#monoco e33

[lesbianshadowheart]

ive been playing expedition 33

[dawning-skye]

happy pride month

[aerithisms]

esquie from e33 absolutely melts my heart. in this world painted from the imagination of a little boy, the strongest being in existence is a personification of his favourite stuffed toy. because nothing makes a child feel safer than their favourite stuffie, and in their mind it can protect them from anything

[yourdeepestfathoms]

The Disaster Expedition and How They Sleep

Gustave

Usually sleeps on his back or side.

If Maelle had a nightmare, he’d let her curl up next to him without a word. Just wordlessly open his arm and rub her back until she drifted off again.

Sometimes falls asleep with his arm still attached (which Lune will usually remove for him).

Always says “Goodnight, team,” even if they’re all passed out already.

Sleeps close to Maelle but never smothers her. If she wants to get closer, she can.

Snores but not obnoxiously. Maelle finds it comforting.

Always ends up cold because he gives everyone else his blankets if they want them. He never complains.

Usually falls asleep first. If he’s not actively being spoken to, he’s gone in five minutes flat. Quiet, warm, dad-asleep.

Classic “dad-who-slept-on-the-couch” energy when he wakes up.

Lune

Sleeps on her back most nights. (“Aren’t you afraid of sleep paralysis??” “No??? Should I be??”)

Usually doesn’t move at all. You’d think she was a corpse.

VERY light sleeper.

Sleeps with her bra on.

Probably has a dream journal lmao

If she has bad dreams, she doesn't mention them. She just gets up and works harder that day.

Pretends her mind quiets at night. It doesn’t. She lies awake more often than she admits, thinking about probabilities and consequences and people she wants to save.

One of the last to fall asleep. If people are still chatting, she can’t go to bed because she’ll get FOMO.

Usually the first to wake up.

Does morning stretches.

Elegant morning ghoul. Moves slow, gracefully.

Nobody is allowed to talk to her until thirty minutes after she wakes up.

Startlingly petty in the morning.

Sciel

SPRAWLS. EVERYWHERE.

Sleeps with her bra off. She does not care. (“What if we’re attacked??” “They’re a distraction.” “FOR THE NEVRONS??”)

SO warm.

Loves snuggling, so she doesn’t mind if someone else (usually Maelle) lays close to her.

Rests easier with people nearby. If they’re separated, she lays awake worrying. The first few nights at the Gestral village, before reuniting with the others, was rough because of this.

After Gustave died, she’s usually the one Maelle goes to sleep with when she’s scared or has had a nightmare.

Talks in her sleep. It’s usually just incomprehensible mumbles.

The ultimate blanket thief. And then kicks them all off because she’s hot.

Once got up to pee, tripped and fell over Monoco, face-planted, and just fell asleep like that.

After long battles, she always sleeps closest to Maelle. Just in case the girl wakes up in a panic. She won’t say it aloud, but she likes being the first one Maelle sees.

Always groggy in the morning.

Maelle

Curls up into a little ball. She can make herself VERY small.

On rare nights when she feels safe and unguarded, she starfishes.

Has frequent nightmares, but she’s (mostly) able to not wake up screaming anymore so she won’t disturb the others.

Sleepwalks. Once woke up in the middle of a river. All she can remember of the dream she was having was being in a burning room, then the fire going out suddenly…

Will instinctively cling in her sleep. Like a little sloth.

Snores softly, but only when she’s really tired. It’s more like a warm, whuffling noise. Like a snuffly piglet.

Clings to the blanket with surprising strength. If she’s shivering, good luck getting it back.

Before the funeral, she slept with Gustave’s arm held against her chest like a stuffed animal. It was a gut-wrenching sight for the others.

Cries in her sleep sometimes.

Also cries herself to sleep sometimes.

Wakes up with HORRIFIC bedhead.

Very quiet in the mornings, even more than usual. Stays bundled up until she’s mentally booted up for the day.

Verso

Sleeps on his side but will also sleep propped up against a tree.

Usually the last to fall asleep.

If someone touches him in his sleep, he’ll wake up swinging—hard. The only exception is Maelle. She can nudge him, and he’ll just blink blearily and grunt.

Snores when he’s REALLY tired. And it is LOUD.

Sleep-frowns.

NOT a morning person AT ALL.

Don’t touch him. Don’t look at him. Maelle is the only one allowed to poke him awake without consequences. Monoco is usually the one who will wake him up.

Monoco

Curls up when he sleeps. Or lays on his back.

Usually sleeps away from the others. Because he once rolled onto Lune and almost crushed her.

Snores like an old dog.

Noco would sleep buried in his mane. After Noco dies, Monoco either cradles his jar or sleeps curled around it protectively.

Doesn’t really dream.

Maelle once bumped into him while sleepwalking, and he just shuffled her back toward her bed like a sheepdog.

If anyone tries to wake him early, he grumbles like a bear.

Shifts very slowly in his sleep. Rolls over like a log. If you hear creaking, it’s him.

[kayzean]

No because like if anyone ever asks me what a queer platonic relationship is, im just gonna show them Verso and Monoco. Those two queered so platonically it changed my whole life. I can never be normal about them. Almost every single interaction they had, had me falling out my chair squeeling /pos.

LITTLE SPOON?????

What if I start balling

[komorebian]

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 -> The Monolith

[voelene]

Thinking about the fact that both of Painted Verso's friends were Original Verso's friends first.

Poor guy is always wondering "how do I compare ?" and finds himself lacking.

Always second best in a competition he has no chance of winning.

[reawaken]

been so busy with work/flare ups and the free time i've had is directed towards sleep and e33, but i've finally made my oc's blog @visceries where i'll be for the time being alongside @karezaru.

[aryalaenkha]

Clair Obscur : Expedition 33 - Monoco

[ http://ko-fi.com/aryalaenkha ]

[hearts-are-connected]

Warning: Endgame screenshots

[iheartnishikiyama]

Spoilers for expedition 33

How did the people inside verso's canvas learn that he died??? I mean people like monoco, esquie and such. They know he's dead but who told them? Or did they feel it happen or something?

[quacks-reviews]

Playable on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Played on Xbox Series X

Welcome to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a game that I was fairly blind about (I was working off half-remembering trailers and the promotional material) and how I described to my brother as “this French ass turn-based rpg, with some light action elements sprinkled in, about people trying to stop a witch-god-thing from slowly killing them all or something.”

Honestly probably could have said it was a great one as well.

I’m writing this while playing the game, so anything about the story passed the prologue will be talked about a bit more broadly.

Now HOW accurate is that?

You start off playing Gustave and in kind of a natural feeling slowish-roll of information, you learn about a few key factors; the Gommage, the Expedition, the continent, The Monolith, and The Paintress.

At some point 67/68 years prior the city of Lumière was tossed from the Continent into the ocean by an event called The Fracture, the what and why aren’t necessarily important at this point in Act 1 just a notion that it happened. This fracture caused The Paintress to appear with a giant Monolith that would soon have a number written on it, 100. Sometime soon, the city would start sending Expeditions out to the continent to explore and see what happened to the continent, and soon after to stop the Paintress. It probably wouldn’t be known till later, but Lumière would learn the number on the Monolith represents age, when it reaches a certain number anyone that age or above would disappear into dust, in an event that would become the Gommage. If I put the events together correctly, I’m going to be honest and say “not sure”.

When we enter the story, it is the day of the Gommage for the monolith to countdown to 33 and anyone 33 or older to die. After an emotional prologue that beautifully shows the stakes of what the world is facing, we jump forward slightly to the Expedition goodbye party where you get to actually meet your future party. We then cut to the Expedition sailing off to the Continent and immediately meeting the most terrifying force known to man: an old person, who promptly wipes the floor with everyone alongside some freak hand monsters whose designs I love.

As you wake up from getting your ass kicked in, the game finally starts to show itself (especially if you hadn’t met the Lumière mime) as a turn-based RPG in the vein of old Final Fantasy and Persona with some action elements sprinkled in. The action elements come in with two phases; first when you attack during two options in particular, shooting the enemy which requires you to move a targeting reticule before pulling the trigger, the other are QTEs that happen when you cast spells/abilities, should be noted that the game comes with options to complete them automatically if those aren’t your expertise.

The second place action elements come in is defending yourself, with either parries or dodges which tend to be the make-or-break aspect of combat in this game. I will admit that after failing to hit any of the parry/dodge windows in the medium difficulty, I moved it down to the easiest one and was able to actually defend myself. Let me tell ya, there is no better feeling in this game then being able to parry or dodge, the developers made it feel great!

When you actually enter combat, you may notice that you enter with a few points of “AP”. This is basically your mana to use with stronger attacks or to fire the character’s gun. When you use up too much, you’ll only be stuck using basic attack for a turn or two as each basic attack gives back a point of “AP”.

Part of the interesting things that the developers do to help the characters feel even more distinct is that each of your team have their own unique gimmick. Since he’s the first character we play as and probably the easiest for me to describe in my own words we’ll use Gustave as our example:

Gustave’s mechanic is centered around his prosthetic left arm, the Lumina Converter. Through attacking his opponents, he builds up charges that he can save or use at anytime with the Overcharge attack for massive damage.

The game also makes use of the title “Expedition”, as you run between fights you’ll notice that the game has no quest markers, it has no mini-map, the only map it does have is actually a world map; and that’s only available in an over wold that can be accessed between the various biomes each arm of the story takes place within.

Speaking of the biomes, each one is amazingly unique and rendered beautifully with great use of colors that causes each one to stick in the mind clearly.

Each biome, or level really, either showing off a super boss or a puzzle for the player to complete. Shout out to Gestral Beach in act 2 in particular, I’m not sure if the platforming abilities in this game are up to snuff for what they’re trying to do, but I’m giving it a go. The “starting from the beginning if you fall into the water” gets on my nerves a bit.

To take it back to the story, it is just a really amazing one with themes about the loss of loved ones and the grief that follows, filled with a cast of great characters and delightful oddballs (when you get to the Gestrals and Esquie) all back by a beautiful soundtrack by Lorien Testard. I have heard some tale of the late game story beats not being as good as earlier ones, but I’m still in it for the long haul.

The Good

The combat is amazing, being able to actually parry and dodge feels amazing probably more so than any other game I’ve played

The environment design is top notch, each place sticks in your mind for a long time.

The creature designs are all varied and easily identifiable, just don’t remember what elemental weaknesses each one have

The music, Lorien Testard fucking rocks and it’s even his first major work. He’ll blow your mind in like 5 different types of music.

That story really knows how to hit the notes it needs to get a reaction out of you. That prologue was amazing…

Esquie and Monoco: I’ve had them for a day and a half, and if anything bad happens to them I’d kill everyone in this room and myself.

The Weird

Based on what I’ve seen in the story, I think I’ve got an idea why but where is Charlie Cox in the press interviews? I see Ben Starr and Jennifer English everywhere, but no Charlie Cox. He just went “nah man”

The endings seem to be a little divisive, I think I know what they were going for… but still a little weird feeling on the messaging.

The Bad

There’s been at least one area that was almost too dark to be able to see certain enemies as they attack, and if you can’t see them, then that could mean a game over.

Score: I think I’m not going scoring stuff anymore, I haven’t given an actual score yet and I never will

And just to close out, here’s something from Esquie, cause I love the big dumb marshmallow…

And also Monoco…

[yourdeepestfathoms]

i just KNOW the party slept good after the Axon fights

[ijsthee]

nothing can kill me i am invincible

[krohft]

No stranger to sudden appearances , Lara barely acknowledged Verso’s entrance . She supposed Monoco could have warned her — but then the gestral didn’t seem particularly inclined to open any kind of conversation with her to begin with . Not that she faulted him for it . She’d dropped in his lap with all the warning and grace of a polar bear .

❝ Patience is … not my strong suit , ❞ Lara admitted , forcing herself to hold still as he covered her hands with his own . Much as the chroma had seemingly harmed her , letting it go held its own kind of pain . Perhaps more so , if she took her own lack of knowledge into account . ❝ And you two aren’t particularly forthcoming . ❞

Not the first time she’d critiqued their methods , but the first time she’d been so brazen about her wording . She was grateful , of course , that they had helped her built proper weapons ; the bow she’d crafted a week earlier wouldn’t have gotten her past that first Nevron . But there was more to learn . Besides , she wasn’t used to having to rely on anyone else , and she didn’t care for it very much .

Leaning forward to catch Verso’s wrist , the tomb raider examined the palm of his hand . As opposed to her own , it showed no signs of inflammation . But if there was a way to build up a tolerance , then why would Monoco refuse to talk about it at all ? Why would Verso ? 

❝ I challenged Monoco to a duel , ❞ Lara mumbled after a moment , letting go of his wrist . She tried for a conspiratorial grin , but feared it landed more on the side of exhaustion . Once she’d realized the gestral wasn’t too keen on her presence she’d gone off on her own — fighting any small opponent she could find to keep her mind from spiraling . She could still feel the hit she’d taken at the slope , but so far , she hadn’t bothered to check if her ribs were bruised or broken . It didn’t seem to matter much , in any case . ❝ He refused because , apparently , I have no pictos . However , he will not tell me what they are , so we’re at a bit of an impasse . ❞

stacks of cut tree limbs and a variety of sapling were collected under his arm. the man idled by the outskirts of their shelter's fire, allowing the warmth to lick up the front of his overcoat while the cold stuck to the back. he waits and then he enters. the sky had stopped sputtering snow on the party and he'd taken advantage of the momentary ceasefire by scouting the forest and bringing back longer stalks to reinforce the limping side of the roof. the snow almost immediately began melting off the new additions. verso turned away when he was finished.

they walk further along the perimeter before selecting a seat underneath the ceiling they'd made. the gestral is the first to sweep in his attention, his friend busy with their own tools, hadn't looked back up at him since his initial re-appearance. the girl levied a question on them both, well against monoco. judging by the casual way it was posed he didn't think she'd noticed his return yet. she was transfixed on the miniature formation in her hands. the tip of his tongue pushes against the canine amongst his teeth while he grimaces lightly.

this time the two overseers crossed looks and the warrior gestured with a tip of his mask towards lara, prompting a strained breath from him. it wasn't anything as personal as dislike but the gestral had been affected by the odd manner of her arrival, still — rather than deal with any precursor to unknown danger he'd opted to leave it to verso under the pretense that she and him were of the same kind and therefore better suited to teach each other. ' damn coward. '

“ it works better, ” he started, more announcement than anything as he moved closer, in a hunched position. a bigger hand reaches and almost cups over the nude chroma; now in its presence, he could smell it as well as feel it, hidden, under the prevailing scent of burning pines. “ when you space out your practice. ” at this proximity he can see the lashes against her skin, signs of overexposure. he sighs again. without looking her in the eye he begins to siphon the creation from her, gentle as an animal lapping water. he could sense his chroma brush her fingers and then willed it to recede.

the essence was still unpolished in many places and it felt like tiny broken pieces of glass were entering the tubing's of his veins before it dissolved in his stream. he didn't struggle. none of this was new to him. with a flex of the wrist he sat back in front of her.

“ pushing it won't help you learn it any quicker. it might even harm you. ”

[voelene]

Everyone's mad at Verso because he knew what would happen after killing the paintress (and actively manipulated the group toward that outcome)

But

What about Monoco and Esquie ?

They obviously knew too, and still went along with Verso's plan, not warning anyone