#. ARC IX . › DEFAULT .

[khozmoh]

he was running on three hours of sleep with no sign of rest on the horizon and there, out of the corner of his eye were the all too familiar horrors. he could feel them creeping closer, knew the moment he let himself close his eyes they would be upon him and his dreams would fester and claw and torment and . . . cosmo lifted the worn t - shirt from the rack for mads to get a good look at it.

❝ this was made for me, ❞ cosmo said, his tone deadpanned and his expression practically screaming that he wasn't all there consciously. he held the shirt up to his chest, it was very visibly too big for him. ❝ fits like a fucking glove. ❞ // @wtfispatience , thrift shopping with the hoes .

[bethanythebogwitch]

It's been a long time coming, but we have reached the end of the series where I examine the real-life inspirations for every non-fish aquatic Pokémon. Today, I’ll be going over those introduced in gen IX. For previous entries in this series see gen I part 1, gen I part 2, gen II, gen III, gen IV, gen V, gen VI, gen VII, and gen VIII. To see my previous series where I covered the inspirations for all fish Pokémon see here. I’m saving starters and legendaries/mythicals for their own series. I will be including two paradox Pokémon even though we technically don’t know if they’re aquatic (we never see them in their natural habitats) to keep this post from being too short. Also if you’re looking for Clodsire, check the gen II entry.

Paldea gave us many things, one of them being the end of the tadpole trio. Like Poliwag and Tympole before it, Tadbulb is a tadpole, the larval form of a frog. It’s also a lightbulb.

(image: a tadpole)

Bellibolt is an adult frog that is also an avocado. Specifically, it is a halved avocado with its belly organ being the pit.

(image: a halved avacado)

Speaking of its belly organ, that is based off of a plasma globe, a common toy that looks like a ball filled with electricity arcing off of a smaller, inner ball.

(image: a plasma ball, the king of children's science museums)

Bellibolt’s eye-like organs are a form of defensive mimicry. Eyespots, fake eyes, are used by many species as ways of deterring predation, often by making it look as though it has already spotted a potential ambush predator or by making it seem like part of a much larger animal. Bellibolt’s eyespots are likely a reference to the Cuyaba dwarf frog, which has large eyespots on its rear. The frog’s eyespots can release poison while Bellibolt’s can release electricity.

(image: the behind of a Cuyaba dwarf frog with its eyespots visible. I will restrain myself from making any crude jokes)

Finizen and Palafin are dolphins and I’m honestly surprised it took 9 generations to get a dolphin Pokémon. They seem to be based primarily on the bottlenose dolphin as its pretty much the default dolphin in pop culture. Picture a dolphin in your head, that’s a bottlenose. It also draws inspiration from the striped dolphin, as both have a stripe going down their sides.

(image: a striped dolphin jumping from the water)

Finizen also drawn from dolphin behavior as they are very curious and playful. The bubble ring they play with is a direct reference to real dolphins blowing bubbles to amuse themselves. When it evolves into Palafin it adds superhero to the dolphin influence. Zero form Palafin looks almost identical to Finizen, but it is actually a hero hiding amongst the citizens, ready to put on its costume and save the day. It needing to switch out to become its hero form is reference to the trope of superheroes needing to get into a hiding spot to switch into their costume incognito. Think Clark Kent ducking into a phone booth to change into Superman.

(image: a comic panel of Clark Kent using a phone booth to get into his Superman costume)

The superhero gimmick may also be a reference to stories of wild dolphins saving people who are drowning or being threatened by sharks. It is primarily based on western superheroes, though some of its design elements are suggestive of sentai heroes. Its shiny form being black references orcas as well as the hero turning to a villain or getting a darker redesign. Think Spider-man’s black costume period. I’m not entirely sure how dolphin + superhero resulted in possibly the ugliest Pokémon design in the history of the franchise. It’s a shame because I really love the concept, I just wish it’s design didn’t suck Stunky ass. Besides superheroes, Palafin’s humanoid hero form draws from the boto encantado, a legend from around the amazon river of river dolphins who can take on the form of humans to come on shore and engage in partying and seducing humans.

(image: artwork of a bota encantado in human and dolphin forms. source)

I swear I once read a similar legend where the resulting human form only had one leg, but I couldn’t find any references to it so I may be mixing up completely different legends. The one leg would fit since Palafin stands on its tail.

The first of our paradox Pokémon is Iron Bundle and I don’t really have much to say about it. It’s just a robotic Delibird. I feel like the future paradox Pokémon in general and very uninspired designs, with Iron Valiant being the only one that’s not just a robot version of a present Pokémon. As a Delibird variant, it is based on a penguin. I may specifically be a rockhopper penguin due to the spikey ruffs of feathers on its head.

(image: a yassified rockhopper penguin)

The other big inspiration for Delibird is Santa Claus, being a red and white jolly fellow that carries around a sack full of presents. The bird with a bundle aspect might also reference the popular image of storks delivering babies. Iron bundle adds some more references to winter activities and toys. Its head can pop off like a jack-in-the-box and its tail seems to be a snow globe. The tail could also be an artificial snow maker machine. Its feet look like skis and could be either water skis or snow skis. If its tail is a snow maker, the snow skis probably fit better.

Walking Wake is an interesting one as it’s allegedly the ancestor of Suicune, a Pokémon that magically created by Ho-oh instead of being a natural creature. This confused me until I came across the fan theory that none of the paradox Pokémon are actually from the past/future. Rather the terastal crystals of area zero have the ability to warp reality based on people’s wishes. An example of this is the crystals allowing the AI professor to be created despite that kind of technology not existing in the Pokémon world. In this theory, the crystals created the paradox Pokémon in response to the professor’s expectations of what past/future Pokémon would look like. This would also explain why the Pokedex entries all describe the paradox Pokémon as being similar to creatures from rumors or a National Enquirer style conspiracy magazine. The professor being familiar with these accounts would shape their expectations of what past/future Pokémon would be like and therefore how the crystals created the paradox Pokémon. This explains why a unique, artificial being like Suicune (and with the new announcements, Raikou) could have an ancestor. It’s just someone’s idea of what a prehistoric Suicune would be like brought to life. Walking Wake looks like Suicune combined with a therapod dinosaur. Its ability to walk on water comes from the original Suicune, but also from a basilisk lizard. These lizards can run on the surface of the water for short time periods thanks to their speed and very broad feet, an ability that has granted then the nickname “Jesus lizard”. Basilisks also run on only their hind legs when running on water, fitting with Walking Wake being a biped.

(image: a basalisk lizard running on water)

Its twin tails both have a wave shape and come out from behind and at an angle. This makes them look a lot like the wake left behind by a boat.

(image: a boat wake as seen from above)

[self-loving-vampire]

tried to search for one of your posts to no avail. it lists rpgs you're significantly interested in or have played, with varying exclamation marks, under Keep reading. could you send the link to it if you can find it?

Unfortunately it would be pretty difficult to find for me as well but given that it's likely out of date I will take this opportunity to try making a new one (hopefully won't forget anything either). Thank you for this!

This time rather than symbols I will just list them all under more specific categories. Some of these are likely to change over time as I play more of the games (I have not finished all of them).

The list below also excludes browser games and MMORPGs. It's also likely to be incomplete.

RPGs that I have not played but am interested in and wish to at try at least for an hour or two

Oubliette.

Futurewar.

Avatar.

Beneath Apple Manor.

Dunjeonquest.

The Return of Heracles.

Phantasie.

Deathlord.

The Bard's Tale.

Starflight.

Alter Ego.

Wizardry IV.

Wizardry V.

Wizardry VI.

The Magic Candle.

Knights of Legend.

Dragon Wars.

The Dark Heart of Uurkrul.

Champions of Krynn.

Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire.

Fate: Gates of Dawn.

Disciples of Steel.

Gateway to the Savage Frontier.

Star Control 2.

Dark Sun: Shattered Lands.

Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures.

Pool of Radiance.

Realmz.

Ravenloft: Stone Prophet.

Little Witch Nobeta.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.

Diablo.

Diablo 2.

Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance.

Albion.

The Witcher 3.

Baldur's Gate 2.

Baldur's Gate 3.

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen.

RPGs I have played just a little bit of, not enough for a full assessment

Ultima VI.

Ultima Underworld.

Worlds of Ultima: Martian Dreams.

Darklands.

Betrayal at Krondor.

Balrum.

NetHack.

Dungeon Master.

Dark Souls 3.

Bloodborne.

Fear & Hunger.

Library of Ruina.

Valkyria Chronicles.

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen.

Arx Fatalis.

Dungeons of Dredmor.

Final Fantasy 7.

Jagged Alliance 2.

The Witcher 2.

Darkest Dungeon.

Wizards & Warriors.

Chinese Paladin.

Shadowrun Returns.

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown.

NieR: Automata.

Eschalon: Book 1.

Labyrinth of Touhou 2.

Luminous Arc.

Medabots - Metabee Version.

Wasteland.

Mass Effect 1.

RPGs I didn't enjoy that much (your opinion may be different though, and even I don't think all of these are entirely bad)

Ultima VIII.

Ultima IX.

Baldur's Gate 1.

Gothic 3.

Fallout 3.

Fallout 76.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

Final Fantasy XIII.

Fallout 4.

RPGs I have played that were fine on the net (maybe even enjoyable) but which did not cause truly strong feelings

Path of Achra.

Legends of Amberland.

Queen's Wish: The Conqueror.

Avernum: Escape from the Pit.

Din's Curse.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (without mods).

UnReal World.

Final Fantasy 6.

Silent Storm.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

System Shock 2.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura.

Might & Magic 6-8 (all played together on the 8th game's engine through a mod).

Caves of Lore.

Ultima ADOM: Caverns of Chaos.

Dark Messiah of Might & Magic.

Monster Hunter Tri.

Elminage Gothic.

Class of Heroes.

MegaMan Battle Network.

Legend of Grimrock.

Legend of Grimrock 2.

Tainted Grail.

Torchlight 2.

Wizardry I-II-III: Legacy of Llylgamyn.

Wasteland 2.

Sacred.

Warhammer 40k: Mechanicus.

Terraria.

Dragon Marked for Death.

Bravely Default.

Pokemon games in general (I actually prefer Touhoumon personally).

Evenicle.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

Dragon Age: Origins.

Mass Effect 2.

RPGs that would be so good if not for a couple of things (still usually worth it!)

Ultima IV.

Ultima V.

Ancient Domains of Mystery.

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker.

Erannorth Chronicles.

Kenshi.

Geneforge: Mutagen.

Caves of Qud.

Din's Legacy.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel.

Loop Hero.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.

Wizardry VII.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (with mods).

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk.

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead.

Pillars of Eternity.

Deus Ex.

Disgaea DS.

Disgaea 2.

Disgaea 4.

La Pucelle: Tactics.

Soul Nomad & the World Eaters.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Risen.

ELEX.

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy.

Mount & Blade: Warband.

Path of Exile.

Tyranny.

Temple of Elemental Evil.

Ashes 2063.

Wartales.

Demon's Souls.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.

Darkwood.

Odin Sphere.

RPGs that I strongly recommend, although they may still be VERY flawed, remember to look into them or ask further questions to see if they're for you

Tales of Maj'Eyal.

Ultima VII: The Black Gate.

Ultima VII: Serpent Isle.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.

Dark Souls.

Elden Ring.

Code Vein.

Disco Elysium.

Divinity: Original Sin 2.

UnderRail.

Mary Skelter 2 + Remake.

Gothic.

Gothic 2.

Wizardry 8.

Princess Maker 2.

Fallout.

Fallout 2.

Fallout: New Vegas.

Chrono Trigger.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

Planescape: Torment.

Tales of Berseria.

Etrian Odyssey IV.

Elona.

The Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.

Pathologic 2.

Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia.

Slay the Spire.

[gracifleur]

VERSE DUMP 02;   here listed are the verses that are intricately tied to the mainline games spanning gen 1 to gen 9. these are short descriptions for each gen for the ease of interaction & summary of the events within & shea’s association with each. certain games will have a more in-depth verse post at a later date, such as gen 4. by default, shea masquerades as a human child & a traveler unless her origins are revealed by herself or against her will by those connected to cyrus or volo. for the most part, shea acts on the behalf of arceus to check & care for the various legendary & mystical pokemon throughout the regions. her priority will always be the safety of said pokemon. unlike her sinnoh kin, however, she is not directly related to the mythical & legendary pokemon in the other regions.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION KANTO. / ARC VI. )

a boon from the creator themselves, arceus; shea travels to the kanto region feeling unease about their fellow mythical mew. a creature that hadn’t been seen for centuries, being sighted & even worse pursued. shea arrives sometime before the events of the game & keeps themselves hidden as she researches the destruction of the lab on cinnabar island. after word reaches that a young trainer has been taking down members of team rocket, shea decides to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong hoping that this young trainer will lead them to mew--- discovering the origins of mewtwo.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION JOHTO. / ARC VII. )

on her way back toward her home within the sinnoh region, shea travels through johto & finds herself once again wrapped up in someone else’s business. meeting crystal & finding herself in quite the dilemma for if this young trainer found out about shea’s origins--- well, she’d be trapped in a professors lab for sure ! fortunately the return of team rocket in search of their fearless leader tends to put priority on matters as regions legendaries wake up causing shea to rush to their aid as one of their own. this verse is highly influenced by @starmarkcd @unmcsked & @gxldenstreak who are canon to shea as the trainers; Crys / Silver / Gold respectfully. 

#MAIN. ( GENERATION HOENN. / ARC VIII. )

once more shea travels to a region outside her own, this time in peril as a sixth sense compels her to rush to hoenn in time for team aqua & team magma to purposefully disturb the rest of both kyogre & groudon. joining the young trainer(s) climbing the rank of the gym challenge of the region, she aims to calm down the legendary titans who helped formed the earth & sea before it’s too late--- && find those responsible to deal with them before it’s too late, for no doubt the sky dragon is soon to approach.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION SINNOH. / ARC IX. )

sinnoh, the home of shea & her brethren. no longer called the hisui region--- shea lives primarily in the flower paradise with the other shaymin. however her ancient adventures have left a impact that she has yet to understand the gravity of. the people of sinnoh speak in their legends of a child of space & time that transcends dimensions, capable of controlling the legendary beasts of creation. while the reality is far from; shea a child born from arceus themselves the myth remains drawing the attention of two major players within sinnoh: cynthia, a celestial descendant of volo, & cyrus. no fool, cyrus is quicker to unravel the truth about this ‘child of space time’ & moves toward the flower paradise with a red chain in tow to capture shea & use her to summon the creation trio so that he may use them to create his new world.... **this verse will have an expanded post of which will be linked here when finished.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION UNOVA. / ARC X. )

finding the news of an organization that promotes releasing one’s pokemon from human “servitude” shea travels to the unova region, discovering team plasma roaming the various cities. worried for the twin dragons she travels toward the relic castle to find it empty.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION KALOS. / ARC XI. )

xerneas & shea are no stranger to each other; as shaymin are often found near the tree of life, the beastie itself visiting the flower paradise within sinnoh at times. it is in fact a visit from shea to the forests of kalos of which starts their journey into worry for her friend & it’s counterpart. however shea only finds a collection of zygarde cells & cores, tipping her off to a much bigger problem at hand. knowing exactly who to turn to for help, shea seeks out the descendant of a old friend in the form of serena, a young trainer who’s destiny is intertwined with the legendaries of life & death.  this verse is highly influenced by @iruludavare

#MAIN. ( GENERATION ALOLA. / ARC XII. )

alola ! shea decides she wants to see the ocean. a different ocean than one near the flower paradise & with a hankering for some malasadas--- of she goes to the island region ! however midway into her little adventure she runs into scientists of the aether foundation, who’s various scientific instruments out shea’s origins as a human-pokemon chimera & capture her to bring her to the president herself; lusamine. narrowly escaping being contained to be “protected” shea spends her time thereafter running from aether workers tasked on retrieving her.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION GALAR. / ARC XIII. ) 

the slumbering weald is home to the heroes of the darkest day & sometimes it is visited by a wandering shea; visiting to help shaymin bring the change of seasons to the forest & care for the altar where the heroes rest. however on one journey out to the weald she notices the absence of the hero duo & turns her attention outside the weald curious as to what caused the beasties to stir from their slumber & if there is a new threat to the world on the horizon.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION PALDEA. / ARC XIV. )

dialga finds itself irritable, upset, & even sick--- a sign of time distortion forced by human hand somewhere in the world. as shea cares for her sibling her worries for their health & well being grows as dialga shows signs of it’s primal rage returning in it’s mysterious illness. asking the trio of the lake to stand & care for the deity of time as shea travels outside of sinnoh toward the paldea region after consulting with giratina if there are any distortions in the world outside of their own. in paldea she learns of a giant crater in the region’s center known as area zero that is forbidden to enter under any circumstance. convinced what lies there holds the answer to dialga’s sickness she decides to do a bit of recon, pretending to be a student of the famous naranja/uva academy( the default will be uva bc i like the color purple however this will fluctuate depending on the writing partner’s chosen/preferred school ) she sets off during the treasure hunt to find clues as to what could have happened in area zero & a way inside to confront professors turo & sada, those very clearly linked to the time-sickness effecting dialga. **this verse contains an original story based on shea’s lore & the events of the game, this description is spoiler-free ! click here for more info on this verse; contains minimal spoilers.

[khozmoha]

— @feigncourage​  liked  for  a  starter .

     ❝ jason, ❞  cosmo said, his tone was disturbingly calm and level which was sign enough that he was upset, but he wasn't upset with his nephew,  ❝ i'm asking you to please light this bitch up like the fourth of july, ❞  he would have time for regret and clear thinking later, for now he wanted his pyrokinetic nephew to set an asshole's car on fire.

[nightinngales]

Dear gays and fans of Skyrim in general... 

Ever wanted a real slowburn fanfic for Serana/Female Dragonborn? Perhaps a fic that addresses Serana’s trauma and builds a relationship naturally over time?

Vigilance is an epic length novelization with F!DB/Serana as the main ship - wherein their relationship progresses organically, and Serana’s traumatic backstory is not sidestepped or ignored. 

Currently at over 470k altogether, there are 6 full acts or “books” available within the Vigilance series of varying lengths, with the 7th act currently in progress and updated regularly. 

Some links to get you started: 

Vigilance wiki: A more in-depth look at the series including relevant lore, timeline, current progress on the series, and character blurbs. Spoilers up to the end of act 5. Updated sporadically. 

Vigilance Series landing page: The series on AO3 - you can find all the links for each work here, or continue below the cut for a more in-depth explanation of the series. Updated regularly, usually at least 1-2 times per week.

Not a fan of Skyrim? Never played it? Vigilance is written in a way where it can be enjoyed regardless of your knowledge of the Elder Scrolls franchise. My so-called “beta” hasn’t played Skyrim and she’s more pushy about me updating than most lol. So, if you’ve never played Skyrim but want to read about a vampire lesbian? Try it out anyways, you might like it.

For more regular updates on progress, you can follow me here on tumblr.

This post may be updated on occasion with new information or mod credits below the cut.

About:

The series itself is broken into acts, which each follow a particular segment of the Dragonborn’s life. These acts can be further bundled into Arcs. So far, I would say there are three major “Arcs” of the story, broken up into the separate acts, not including the prologue. 

Vigilant Arc - Acts II - V: This arc of the story is, essentially, the first half of the series. Beginning with the prologue, the Vigilant arc covers Eres’ journey as a Vigilant of Stendarr, the Dawnguard DLC (and Serana), and finishes with her retirement as a Vigilant. Wordcount: ~316k, completed. 

Dragonborn Arc - Acts VI - VIII: This arc is currently in progress, and covers Eres stepping into her role as Dragonborn. This will include the main quest as well as the Dragonborn DLC. Currently we are on Act VII. Current wordcount: ~155k, ongoing. 

Final Arc - Act IX: Currently in the concept phase. This will cover what happens once Eres has stepped into her destiny as Dragonborn and fulfilled her role. Essentially - this is the end of the fic, and will serve to tie up loose ends and provide a nice ending to the series. ...For now. :)

Total current wordcount: ~471k, with around 2.5 acts remaining. The full series may reach somewhere between 6-700k - which will put it around the length of the entire LOTR series. 

Why the fuck is it so long? 

There’s three main reasons for this. 

1: I love slowburn fics, so when I say slowburn - I mean slowburn. 

2: Vigilance isn’t just about the pairing. In fact, Serana does not even enter the story until Act 3, where Eres tackles the Dawnguard questline. As the fic continues forward from there, obviously Serana becomes a secondary main character and is just as important as Eres, but I didn’t want to just start the fic with the pairing and leave it at that. I wanted it to be a journey, from beginning to end, from Eres’ arrival in Skyrim, to meeting Serana and falling for her, to facing her destiny as Dragonborn, and so on and so forth. 

3: Most importantly, I have read a lot of Serana/fem!DB fics, and to be clear I am not disparaging any of them. There are some incredibly talented authors out there who have written some of my favorites. But there is one thing that I always wanted from a fic for Serana/DB, and it was something that I hadn’t seen: An indepth handling of Serana’s trauma, front and center, showing how it affects her and how she might heal from it through love. As a survivor myself, this was an issue that was deeply important to me, and I was disappointed that even some of my favorite fics in the fandom had not addressed it more deeply. So I started writing Vigilance, and here we are nearly 500k later. 

That’s why I wanted to write this. I wanted to show, through my fic, a relationship developing between two people who are broken in different ways, and how they might come together, help each other heal, and lift each other up. The pairing of Serana and Eres, for me, is meant to be an ideal, something to aim for. With Eres’ help, and those around her, Serana will work through the issues she has due to her trauma. She will recover, and heal, and find the happiness she feels she doesn’t deserve. 

I hope, reading this, that maybe you take a bit of time out of your day to give it a chance. I know it’s long. I know it’s a hell of a thing to look at a fic that’s nearly 500k and decide to try reading through it all even knowing it’s not finished yet. But give it a chance... you might find that 500k doesn’t seem long enough once you catch up. 

CREDITS: 

Vigilance is a series that follows a modded playthrough of Skyrim. As such, I could not have written this fic without the following mods which provided the inspiration. 

VIGILANT LE / SE : Provides the basis for the Vigilant arc within the series. The basic plot of both Act 2 and Act 5 are based upon this mod. Please download and drop an endorsement, for this fic would not have been possible without the work of Vicn which it is based upon. Note: it requires an English addon if you plan to play it with voice acting, which can be found here: LE / SE 

LC BUILD YOUR NOBLE HOUSE LE / SE: Fellburg, Eres’ estate within Falkreath, is based upon this player home mod by Locaster. Highly recommend either this or LC Feudal Keep if you would like an idea of what the estate is supposed to look like, though the Keep mod is located near Loreius Farm instead of Falkreath. (However, the “Build your own” version needs to be built, obviously, whereas the Feudal Keep version is plug and play.) 

INIGO LE / SE: This companion mod by smartbluecat is one of the most life-like on the nexus, with thousands of lines of dialogue and quest and location-awareness. Inigo makes his first appearance in Act IV. I would highly recommend him if you’re looking for a game-long companion. 

Serana and Claire LE / SE: This is more of a cosmetic thing, but this mod is replacer I use for Serana to make her appearance mesh better with the other NPC appearance mods I use (such as WICO, Bijin etc). It’s close enough to her default that it doesn’t feel like a complete replacement. I use the Thorns (short hair) version with the Glowing red eyes option, pictured above. 

Mods that have been mentioned: 

Darkend LE / SE: This is only mentioned in passing by Mirabelle in act 3, where she references a cursed shipwreck to the north. More of an easter egg than anything else, but still well worth playing if you like. 

More to be added later as I remember them, I’m sure. 

[blindhim]

TEEN  WOLF  VERSE  ARCS

Cosmo’s current default verse is set after he has graduated from university. He works at an independent Cyber Security firm but uses his online alias g1itch to supply supernatural creatures with new identities and cover stories when they need to move locations due to imposing dangers. He remains in contact with Scott and every now and again is willing to work as a consultant or partner into supernatural investigations, but only if he’s asked to by a close friend or ally.

ARC  I,  SEASON  1 :  Cosmo was recently admitted to Eichen House where he was placed within the care of Josephine Vickers, a professional psychiatrist who would diagnose Cosmo with behavioral and mental health issues including but not limited to, antisocial, borderline and avoidant personality disorders. Josephine would mold much of Cosmo’s personal feelings towards himself, convincing him of several notions that remain within him into adulthood. Cosmo is released from Eichen House soon after Kate Argent and Peter Hale are found responsible for the murders occurring around Beacon Hills.

ARC  II,  SEASON  2 :  Cosmo has made an effort to focus on his studies and returning to a normal life after his time spent in Eichen House but finds this extremely difficult when he continues to See monsters around every corner. In an effort to cope with his “hallucinations”, Cosmo begins to self-medicate with alcohol, behaving impulsively and with little regard to his own wellbeing. After the attack at Jungle, Cosmo demands answers from Stiles but remains in the dark about the existence of the supernatural until he has a harrowing confrontation with Gerard Argent.

ARC  III,  SEASON  3A :  As Cosmo’s visions continued to plague him, he begins investigating the existence of the supernatural in secret. However, with Jennifer Blake appearing as a scarred cloaked figure in class and Lydia Martin being followed by the dead, things come to a tipping point when Noah is taken hostage by the Darach. The twins work together to find the location of where Noah, Melissa and Chris were being kept.

Stiles finally admits the existence of werewolves and the supernatural world to Cosmo who later learns from Deaton that he is what is known as a Seer. A rare being that is able to perceive and witness the true forms of supernaturals and see through the veil which separates supernatural imprints and occurrences from the eyes of normal people.

ARC  IV,  SEASON  3B :  Cosmo spends much of his break studying and researching Seer’s and with his brother's help and discovers a way to turn off his Sight allowing him to go days without seeing visions of monsters and worlds beyond their own. His triumph however does not last as Stiles’ nightmares become more frequent and frightening. Upon Stiles’ possession, the Nogitsune returns home to where Cosmo confronts it.

The Nogitsune, believing that Cosmo’s death would break Stiles’ spirit and allow it complete control over his host, attacks Cosmo. However, with the use of his Sight, Cosmo manages to grasp a hold of the spirit itself and attempts to tear it from Stiles’ body. The Nogitsune is forced to flee but the ordeal causes Cosmo immense pain, eyes hemorrhaging and suffering a seizure that hospitalizes him.

ARC  V,  SEASON  4 :  Cosmo was one of the names on the Deadpool list, worth 20 million like Lydia Martin due to his being a Seer. He found himself periodically being shadowed by his brother and friends in an effort to keep an eye on him, but when he was inevitably attacked by several would-be assassins, he was able to defend himself. However, Cosmo’s tendency for extreme violence has him facing several uncomfortable questions from family and allies as he fails to recognize when he crosses the line from self-defense, to attempted murder.

While Cosmo attempts to reevaluate his stance on the use of extreme violence, he aids in the investigation into those responsible for the Deadpool and has become an active participant with the McCall pack.

ARC  VI,  SEASON  5A :  The Dread Doctors cause Cosmo’s Seer abilities to fluctuate and overwhelm him. He finds himself reliving the massacre of the Seer’s, watching and experiencing how they were hunted to extinction because of their abilities to tear open doorways in the fabric of reality and to pass between worlds as Travelers. Cosmo even watches as a Seer ripped a shifters animal from their body, making them human and killing their animal in the process. Cosmo begins to experiment with his growing abilities and finds that overexertion results in bleeding from his eyes, intense migraines, possible aneurysm in the frontal lobe of his brain and even death.

He is eventually designated plan B if Lydia was unable to break Mason out of Beast mode.

ARC  VII,  SEASON  5B :  Cosmo’s abilities as a Seer makes him immune to the Ghost Rider’s ability to cause amnesia in those left behind by their hunt. As such he was neutralized when the Ghost Riders manipulated a series of events and memories events to have Cosmo readmitted into Eichen House. As Cosmo was dependent upon Stiles’ presence not only for his own sanity but because Stiles acted as his emotional tether, he became erratic, easily provoked and borderline manic.

Cosmo spends the majority of his time in Eichen House honing his Seer abilities and is eventually able to break out of Eichen House by tearing open a doorway into a mirror realm. He reunites with Scott and the others as they began to realize that they had forgotten someone important but Cosmo is difficult to work with as he has a hard time reconnecting with his friends when Stiles was always their common link.

ARC  VIII,  COLLEGE :  Cosmo leaves Beacon Hills upon graduating High School with Honors and enrolls at the University of San Francisco. He’s working on a double major in Engineering and Computer Science, he’s working as a summer internship for Applied Physics and designs his own app which has monopolized income that Cosmo has begun investing as well as using to pay off his father’s debts with Eichen House, their mortgage and has begun saving to eventually renovate his childhood home.

He only lives in the university dorms for his first year before he moves into a loft apartment and hopes to have a more challenging career in Physics Science. He is still in touch with the majority of the McCall pack and stays in Beacon Hills with his father for the holidays as well as visiting his brother as often as he can.

ARC  IX,  POST  COLLEGE :  Cosmo has graduated university with a Bachelor of Engineering Technology, majoring in Engineering and Computer Science with a minor in Electrical Engineering. Officially, Cosmo works as a Software Engineer for an independent cyber security firm. The work is interesting and challenging as some of the firm's clients require elite security services. Unofficially, Cosmo works under his alias g1itch, supplying supernatural creatures with new identities and cover stories when they need to move locations due to imposing dangers.

Cosmo works largely as an anonymous figure, rarely meeting his clients face-to-face and almost exclusively aiding those who are recommended to him through either his brother, or Scott McCall. Cosmo has since created a large network of contacts, both supernatural and human. As such, he is usually the middleman and thus has been targeted by hunters and other violent and dangerous creatures attempting to use him as a way of garnering other victims.

[yougotcrit]

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

I have always loved Star Wars. As a kid I would watch the original trilogy endlessly on VHS, alongside my 90′s era action figures and my Action Fleet ships with the little mini figures inside. When that wasn’t enough I played games like Dark Forces and Rogue Squadron, and when that wasn’t enough I read the extended universe books. I was a loyal and knowledgeable fan.

So when the time came and the prequel films were released you could easily guess my initial excitement and subsequent disappointment going in and out of the theater. I believe most Star Wars fans experienced similar emotions. But despite their terribleness, the prequels never killed my love of Star Wars. Sure, those films did many, many, many things wrong, but they inexplicably still felt like Star Wars. It’s hard to explain, but in any case, I was a still a fan and I still loved Star Wars.

When Disney snatched up Lucasfilm in 2012, I was optimistic. Sure they’re evil, but they’d been doing great things with Marvel and a Star Wars without George Lucas could prove to be beneficial. I mean, the films couldn’t get any worse than this, right? 

Star Wars could only go up from here.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), while just a rehash of A New Hope (1977), was what the fans and critics had wanted for years. It felt like a Star Wars film: from its practical effects to its locations, its characters to its themes; this was Star Wars. Yes, it had its shortcomings, but overall it was fun and ticked all the right boxes. But most important of all was the potential it built. So much potential. There were so many questions, so many possibilities, so many outcomes, characters and story arcs to explore by the end of the film that it seemed certain that we were in for a fun ride for the next two movies.

Wasted potential: Exhibit A

And then The Last Jedi (2018) came and s*** the bed. Not just in Star Wars terms, but in cinematic terms. This movie s*** the bed. I could rant on for hours why and how The Last Jedi screwed everything up, but the big takeaway is that it took all that potential from The Force Awakens and either ignored it or wasted it. And by doing so, the film killed any interest I had for Episode IX, or Star Wars in general. The film is two and a half hours of subverted expectations where nothing is accomplished and even less is explained. There are exactly TWO cool action sequences (you know which ones), but the film is just people frantically running around or standing around with no payoff in the end. The story doesn’t really go anywhere. The film left a bad taste in my mouth that even the prequels had never done before, and for the first time ever I actually didn’t care about what the future would hold for Star Wars.

But now Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) is here to right the wrongs, clean up the mess that The Last Jedi left, and somehow limp across the finish line. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, it decided to ignore much of what had been established in the previous film. I’m not so sure if I mind this, but I should, because that was my main complaint for The Last Jedi. But at the same time I’m thankful because this means we can forget about much of the stupid that happened in The Last Jedi and move on with our lives.

Yep. Just going to ignore this.

There’s a lot packed in The Rise of Skywalker. Too much, in fact. Because The Last Jedi wasted a movie’s worth of plot accomplishing nothing, Episode IX is forced to cram in two movie’s worth of information, characters, story and cameos. The movie has a good handle of what it wanted for Rey and Kylo Ren, but it still didn’t know what to do with Finn and Poe. They spend their time trying to keep up with Rey and find reasons to be in the movie. 

Now before I go further, I’ll say that this film is better than The Last Jedi. By default. There are enjoyable parts and emotional moments, but it’s just not the grand finale we were all hoping for to tie all nine films together. The film is a confirmation that Disney’s trilogy was just following the same template as the original all along, and that they only had a vague notion of what the story would be.

To move the plot along The Rise of Skywalker implemented some unlikely threats and conflicts as the heroes set off on a wild goose chase throughout the galaxy. It’s never just cut and dry; one problem just leads to another that can only be solved on the next set location. There are times when the film stops dead and others when a million things are happening at once, making for some erratic pacing. A dozen new characters are introduced, yet none of them really matter. There’s plenty of fan serving cameos, but I’ve never experienced so many aggressively forced cameos like that before.

So this is where we leave one of my favorite franchises of all time, on the shores of mediocrity. But in the end I’m thankful for more Star Wars, for better or for worse. I know this won’t be the real end, just the conclusion of the Skywalker story line. You’d be crazy to think that Disney was done. On the bright side, you can view the Disney trilogy as one side to a crappy little bookend for the Star Wars saga, with the prequels book-ending the other side of a near perfect trilogy that was started a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker,

You Got Crit

[mrauthor3ds]

Smash Musings - Tidus

Tidus Blitzes Through!

Just one of my wild guesses for the Fighters Pass for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Normally, I tried to steer away from already-existing groups in the base game. But for Final Fantasy, I was willing to make an exception. After all, just look at how many music tracks (and Spirits) it has - barely any! If any existing group deserves more music, it would be Final Fantasy.

If they do add another Final Fantasy fighter, it might not HAVE to be Tidus. Actually, I went with him because of the upcoming main title releases coming to Switch in 2019 - Final Fantasy VII, IX, X/X-2 Remastered, and XII: The Zodiac Age. If Nintendo is out to promote these, then the most likely ones could be Zidane, Tidus, or Vaan. Or even Noctis (for XV: Pocket Edition).

...But, I mean, not only do I kinda like Tidus and FFX, but it was just easier to come up with a good moveset for him.

So this moveset focuses on being nimble and dodgy, while also using wide attacks with his Brotherhood sword - though they may be weaker and much faster than what other big-sword fighters have. This moveset also incorporates some of his blitzball skills.

- Neutral Attack: Four-step sword combo. Can enter a water-type flurry attack. - Side Tilt Attack: Backhand slash. - Up Tilt Attack: Upper slash. - Down Tilt Attack: Low sliding kick. Not as strong as Cloud’s, but has less recovery time. - Dash Attack: Leaping overhead slash (his basic attack animation). Able to avoid most low attacks this way. - Side Smash: A wide rising slash. Range is slightly increased by water effect. - Up Smash: Back-flip slash, range slightly increased by water effect. Also moves Tidus slightly backward. - Down Smash: Swings sword behind, then lunges it forward low. Range is slightly increased by water effect.

- Neutral Air Attack: Somersaulting spin slash. - Front Air Attack: Narrow horizontal slash. - Back Air Attack: Backhand rising slash behind self. - Up Air Attack: Upward flip-kick. - Down Air Attack: Divekick. Travels at a slightly wide angle, like Simon’s.

- Grab: Grabs foe at close range. - Pummel: Knee-kicks foe. - Front Throw: Swing-kicks foe forth. - Back Throw: Tosses foe up and spin-kicks them behind. - Up Throw: Launches foe with a rising slash. - Down Throw: Jump-kicks foe into the ground.

- Neutral Special: Sphere Shot: Kicks a blitzball forth. Bounces back and upward after hitting a foe. - Using this move while the blitzball is still around will have Tidus rush toward it (if it’s close enough) and punch it forth. If it hits a foe again, the next use of this move will have Tidus rush the ball with a spinning kick, turning it into the powerful Jecht Shot. The Jecht Shot can’t be reflected and goes straight through everything in its path. - The follow-up inputs will still work on his own blitzball even if it was reflected. - Alternatively, Tidus can use any of his other attacks on the blitzball to launch it in other angles or arcs. - Side Special: Spiral Cut: Hops forth and delivers an overhead slash. Press the B button to unleash the slash a little sooner. The tip of the sword can deal a decent meteor smash. - Up Special: Slice & Dice: Rushes in a given direction with his sword with water effects trailing him, and then in another (sort of like Pikachu’s Quick Attack). - Down Special: Energy Rain: Hops up and fires three magic beams in a downward fan. If the beams hit a floor, they become strong bursts. - If this is initiated right near a foe, Tidus will instead perform a command grab, kicking off the foe’s head and directing the three beams right into them. - Final Smash: Blitz Ace: Kicks a blitzball straight forth (about 15-18 meters). Any foe struck will be taken into a cinematic attack where Tidus slashes them multiple times before jumping up to the blitzball as it curves around, and kicking it into the foes with a large blue explosion. - Before the blitzball strike, an action command prompt will appear - just like with Tidus’s Overdrive attacks in Final Fantasy X, press the button as the marker is right in the center section before the timer runs out to boost the finisher’s damage and launch power.

- Entrance: Leaps in as pyreflies disperse.

- Up Taunt: “Let’s go!“ Spins his sword around once and swings it to the side. - Side Taunt: His spellcasting animation, complete with the sound and visual effects. - Down Taunt: Does a squat with his sword held against his legs.

- Victory Pose: “The story continues.“ Back-flips, tosses his sword in a spin and catches it, then swings it to the side. - Victory Pose: Kicks a blitzball into the distance, then gives a fist pump to the camera. “Victory!“ - Victory Pose: Gives a whistle, then waves.

-= Palettes =- - Yellow/White (Default) - White/Blue/Pink (Yuna) - Yellow/Blue (Wakka) - Black (Lulu) - Blue (Kimahri) - Red/Gold (Auron) - Orange/Green (Rikku) - Red/Black w/tan (Jecht) (Tidus’s blitzball has a different color with each palette, too)

-= Other Details =- - The water effects for his smash attacks are based on the Brotherhood sword’s ability Waterstrike (which makes its attacks water-elemental). - Slice & Dice’s action here is mainly based on its use when underwater. - Energy Rain’s command grab variant is based on how Tidus uses it in-game - by jumping off an enemy to gain height. - Technically, the Jecht Shot doesn’t begin with a Sphere Shot in FFX. Though the stronger variant, Jecht Shot 2, DOES include a Sphere Shot.

[lj-writes]

Finn’s Parentage Theories: Legends Edition

Clockwise from upper-middle-right.

Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian

Luke and Lando raise a child together, either adopted or through a surrogate. When Kylo destroys the temple, Luke and Lando are devastated when they think their child is killed in the fire. However, all children are brainwashed and recruited by the First Order.

Pros: Uses a fan-favorite ship from Legends, largely thanks to the Marvel Comics. Would give Luke and Lando both a temporary happy ending and a good reason to resign to depression for a while. The timeline would add up and it would give potentially sweet scenes for Finn, Lando, and Luke in Episode IX.

Cons: Would be really depressing. Unlikely for Disney to have an onscreen gay relationship not played for laughs or cheap diversity credit. Would cause some people to view it as Skywalker=naturally good, even though Finn wouldn’t be his biological son.

Nick Rostu

A Force-sensitive warrior from Haruun Kal, Nick Rostu was young at the end of the Clone Wars, but seemed to be about Luke’s age when they met. Regardless, in this universe, Knights of Ren took children while posing as Jedi Knights. Rostu, remembering his friends Mace and Depa, let them, believing their lies that it was for medical purposes. The adults were knocked out, and the Force-sensitive children were stolen to make an elite squad of stormtroopers.

Pros: Allows a Star Wars culture only seen in books to join the screens. Would allow Finn to have a big, loving community to return to as well. Nick’s fighting style is also unique, being a sniper trickster.

Cons: Would come out of nowhere for fans outside of the EU. The timeline wouldn’t add up well. A white director could easily default on stereotypes when designing a culture of jungle-dwellers.

Qu Rahn

Qu Rahn was a young survivor of Order 66, and lived into the early years of the New Republic. With a bit of time displacement, we could change his noble end to be at the hand of Snoke, and his defense of Finn is similar to his defense of Kyle Katarn.

Pros: Would fit with Finn being based off from Kyle Katarn. Adds a connection to one of the most popular EU stories. Would be a way for Finn to get his own lightsaber.

Cons: Could anger Dark Forces fans. Wouldn’t allow closure for Finn’s arc.

Giddean Danu

As one of the signers of the Delegation of 2000, and a founder of the Rebellion, perhaps the Senator of Kuat was imprisoned in a secret Imperial jail, along with his family. His son and his son’s wife had a child after the death of the Emperor, but the Imperial Remnant led by Rae Sloane kept them in captivity and took all Rebellion children to be First Order grunts.

Pros: Reference to the prequels. Allows a new surge of Resistance allies. Some resemblance between Christopher Kirby and John Boyega. Has ties to the Space-Prince Finn theory.

Cons: Would be a bit of a surprise. It’s unlikely Palpatine would take prisoners from the delegation instead of killing them.

Novoc Vevut

In Legends, Novoc adopted and raised the boy who would go on to marry Boba Fett’s grandfather. This version would be biological father to one of the stolen Mandalorian children that he and the new Mandalore Boba Fett have been seeking. Novoc would also have his adopted son Ghes Orade, who would act like a big brother for Finn.

Pros: Similarity to both Mandalorian Finn theory and LJ-writes-verse Sequel Trilogy. Provide a plot-based excuse to bring in Mandalorians and Boba Fett. Would be suitably epic without contradicting previous material.

Cons: Always have to deal with the “Boba should be dead” crowd. Morrison and Logan are both a bit too young to play old Boba (but makeup would fix that). Would raise the question of “where were these guys in the last two movies?”

Barney

One of Luke’s earliest Jedi apprentices, despite not having any real demonstrable Force powers, Barney is a humble, kind man from Marvel comics. He lived on Belderone, a world where AT-AT’s were built, making it a target for First Order raiders. After his home was raided, he has been working any job to pursue any lead as to where his son might be.

Pros: Barney is both sweet and determined, and would be a likable addition. Would also be poor enough to explain a lack of Galactic presence in previous films. Also provide a cute moment for Rey and Finn when she talks about living in an AT-AT, and Finn’s dad makes an instant connection.

Cons: Is named Barney, which is reminiscent of a certain purple dinosaur. Might not reasonably find Finn on his own power. Likable but potentially devoid of conflict once he reunites with his son.

Akanah Norand Goss Pell

Akanah was an ex of Luke’s, and a member of the Fallanassi, a religious organization that thought of the Force as a river known as the White Current, flowing and rippling. Akanah was absorbed into the entity Abeloth, aka Mother of Mortis, and died. However, what if when Abeloth was defeated, she and her avatars transferred to a different timeline rather than a different time period? Akanah, revived, and driven mad by the process, is unable to keep her newborn son in safety.

Pros: Bridge the old and new timelines. Provide a set-up for a potentially grand tenth movie. Add some mystery to an otherwise straightforward saga.

Cons: Somewhat depressing. Akanah would be a bit too old to have a child (but it is sci-fi). Would derail the main conflict of the sequel trilogy.

Katya M’buele

Katya was a friend of Han’s before the Battle of Yavin. In Legends, she died helping Luke fight demons in Marvel’s comics, but this version could live past the battle and become a Rebel Hero like Kes and Shara. She would be in the Resistance, as a slightly older woman, running smuggling and transport operations, always looking for her son that went missing at a young age.

Pros: Ties to the Resistance strengthened. Could appear as a young woman in a Solo sequel. Would not derail the conflict.

Cons: Underwhelming reveal. Ultimately too serendipitous to happen naturally (but there is the Force.) Not a very popular character.

Those are just some theories to rebut the idea that nobody’s thinking of some potential parentages for Finn! I might do a canon one, if this goes over well. My favorite is Luke/Lando, but I think Novoc would make for the best story. (Moth)

[khozmoh]

❝ come on, als, ❞ without waiting for much of a response, cosmo squatted and gestured for her to jump onto his back. he doubted she would need much encouragement but he glanced over his shoulder anyway, ❝ hop up, ❞ // @loetise , piggy back rides through a pop - up carnival !

[swloading374]

Mass Effect 2 Phalanx Vs Carnifex

$50 SPENT

Mass Effect 2 Phalanx Vs Carnifex 2

Mass Effect 2 Carnifex Vs Phalanx

Mass Effect 2 Predator Vs Carnifex

Phalanx does more base damage but Carnifex fires nearly twice as fast. I get a more visceral feeling from unloading lead into things so I prefer the Carnifex, especially with upgrades. I understand the Carnifex has three times the clip size, but the refire is too slow to justify its lack of damage. It needs a bump in base damage to make it possible to kill red bars in 2 headshots to make it viable. These hard hitting accurate midrange pistols have been my favorite weapons in ME and I'd like to see them get some love.

The next milestone includes $30 more, bringing the grand total spent up to $50. Of the 15 Spectre Packs purchased during this phase, you’ll notice a ton of duplicates, especially a lot of Drell Vanguards.

Each time you obtain a duplicate weapon, that specific gun is leveled up by one point (two if it’s a default option). You can level any weapon up to 10, and there are well over 20 to unlock.

CHARACTERS

Turian Sentinel

Drell Vanguard

Krogan Sentinel

Drell Vanguard x4

Turian Sentinel

Male Human Adept x2

Female Human Adept

WEAPONS

Assault Rifles M-8 Avenger V Geth Pulse Rifle II Assault Rifle Stability Damper II

Heavy Pistols Arc Pistol I M-6 Carnifex III Pistol Piercing Mod II

Shotguns M-27 Scimitar I Geth Plasma Shotgun II M-23 Katana III Shotgun High Caliber Barrel III

Sniper Rifles M-98 Widow V M-92 Mantis III Sniper Rifle Piercing Mod II

Submachine Guns M-4 Shuriken IV SMG Heat Sink II SMG Scope I SMG High Caliber Barrel I

Bonus

Cobra Missile Launcher Capacity +1

Ops Survival Pack Capacity +1

Reset Powers

CONCLUSION

Although there were some good finds, overall that felt like another $30 down the drain. Even with all the rare character cards, our class levels hadn’t changed much, and we were still missing a few specific races:

Adept – 5 (missing Drell)

Sodier – 5 (missing Turian)

Engineer – 7

Sentinel – 7

Infiltrator – 5 (missing Quarian)

Vanguard – 12 (missing Asari)

$100 SPENT

$50 down, $50 to go. The following is a list of all of my unlocked content after the full $100 was spent. That’s 50 Spectre Packs or 3,000,000 Credits.

CHARACTERS

Note that the entire second $50 didn’t yield a single new character, leaving me with four empty slots on my class-select screen. XP also came to a crawl. I was hoping to get a character pretty close to level 20 without having to play a single match, but the highest I got was 12.

Adept – 9 (missing Drell)

Soldier – 7 (missing Turian)

Engineer – 12

Sentinel – 11

Infiltrator – 7 (missing Quarian)

Vanguard – 12 (missing Asari)

WEAPONS

At $80 in, I unlocked the M-99 Saber, my first “N7” class weapon. Although I ended with plenty of options to choose from, the Geth Plasma Shotgun remained my go-to weapon, especially without the M-13 Raptor in my inventory. I was still missing lots of mods, and the ones I did have were not leveled up by much.

Assault Rifle M-8 Avenger V Geth Pulse Rifle III M-96 Mattock I M-15 Vindicator II M-99 Saber I M-76 Revenant II M-37 Falcon I Assault Rifle Stability Damper II Assault Rifle Magazine Upgrade I Assault Rifle Piercing Mod I Assault Rifle Precision Scope III

Heavy Pistols M-5 Phalanx I Arc Pistol II M-3 Predator V M-6 Carnifex V Pistol Piercing Mod V Pistol Magazine Upgrade I Pistol High-Caliber Barrel II Pistol Score I

Shotguns M-23 Katana III Geth Plasma Shotgun VI M-27 Scimitar II M-300 Claymore II Shotgun Spare Thermal Clip I Shotgun Shredder Mod I Shotgun Blade Attachment II Shotgun High Caliber Barrel III Shotgun Smart Choke II

Sniper M-92 Mantis VII M-29 Incisor IV M-98 Widox IX Sniper Rifle Spare Thermal Clip I Sniper Rifle Piercing Mod IV Sniper Rifle Enhanced Scope I

Submachine Guns M-25 Hornet II M-4 Shuriken VI M-9 Tempest II SMG Ultralight Materials III SMG Magazine Upgrade V SMG High Caliber Barrel I SMG Heat Sink II SMG Scope I

SUPPLIES

Supplies are special one-use items that are automatically equipped to the D-pad and available in every mission. I didn’t keep track of them until the very end since they’re not that important, and you get a ton of them. But the final tally is below.

Cobra Missile Launcher – 64

Thermal Clip Pack – 73

Medi-Gel – 54

Ops Survival Pack – 85

The Medi-Gel definitely comes in handy as it allows you to revive yourself, and the Cobra Missile Launcher is vital for instantly taking down minibosses such as Atlas mechs. Somewhere along the way I picked up two missile capacity increases, meaning I can now storm into each battle with four missiles. On Bronze difficulty, there are usually only four Atlus mechs total, which makes surviving all 11 waves a breeze.

CONCLUSION

Had I not stolen the $100 out of GamesBeat editor-in-chief Dan Hsu’s wallet, I’d be feeling pretty gypped right now. After 50 packs of the best Mass Effect 3 multiplayer has to offer, I still don’t have a single level 10 weapon, I don’t even have all of the available characters (which there aren’t that many to begin with), and I didn’t pick up any of my favorite weapons from the campaign.

Mass Effect 2 Phalanx Vs Carnifex 2

Worse yet, I can’t imagine sinking the 40 hours of total playtime that it would take to build up 3,000,000 Credits, only to end up with such a mixed bag. XP comes very quickly through actually playing the game, but Mass Effect 3 is quite stingy when it comes to Credits. I think a better price point for the packs would have been 5,000, 15,000, and 30,000, rather than 5,000, 20,000, and 60,000.

Mass Effect 2 Carnifex Vs Phalanx

I’m sure there will be those who purchase just a couple packs and get some awesome stuff, while others will go on to have worse luck than I did. That’s the problem with gambling. But according to our little test, the odds are stacked against you in Mass Effect 3.

Mass Effect 2 Predator Vs Carnifex

GamesBeat Gift Guides:Everything we recommend this holiday season

[aifsaath]

anti-folks, repeat after me:

being a dick doesn’t automatically mean toxic and abusive

toxic and abusive aren’t synonyms

people are sometimes shitheads. sometimes, the very same people are decent and noble. human motivations are complicated. deal with it

there are very very few people that are paragons of justice and incorruptible pureness. I’m sure it’s not you. It’s not me either.

yep, there is 99,9% that you personally are at least to some degree toxic to someone without recognizing it

Severus Snape did not cause the global warming and didn’t kill JFK. Yes, he was abusive. And yes, it’s completely understandable given his history. UNDERSTANDABLE, NOT EXCUSABLE, PUT DOWN THE KEYBOARDS I SEE YOU. And yes, he was redeemed. that’s the point of his story arc.

James Potter is not the next coming of Jesus. He was a horrible dick during his teenage years.

And yes, it’s very possible to like and empathise with both of them.

though I like Sev better. Sue me.

Character assassination is not cool. Yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a manipulative wiseass, but he’s not a sadistic abuser, let alone an abuser just for shits and giggles. HAVE WE SEEN THE SAME MOVIES?!

Anakin is not corrupted from the very beginning... like... you got three movies explaining how a sweet selfless kid from a horrible background becomes a fanatical supporter of a fascist regime - and you still erase the most vital part of him?!! The exact reason why he ended up where he ended?! 

Can you please postpone your tirade about Kylo Ren to the premiere of episode IX?

I haven’t not mentioned Finn because I’m a racist. I haven’t mentioned him because he’s the rare sort of a character that did not get pulverized by the tumblr fandom. (Or I haven’t just seen that particular type of discourse.)

You can dislike a character without calling their fans apologists ;)

The same goes for ships. NAVAL FREEDOM.

Not every slash fiction written by a cishet woman is by default homophobic. get your heads out of your collective asses.

People are weird and fiction mirrors that. Look around. Does everyone live in a fluffy coffeeshop au? No.

[parvaatidynasty-blog]

Role-playing games, or RPGs, are a genre steeped in tradition, especially if they’re of the Japanese variety. Nearly 7 years ago, when it was revealed that Final Fantasy XIII lacked towns, there was a noticeable outrage among fans. Ever since games like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy first propelled the genre into the massive popularity it enjoys today, towns were an integral part of fleshing out a game’s world. Aside from the useful functions they provided in the form of inns and shops, they were often loaded with NPCs who spat out one-liners to give the illusion that the game’s world was alive. But is the ability to immerse one’s self in an RPG’s world truly dependent on the presence of towns? Bravely Default & Bravely Second are two of my favorite RPGs, and games, of all time, yet I wouldn’t say they have particularly engaging or memorable towns. While the games have a very interesting lore behind them, one about a religious war and the other about a devastating plague, the way the game immerses you is by slowly revealing the threads that connect each boss character. With that in mind, maybe it isn’t about towns themselves, but how most RPGs use them, and on a larger scale, the game world itself, in order to convince the player the kingdom, continent, or world they’re saving is truly living-and-breathing.

In 2016, I had the opportunity to play not only some lengthy and well-favored RPGs, but some that were praised for the depth of their game world, particularly Dragon Quest VII and The Legend of Heroes: Cold Steel. While both are entries in series that have been around for a long time, I consider it my first time diving into them with a certain level of awareness (I had played Dragon Quest IX when it released on the DS, but I don’t remember much about the game). Not only do both come from long-running series, but they come from series that are praised for the depth and detail put into their worlds. But despite this similarity, my experiences with each game was completely different. I really liked the tiny details that encompassed Dragon Quest’s world-building, but I found Cold Steel’s relatively boring and uninteresting.

There are a number of reasons this could be. Cold Steel, regardless of being the first entry in a spinoff of Trails in the Sky, may be made for people who have are well-versed or have an investment in the ongoing lore of the games. With hundreds of hours of gameplay preceding Cold Steel in the form of mainline series entries, it just may be an effect of hopping on the train at a later stop. The structure of the game itself may also be at fault; although the episodic academic field trip-like setup fits the context of the game’s narrative, it doesn’t give you a reason to invest in each location. They’re one and done. After you resolve the story arc, the location is more or less irrelevant. These story arcs usually revolve around the different classmates overcoming their differences and becoming a functional military unit, so it may just be Cold Steel is about the relationships between the classmates rather than the world they live in.

But Cold Steel’s world is detailed, just not in a way that rewards the players who devour its history as if it were a real country, and there’s no attempt to make players curious through a “show, don’t tell” design philosophy. Cold Steel is “tell, tell, tell” to the point where some lengthy conversations can dispel your will to play for the remainder of that session. At times, it’s a history book, and while I’m not frightened of history, politics, or economics, there’s just no reason or incentive to remember it. The Nord Highlands chapter is easily the best part of the game: the setting is far different than the other scenarios and some pretty exciting things happen. So while I admire the writers’ decision to think out every last detail of their game’s world, I just don’t find it interesting or purposeful.

Of course, even though I finished Cold Steel, I’m not truly done with it. The game ends with the revelation that it’s only the first half, or third now that Cold Steel 3 has been revealed, of a larger story. It’s possible that when I play Cold Steel 2 and 3, I’ll see the game world become more engaging and interesting. If I can revisit previous locations and see how the actions of the characters and events of the game have affected them, it may just change my mind on the series.

Dragon Quest VII, on the other hand, managed to engage me precisely because it did what Cold Steel didn’t: show me the effects of actions, whether they were my party members’ or NPCs’, and in case anyone here is currently playing or plans to play Dragon Quest VII, I want to mention that I’ll be spoiling some plot events, so if you fall into that group, beware.

Even though the narrative in both games is based on individual vignettes that contribute to a larger narrative, they do so in different ways. Dragon Quest VII has the benefit of having time travel as a plot element, and this makes it quite easy for the game to show you those effects.  Each vignette begins with the party being teleported to a new location, resolving a conflict (most of the time), and returning to the location in the future. While each vignette is related to the overall plot, it isn’t necessary to understand or enjoy it, which is good. Not every vignette is engaging, some are a drag while others are especially memorable. Personally, I loved the Greenthumbs Garden and Vogograd scenarios the most. Vogorad in particular really manages to surprise the player with how the town’s government completely lies about the events that happened in the past, which the player themself witnessed, to prevent the townspeople from feeling guilty. The end result is that you get to see the game world as if it were living and breathing.

The relatively open-world nature of the game is also really conducive to satisfying curiosity. Aside from revisiting towns you saved in the past, you have the opportunity to visit other locations as well. And the game’s relatively lax restrictions on your movement allow you to find some interesting details before you are “meant to.” Keifer’s grave is the most notable example of this. When Keifer leaves the party, I, at least, expected him to rejoin at some point. However, while exploring the continent the Roamer’s resided on, I came across his grave on a cliff. This gave the game’s usually goofy atmosphere a sense of sadness, and the idea that I mistakenly came across something so important and relevant to the characters, not only to my party members’ but also NPCs like Estard’s king, really changed how I felt about Dragon Quest VII.

RPGs are a truly impressive genre. There aren’t many other types of games out there that can keep you engaged in a story from 40 to 80 hours, or even more, with number-crunching gameplay, epic music, and imaginative worlds. The simple mechanics that make up turn-based gameplay have hundreds of applications. It’s these reasons that have me returning to the genre again and again. Having finished writing all of this, all I can think of now is “I really want to play Dragon Quest VIII and Trails in the Sky: Cold Steel 2.”

Tumblr seems pretty weird when it comes to replying to others text posts, so feel free to send me an ask or message me on Twitter if you’d like to share your own thoughts and feelings with me.

[khozmoh]

❝ hang on, hold this, ❞ cosmo said as he shoved the handful of sticks into alice's hands and proceeded to pull his hoodie up over his head, ❝ gimmie your shoelaces, ❞ he added as he took the sticks back and began tying his hoodie and the sticks into something that resembled a hammock or a makeshift bag. he set it aside and began pulling his own shoelaces off and made a sweeping hand gesture as if to speed alice up.

walking across the bridge the pair had stopped upon hearing the wailing cries of a small animal. it had only taken them a few seconds to locate a cat below them, stuck on what looked like a half submerged bike and a discarded backpack. someone had apparently thrown the cat in the bag into the river beneath them and the cat had somehow gotten out but was now trapped in the middle of the river.

❝ we can tie our shoelaces together and lower this down for it, ❞ cosmo explained. sure, he supposed alice could also jump into the water but he doubted the cat would appreciate being manhandled to shore by a werewolf, and cosmo sure as fuck wasn't jumping in. // @ask-alicelockwood , random adventures .

[khozmoh]

❝  you’re  four  foot  and  look  like  you  sing  abba  for  karaoke  night,  you’re  surprised  that  the  bouncer  wouldn’t  let  you  in?  ❞  cosmo  asked,  amusement  laced  within  every  word  as  he  shoved  a  handful  of  fries  into  his  mouth.  The  night  was  dark  but  still  early  enough  that  the  usual  night  life  was  still  kicking  off.  Crowds  of  intoxicated  men  and  women  and  everything  else  in  between  scattered  along  the  streets,  some  lining  up  for  entry  into  the  bars  or  clubs,  others  waiting  in  line  for  vendor  food  (  like  cosmo  )  and  others  turned  away  from  the  clubs  and  forced  to  linger  on  the  street  and  ask  themselves  why  (  like  kenzi  ).    //    @mooneternyl​  ♡’d  for  a  starter .