One Taylor-made custom character design for @jdablokkhead, coming right up!
So Jay and I were chatting recently and had the fun idea to make a custom, as extremely directed to their tastes as possible character design trade? Here's whom I made: meet Taylor! (hehe get it since they're tailor-made for jay)
This axolotl lynx (axolynxl, if you will) works as a barista in a local cafe, and always seems to have an ace up their sleeve...
This was super super fun, and Jay did such a good job with their character design too, you should totally check their blog to see! (And also stay for the rest of the art too it's all bangers)
Don't worry, you didn't get the order wrong, he actually loves it! Well... he loves that you made it how he wanted, he might still need more time to get used to the taste...
This character is Marsh and belongs to Majimjam, they appear on their games Meri's Cafe and Hyades!
This is actually inspired by one of the first interactions in Meri's Cafe, the game is really cute, not too long, and free to play, so consider giving it a try!!!
https://majimjam.itch.io/meris-cafe
Ah, a tricky one, given that Page of Hope is a canon claspect, one Jake English.
For the sake of keeping this about the claspect and not about the character, we’re going to be ignoring the small quirks that are specific to Jake by cross-referencing the Page class with Tavros and the Hope aspect with the violet bloods.
Page is the class of passive weaponization/protection, its active counterpart being the Knight and inverse the Thief. Huh, no wonder Tavros and Vriska spent a lot of time in their session together. Interesting. Hope is the aspect of trust, dreams, belief, and ideals. Hope is about multiple paths, multiple possibilities and choices, about opening doors.
Pages as a class are designed to give their session the aspect, and the more realized the Page, the better they are at giving their aspect. Take, for example, Tavros scraping together an army of ghosts to face Lord English. He gave them a direction, and allowed Meenah to communicate with them openly by having her stand on his horns. He may have been a doormat, but he’s perhaps the most realized Page we have in the comic.
A Page of Hope, then is supposed to bring into their session opportunities. Jake did that when Aranea unlocked his powers, the Hope-splosion serving as more or less a diversion. Pages are an open conduit for their aspect, allowing it to pour into the session upon full realization. Jake managed to make a second Dirk simply by believing in an image of Dirk he had in his mind strongly enough. Let’s not forget that his Hope-y powers overwhelmed Jade’s powers from the Green Sun - Hope is not an aspect to be trifled with.
I may say this a lot, but a fully-realized Page of Hope is perhaps the most, if not one of the most, strongest claspects in the game. It overpowers the Green Sun, it overpowers Princes and Bards... but that’s the power of Hope. If you believe in Hope strongly enough, it will return the favor.
But what does a Page of Hope’s personality look like, you ask? Pages tend to be oblivious, especially in relation to their aspect. Hope is highly tied to reproduction, given how many crotch shots there are for Jake, and how the violet bloods kept trying to fill their quadrants. Tying the two together, it would make sense if a Page of Hope was extremely attractive but also completely unaware of their charm. It would be like their hidden potential that they’d need to learn to master. They’d also probably be pretty optimistic, but not consider themselves an optimist in the slightest. But that’s probably because the situation around them would seem pretty hopeless, especially if they were on their Land.
Hey again, if you don’t mind, I need a bit of help with something. Would you please fill me in a bit about the Page of Sand, and general advice on how to tell someone to COOL IT, if need be? I can’t get a handle on this guy’s deal in the session I’m in, and I’m a little worried he’s gonna lose it. Any advice and info about the Page of Sand helps at all really, and thank you once again! Here’s hoping I make it out of this one.
I want to start by apologizing for the late answers because for some reason I don’t get notifications on asks. I blame timetravs >:V
But a Page of Sand? They are Active Fighters who use Deception and Fragmentation. First thing to to worry about, is that Sand players cannot shoot straight. They are habitual liars and they’ll just keep deflecting you. If they’re screaming and stabbing a teddy bear to vent frustration, and you ask if they’re okay, they’re gonna tell you they’re the model of mental health. If you want to build a rapport, get ready to finagle.
However, the Sand aspect has another advantage in that they tend to… soften the blows themselves. Sands weakens their obstacles down to the level of the Hero of Sand. Most mental issues get psybuffed away naturally. So maybe let them simmer, and Sand will break away the issues.
The third thing you should be considering is Knight Syndrome. Pages aren’t Knights, but it’s a Fighter class, so it still counts. As a Fighter, they’re going to lose a battle, and realize they have no idea what they’re fighting for. You ideally want to help them before they reach this point, because Knight Syndrome is when most people are at their worst. Reaching that point is defeating as a Knight, and defeating as a Player. So do as much bond-building before he eats some guy’s shoe and reaches the Despair Event Horizon.
If you can’t do anything and they reach Knight Syndrome, then I recommend leaving them be. I’m not saying abandon them, but let them sift. No Player is truly alone, because of the Whisperings. The unconscious presence of an Aspect. If you leave a Sand Player at their low point, The Break will help. It won’t pep them up, but it will break things down for them. Let them see that things aren’t as bad as they seem. A few moments of letting the horrible situation Break Down, and they’ll get up.
This doesn’t seem to be very hands-on as most other “Oh Gog Help Me Help This Person” guides are, but that’s just Sand. Nobody can ever hope to understand Sand, but they can stand for themselves just fine. They don’t let things shackle them down.
LOHAI is an icy planet, with a flat, snowy landscape. Deep ravines divide continental glaciers. Platforms made of stone dot the barren landscape. Upon them are horns, much like the ones used for animal calls. When the certain horns are blown, the planet’s core will glow, which shows through the ravines. The weather on the planet is usually snowy, with occasional storms and strong winds. In the cold season, the storms are much more common, but in the warm season they are quite scarce. In the warm season, small surface lakes thaw, and frozen fish return from hibernation. There isn’t much soil on LOHAI, due to little erosion happening. The continents no longer shift because of the now cooled core. The thin, but breathable atmosphere keeps the planet cold.
Consorts
The consorts of this land are the dark blue turtles. They are a secretive society that doesn’t trust outsiders. They live in small nomadic clans, roaming the surface in search of food during the warm season, and hibernating in the cold season. For hibernation, every clan journeys to Apollo’s shrine. The shelter it provides keeps them warm enough to survive the cold season, and is the venue for celebrations afterwards. A deep well in the shrine leads far below the surface, to a cave where warm crystals grow. These crystals are mined, and brought up to the shrine. Each clan leader receives one, so they can start fires and keep their clan members warm. Each of the clans has a vault made of stone somewhere on the planet where they keep their history. These vaults can only be opened by the clan elders. The Hero must befriend the consorts, so they can unlock the planets lore. However, this may be difficult. The turtles move slowly and are very forgetful, due to their lack of nutrition, so it will take a lot of effort.
Denizen
The denizen of LOHAI is Apollo, a muscular male torso with a serpent’s tail and a flaming head. His facial features are obscured by the flames the surround him from the neck up, but his emotion can be seen in the way the fire moves and expands. His tail has scales in reds, oranges, and yellows, that reflect the light. He has a tattoo of a sun around his neck. He is kind and bold. He offers the Hero words of wisdom and comfort. He is also impatient, stubborn, and a risk taker. His lair is a stone cave, deep in one of the ravines. It is filled with the warm, glowing crystals, and other precious gems. His ultimate weapon is made of the warm crystals, and can start fires with ease. It changes depending on the Hero, but is generally some sort of polearm.
The Choice
Apollo’s task for the Hero is quite extreme. They need to fill the ravines, and bring Apollo to the surface, in exchange for his Light Essence, which is needed to light the forge in this circumstance. Apollo must be brought to the surface before the ravines fill with water, or he will drown.
Main Quest
The Hero’s quest is to ignite the planet’s core, and create a milder climate so life can thrive on the surface. To do this, the Hero must talk to the consorts, and learn their history, to find which horns they need to blow, and in what order. The correct tune will crack the ice in a certain area, which reveals a large bomb. This bomb needs to be taken to Apollo’s lair and activated to create enough energy to melt the core. The shift in the planet’s temperature will melt a lot of the ice, filling the ravines. The Hero’s quest bed is inside the bomb (much like the tumor), so the only way to find it is to complete the quest, or blow up the planet’s surface. The explosion, if placed right, will have enough force to send Apollo flying to the surface.
Hi! If you haven't done it yet, I would like to ask to ask for an analysis on the Sylph of Time please! Thank you! :D
Ah, I think it’s time for that second ask I promised you all! Best do it now while I want to and before any tiredness starts to kick in on me soon. And hello Majimjam! I reconize your profile from my activities list!
From the evidence and wording we’ve seen in canon, namely from Aranea, the Sylph is to heal through their Aspect. Some people also speculate that Sylph’s and Maid’s may also Create their Aspect. Such as the Sylph inviting the creation of their Aspect. Sylph’s tend to be opinionated with their Aspect. They seem to have some views or opinions on their Aspect, possibly even before the game. Also, despite them being a passive healer Class, if you subscribe to the theory of Inversion or otherwise, we’ve seen many accounts of the Sylph’s being very dangerous and powerful. Take for example the 3x Showdown Combo “fight”. Kanaya was able to come rushing right in and kick Gamzee off a ledge, punch Vriska so hard her glasses flew off and sent her flying, and then proceeded to break that wand in half and saw through Eridan. As well as we saw in Game Over, with Aranea using those Damara’s telekinetic abilities to hurl those planets around. Even if Aranea’s example isn’t technically her own being doing those things, both were seen to go from there normal and calmer attitudes to ass-kicking machines. As the old saying goes, “Don’t mess with the healer.”
Time is the opposite of Space and is one of the 2 required Aspects in a successful session. As I stated I thought that Space may have a slight gender bias towards femininity, you can also argue then that Time has a masculine affinity. However, unlike all of our Space players being Female, we have a nice even split for our Time players. So, you are free to interpret this as you like. The main and key item linked with the Aspect is the Scratch Construct, found someone on the Land of the Time player. It can range from the pattern we see in canon from musical instruments or related items, to something that just has a constant pattern to it that must be stopped or broken to initiate the Scratch. Time deals with the repetition of things. It’s up to the Time player to understand and use stable time loops to clean everything up and keep them in check. While Space may deal with the creation of things, Time would be their end. Once that point comes and goes, the cycle repeats again, just like Time itself. It is a process, never stopping. Time is an ever flowing beat, never stopping, nor starting, for that matter. It just has been. The Time player’s job is to use their powers over the time stream to produce as little doomed timelines as it takes to get to the end. To learn from the mistakes of a failed outcome and to not allow it to repeat again. It can be a taxing burden to carry knowing that even a slight mistake can lead to all your friends’ death, and even your own. It is for this reason that Time players seem to be the most abundant ghosts in the Dream Bubbles.
The Sylph of Time is someone who heals through Time or invites the creation of Time. I believe the opinionated nature of Sylphs would come out in this one with potentially things that deal with the past, or maybe future. Perhaps they have a strong interest in either one. I also believe this Sylph would do a good job of how to get people in line. Such as setting up routines or schedules for things to be done. I think an interesting idea they can potentially invite Time for others is being patient with others, thus giving them more Time to do things. Also, instead of just making Time like a Maid would, they could bring it to be thorugh working hard on one thing for another, thus giving them this new free time. I can this Sylph as saying something seemingly random and that influencing the other enough to lead to them doing what they must for the benefit of the Alpha timeline. I also like to think this Sylph could do what Aranea set out to do in the pre-scratch timeline, and actually heal a doomed or toherwise timeline. Hell, it may even come down to that the Alpha timeline does end in failure, and this Sylph must do their job at the end of their road and heal and fix it. I think this Sylph’s meddlesome nature may come in full force with their Aspect. They could constantly come back at certain intervels like clockwork. They may also have a strong feeling for what the end of something may be. This can also tie to them acting around the thing to then prolong that end or even make a new end for it. Perhaps they can even heal those affected by Time. Those that their Time has run out, or those held back by the past or strung along to the future. Their words or passive activity could help that person move on from that past, or slow down and stop from being pushed into this specific future for them.
Hey! I’m not dead, phew! But as I go through and continuing not dying (hopefully), I find myself with a question I can’t believe I forgot the answer to: what was my Native Title? It’s been quite a ride and SBURB has been getting so hectic, memories are starting to slip by. Which is why I wanted to ask (if you’re accepting questions that is): what might be the Title of someone who at first struggled with accepting what has happened to them, and learns how to be more sure of themselves? Thank you!
Learning how to accept is verbatim the point of the Inheritor classes, Heir and Ward. To determine which one of those, consider how you grew. If you learned to accept responsibilities and step up, that’s Heir. If you learned how to accept that you need to rely on others, that’s Ward.
“How to be more sure” is a little bit more complicated, but that’s more due to the wide array of Aspects that could fit it. Mind would be for someone who needs to be more sure of their decision-making, Fate for someone who needs to be more sure on their instincts, and so on. But Rage sounds fitting, considering that Rage players grow and learn how to assert themselves with all that [Yelling].
So I would say that “accepting the circumstances and growing more sure of myself” would fit you as an Heir of Rage. You inherit the outward nature of things and deep passion. You have a natural affinity for pushing you will, but you need to accept that this is your affinity.
Or at least those would be your abilities if you were currently an Heir of Rage. Rerolling your Native is possible, but uncommon. In any case, I’m glad I could help, and good luck on your latest Session.
Is there any way to know or at least try to figure out what Title I may roll next for the next play through of SBURB? I mean the ones I've got so far turned out to be ok, but figuring out some rhyme or reason would be super helpful.
There is literally no way muchacho. Even Seers of all stripes can’t do it. That’s because when you Replay, you’re put into a failed session and randomly replace one of the kids in that session. But if you wanna go calculate all the universes in Paradox Space and break your Think Pan finding out which ones fail and all the possible kids you can body snatch, be my guest.
