Re: Art Fight Stuff!!
Last post by Slumber - Jul 04, 2025, 02:28 PMMy body size fluctuates! x3
x3