#Brant my beloved

[mischief7x]

The lost ones is devastating me…

I put the book off for like a year, and boy do I regret it. I knew it would hurt me but still fell in love with every single character.

[localguy2]

Yeah so-

Brant Miller sure does know how to make Zane shout VERY loudly...

[sciderman]

spectacular spider-man #22

[soloavengers]

post monster fight at the capital drill

[imabelyn]

ꕥ 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 - 𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒏 {𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔} + 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 {𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚}

[olessan]

Disappointed that DD2 has no canonical male romance options? HELP FIX IT!

In Dragon's Dogma 2 you can choose almost any NPC to be your beloved/romance option, like in the first game. You can literally pick anyone, including random road guards, to shower gifts upon and raise their affinity.

However. Only two NPCs are canonical romances.

Ulrika and Wilhelmina, both human women, have unique romance quests and scenes that conclude intimately (without any platonic option). Those are the only NPCs in the entire game that have them.

No hate on the girls, they're among my arisen's best buds, but having them be the only two with fully fledged romance arcs in the entire game is a bit absurd.

Pre-release marketing highlighted Ulra, Wil, as well as Guard-Captain Brant, Prince Sven (who tbf seems pretty young), elven siblings Glyndwr and Doirieann, and Empress Nadinia of Battahl and her Guard-captain Menella (who I assumed were a couple). Any of those characters should also have had unique scenes like Wil and Ulra, but they don't. That effectively makes Ulra/Wil the canonical options.

None of the npcs care about the arisen's gender. The main issue is that there are no male options with equivalent romance quest. There's nothing but crumbs for the guy enjoyers, which is somehow a step back from the first game where there was at least Julian.

There are three dudes who would have been strong candidates according to their plot importance:

Brant is the arisen's first and most important ally in Vernworth,

Sven could have been DD2's Aelinore (young noble in need of help) and could've caused loads of plot drama,

and Glyndwr is your introduction to the elf culture through his curiosity.

Do they get unique quests beyond their initial ones? Nope.

Anyway, we can potentially influence some getting added officially instead of as mods:

Capcom has released a player feedback survey.

The survey has questions on what you like, dislike, and would like to see in future content updates. It runs until April 21 and may well influence the future additions to the game.

I laid it on thick about them adding more quests and romance quests, and also about a Bitterblack Isle-type expansion.The more people that bring it up these issues the better.

Go forth, arisen <3

[drinkyourvillainjuice]

Secretary Questions and Answers Part 1

What's the answer to life, the universe and everything?

Being nice to people you don't know. nd also large amount of cocaine

Why did you make the reading comprehension section in the last module?

I'm a librarian! Teaching literacy is half the fun of my job! The rates of functional illiteracy are quite high (up to 50% in some areas of North America). I believe that literacy is one of the few ways to better one's situation, and it starts with asking questions about what you are reading and trying to read in-between the lines. I like teaching people :)

Bingus?

Did you do 9/11?

When I was a wee young lass,

What are some other interactive novels you would recommend?

Secretary Answer: The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante!

Author Answer: For choice of games/hosted games, I like Night Road, the creme de la creme series, fallen hero (which is probably the most predictable recc ever), lies under ice was a really cool recent sci fi release, slammed! is old but pretty great. Separate to choicescript, Our Life Beginnings and Always has a special spot in my heart, it's very much a comfort game for me. I played Digimon Survive this year and although it's kind of a hybrid (it has a lot of turn-based strategy) it's a cool spooky VN. I like the zero escape series too, but also heavily criticise them the way that only somebody who likes something a lot can.

Secretary Answer: show off

What are the characters opinions about peeing in the shower?

nobody pisses in the shower excepts:

Vantage (time efficient)

Hypothesis (he also poops in the shower)

Beth (she's incontinent)

how do author and secretary come together to work on DYVJ? what's the synergy and system like (if there is a system)?

The author writes and does the creative management of the story. She chooses what is inputted in the story and all.

The secretary, me!, deals with a lot of the behind the scene stuff, and with participates in the character design and scene compositions. Create plot points, keep track of things, etc.

essentially, she writes and i am her HR manager. the blog was my idea :)

you guys gay?

i ate her pussy, yes

why is she named surpass

iirc it's because I wanted to evoke a sort of - I don't want to say "Superman" vibe, but I wanted to have a name that evokes power and force. It also feeds a bit into her personality. She's kind of cocky, I'm sure you've noticed, and 'Surpass' has a kind of 'come at me bro' feel to it, making it more the kind of name she'd pick.

Can we smooch Surpass?

Surpass is presently unsmoochable.

Very serious and important question that is totally serious and not at all not serious. At all. Ever. So. Would CG let MC pamper her and feed her sweets via hand? I want to hand feed my handler a Cannoli

CG would be unbelievably tsundere about anyone trying to pamper her.

How did you play Baldur's Gate 3?

my wife says i play games like a maniac. in stealth games (hitman, my beloved), i just run around with guns and kill everything and then finish the missions. allegedly im not supposed to play the game like that! bg3 was a similar experience: what do you mean im not supposed to kill story npcs for their loot? aradin, eat your heart out

[thelureking]

I had this idea to make a list of all the games I played in 2022, half as a recommendation list, and half because I struggle to remember when I played what. I have a really bad time ranking stuff, so I'll just list them chronologically (or, as chronologically as I can remember).

Note: Sometimes I dont have a lot to say about a game, but that doesnt mean I didn't like it or that it isn't good.

So, with that being said:

1) Our Life: Beginnings and Always

This game has put visual novels on another level entirely. How must I go on knowing that I will never be treated like royalty by any other game like this did. Our Life tells the story of your friendship and/or romance with Cove Holden, your new neighbor. This Visual Novel remembers an insane amount of stuff you choose, and it can put you in the state of mentioning something you did as a kid that you completely forgot about. I actually really liked how you can go the entire game as just friends, or choose when your character develops romantic feelings. I cannot overstate how well made this entire thing is. Can't wait to play the DLCs and for the sequel to be released.

Absolute recommend.

2) Iron Lung

If you have a computer, you can play it. It is not an option.

Claustrophobic above all, this game captures the pure dread of the unknown, building tension and atmosphere as you travel through this unknown planet's red sea. Highly recommended.

3) An Outcry

Amazing game that I don't see enough people talking about. The first game that made me actually physically ill while playing an alternative route. I don't know what hit me the most, the subject matter or the type of person I played in that route, a person I know exists and maybe I've met, a person I hope I never become. I knew what the game was specifically referencing, but I found it good that it was able to trigger that response on someone who lives in an entirely different place, with different historical events, but with enough similarities that made the feeling of dread and disgust that much real. Its message is clear and loud as it should be, and one that I think maybe now more than ever needs to be heard. I cannot recommend this game enough.

4) Stillwater

Now this is a Visual Novel that I really liked and would have loved for it to be longer, but I love it as it is. It left me wanting more about the world and its characters, and I think that's a good thing. It feels unfair that this is the one I typed the least about, knowing how much I liked it. It's really worth the read/play.

5) The Caribbean Sail

Have you ever wanted to be a sailor or a pirate? Have you ever wanted to grab a ship, sail into unknown destinations, encounter supernatural phenomenons and watch as your fellow crew members die of disentry five seconds after leaving your first port? Because if so, I have the perfect game for you. It's inspired by the Oregon Trail game, and that's literally what the gameplay is like, except on the sea. Which was enough of a selling point for me.

6) Carrion

My child, it has every disease. Loved the concept when I saw the trailer, forgot I can actually buy games now, and then proceeded to do that. Being able to live my fantasies of being a flesh creature that destroys and eats everything in its path was a delight. The creature is my child and I love it very much.

We need more games that let you play as the monster, I'm serious.

7) The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante

This game is both my beloved and the thorn on my side. Who would have thought that in a game like this you would proceed to suffer through life? I said to myself as if I hadn't known what I was getting into. You'll experience loss, you'll struggle to make a name for yourself, your family will fall apart, and you may never kiss your best friend Tommas who gave you a totally platonic ring to commemorate your friendship because the game doesn't want you to.

Or you'll have a different experience than me on my first playthrough.

You follow the titular Sir Brante from the moment of his birth to his last breath, exploring the world he lives in, full of injustices that at times made me go "I do not care about the lots, give me a fucking gun so I can take you to the fucking Twins". There are many branches regarding life paths, the fate of your family and that of the entire city you live in. But don't worry about it now, keep looking at those toy soldiers at the store as a little kid, I'm sure nothing will happen in the future.

8) Princess Maker 2 Refine

And apparently I didn't get enough of walking a kid through life.

Who looks at a game about raising a little girl by managing her monthly schedule and balancing her stats, health and money and says "yes, this is the game I'll play to destress"?

I do that. Don't ask why.

I have only reached two endings, in one my beautiful daughter became the royal painter, her art held as the most beautiful and inspiring in the entire world. In another, my girl made a name for herself by exploring the lands surrounding the kingdom, so fast on her feet nobody could even scratch her; she married a dragon prince and became the teacher of her own fighting school.

And even with all of that, her goddess mother was not happy.

So yes, this is the "divorced dad who got custody" experience.

9) Planescape: Torment

What can change the nature of a man? That is a question posed by one Ravel Puzzlewell, night hag of the Gray Wastes. It is one of the many questions that this game asks, intertwined by the many philosophies it presents. Planescape Torment does not stick to one question, it asks many, and it lets you answer.

It is a beautifully written game, one of the best I have ever read. There is one moment that I do not wish to spoil, but it still sticks to my head months after I experienced it. As a writer, I found myself fascinated by how a certain event was told, all because of the way it was presented.

It feels like an injustice to not talk in length about Planescape: Torment, but I seriously don't want to spoil anyone who hasn't played it yet. A blind experience is fully worth it. All you need to know is that this is the game that made me post for the first time here, two dumb memes for myself and one short analysis that sometimes reminds me that yes, people can interact with it. Shameless link to it here

10) Growing my Grandpa!

If I had to describe this game without saying too much, I would say it's "heartwarming horror". Two words that don't usually go together, but that they perfectly fit here. The story is, like the title says, about growing your grandpa, more like helping a girl grow her grandpa, but still. Strangely sweet and unnerving, I was tense the entire time, and even when I had to replay it to get the second ending (this was entirely my fault, since I could have gotten it way easier) that tension never left.

11) FAITH: The Unholy Trinity

I don't remember how I found out about this game, but I remember waiting patiently for it to get a steam release so I could buy it and play its three chapters all together. The day finally came, and all that waiting was worth it.

The gameplay is simple, yet the developers found a way to have me both crying in fear and frothing by the mouth out of anger every time I saw the game over screen (affectionately). In terms of difficulty, I would say the game is easy until it isn't, looking at you Chapter 2 and 3 Final Bosses, you bastards. Then again, I saw people say they struggled in places I didn't, so I would say it depends on the player.

The story is so interesting and it's still marinating in my brain please I need people to talk about how the prologue of chapter 2 and the one note in chapter 3 relate please. The cutscenes are also so well done, and I had to restrain myself from using one as a second picture because I didn't want to spoil any of them.

All in all, a must play, fully recommend it.

And remember:

GARY LOVES YOU

12) Inmortal Mantis

This is a tricky one. On one hand, the game starts off by basically spelling out every action you have to do, and suddenly it goes full on "fuck around and find out" mode. On the other, the game implements some interesting mechanics that I would love to see developed on a longer game, but I am not going to put the length against it while knowing how hard it is to make a game. And maybe being short plays in its favor.

13) Who's Lila?

This game is my King in Yellow. I cannot stop thinking about it. I finished it with all endings and achievements in a day, and it wont leave me alone. It is always there, forever crawling at the back of my head, stretching itself over my brain and weaving my thoughts into a spiral as easily as a spider weaves its thread. It made itself a home in my mind and I won't kick it out any time soon. I played it because the concept of controlling a character's face in place of a dialogue wheel was interesting, and the story and the way it's presented (hand in hand with the gameplay) lured me deeper and deeper. I cannot even describe it without giving it the praise it deserves. It takes full advantage of its medium. Playing this game is an experience that I can't recommend enough, and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten the recognition it deserves.

14) Someone stole MY LUNCH!

This visual novel is pure fun. The humor is so good I found myself reading the entire thing out loud while wheezing. I actually found out recently that it's made by the same people that made Stillwater, which, looking at it now I should have known. It's good and I'm not still over not seeing that one joke coming; well played.

15) MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF-

... INSIDE A BAG OF MILK is a short visual novel about a girl going to the grocery to buy milk, and the challenge this seemingly small action can be. It is your responsibility to help her through this.

The steam page description perfectly summarizes it: "This is an artistic manipulation with word and form, only then - a game."

Reblog with more games

Or, you can jump to the 2023 list!

[reanimationstation]

this is how the party scene started right. mike my beloved. brant my beloved also

[councillor-kenric-fathdon]

Hello there! My beloved Oralie suggested I should get [tumblr], and while I’m not 100% sure what a “[tumblr]” is, everyone else seems to be here, so all’s well, I suppose! By the way, I’m Councillor Kenric, though most just call me Kenric (you can, too!). If you’re interested in saying hi to some of my friends, here they are!

Children to protect:

Sophie - @therealsophieelizabethfoster

Mr Sencen - @keefe--sencen

Mr Vacker - @fitz-avery-vacker and/or @fitzroy-avery-vacker

Miss Vacker - @sparkles-make-anything-better

Mr Dizznee - @dex-the-smart-one

Mr Song - @tam-shade-song and/or @tam-song-the-shade

Miss Song - @linh--song

Miss Heks - @im-just-cooler

Miss Chebota - @the-only-maruca-chebota

Miss Redek - @shut-up-i-will-burn-you

Mr Endal - @flasher-boi-endal

Miss (Amy) Foster - @amy-rose-foster

Mr Babblos - @jensi-babblos-rules

Responsible Adults:

Alden - @alden-dendrick-vacker

Quinlin - @quinlin-sonden

Grady - @not-a-fan-of-that-boy

Edaline - @edaline--ruwen

Elwin - @elwin-at-your-service

Magnate Leto - @magnatetheleto

Juline - @julinekdizznee-off

…

Lord Cassius - @thebestsencen

Fallon Vacker: @fall-on-this-widows-peak

Fellow Councillors:

Terik - @terik-the-councillor

The one to be kept away from Sophie at all costs (Bronte) (jk jk he’s my bestie) - @bronte-the-inflictor

Oralie <3 - @oralie-pretty-in-pink

Emery - @emery-is-a-king

Black Swan:

Squall - @the-prettiest-ice-cube

Blur - @blurrieidentities

Forkle - @norwegian-trickster-god

Tiergan/Granite - @prentices-husband

Livvy - @candies-and-sparkles

Miss Jolie Ruewen - @jolie-lucine-ruewen

Neverseen/ex Neverseen/associated with the Neverseen:

Fintan - @fintan-pyren

The worst mother known to Elfkind - @lady-gisela

Vespera: @vespera-neci-folend

Ruy: @ruy-tonio-ignis

Alvar - @alvar-not-vacker

Glimmer (Rayni) - @little-miss-neverseen

Trix - @trix-up-my-sleeve

Brant - @brant--redacted

Umber - @umberthebettershade

And the rest!

Sandor - @igowhereyougo

Silveny - @therarestprattlespin

Ro - @hunkyhairs-backup

Iggy - @iggy-the-imp

Organizations:

Black Swan - @black-swan-official

Neverseen - @neverseen-official

Foxfire Academy - @foxfire-official

Exillium - @exillium

Matchmakers - @thematchmakingoffice and @the-official-matchmaking-office

The Council - @thecouncil-official

Eternalia's Library - @eternalialibrary-official

Main rp - @kotlc-rp-official

Bonus!

The incredible artist who drew my pfp - @wow-youre-so-pretty

My main - @bookwormgirl123

And that’s everyone! Have a lovely day, everybody!

[orinthered]

Finally got around to finishing the post game and gotta say, if DD1 was 50% of what they wanted to do, DD2 felt like 70% but the other 30% was the story and Battahl. I loved the game, but it really suffers from the lack of a narrative.

the game's story really does feel like a rough draft that was somehow polished up into a full game. sometimes not even that: more of like a pitch that got tossed around like "ohh yeah i guess we could do that"

the most egregious part for me is now that i'm in ng+ i can really think about just how fucking weird it is that after act 1, where lord phaesus gets the big "i'm the bad guy looking disdainfully out my carriage window, onto you, the arisen, whom the camera states i see as lesser" cutscene the rest of the game just pivots to us working with him and his assistant, i guess.

a lot of stuff in dd2 also feels like it exists out of necessity because "well, we had it in dragon's dogma 1, so it has to be in this game!" largely the beloved system. we don't have a character like duke dragonsbane who really just exists to justify the idea of having a character you're willing to give up for ultimate power and seeing what that effect might have on someone, because in dd2 you just see the dragon (who isn't named! what!) clutching your beloved, 99% some random fuck npc if you didn't manage to get the ring off the sphinx, and you just have to laugh because like there's a good chance the player has no emotional attachment to this character bc they're just pretty faces with stock personalities and the game doesn't treat the arisen as a person so what reason does the player have to do the same?

i also like briefly talked about this on twitter but when i was looking through the design documents for dragon's dogma 1 and you see how much concepting went into cassardis, the starting area... it makes it really hard for me to buy the conceit of the arisen in dragon's dogma 2. games that just drop you into the action without any backstory work really good if roleplaying was a major aspect of the gameplay, but for dragon's dogma 2 it's not. the point of being chosen to be arisen is that you have the ability to show courage in the face of futility — in dragon's dogma 1, the arisen throws away their life in order to save the village that they love.

in dragon's dogma 2... what, you push some pretty girl out of the way? you're maybe like a village guard? ulrika has like so much more motivation to be chosen as arisen it's kind of mind-boggling. dd2's arisen is a cipher but they need to be an actual character for the conceit of the arisen's will changes the world to make any sense.

this screenshot actually made me laugh out loud but in the way that one might laugh in the face of oncoming traffic. what do you even mean man. the only characters with any story relevance for the entirety of the game's plot are brant, sven, and phaesus lmfao you could get rid of everyone else and it wouldn't matter whatsoever

i mean i love this game. it's easily an 8/10 for me but it's so much harder for me to ignore a good game's bad story than it is for me to ignore a good story's bad gameplay. and if dd2's story is markedly worse than dd1's in every single possible facet...

[sciderman]

amazing spider-man (1963) #136

[amazing-spider-man-book-club]

The Amazing Spider-Man #6

Published: November 1963

Containing: "Face to Face with...The Lizard!"

Introducing: Curtis Connors/The Lizard, Martha Connors, Billy Connors

Synopsis: Peter is sent down to Florida to get some photos on a mysterious figure, The Lizard, who is terrorizing the everglades, but soon must discover a way to help this new villain become human again.

Read alongside us here:

https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/The-Amazing-Spider-Man-1963/Issue-6?id=4028

@frankendykes-monster: There's something so humorous to me about naming a villain "The Lizard" after already having one named "The Chameleon". The off-brand model even if they share nothing in common. I had to look up when it was discovered that dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles but no luck unlike last issue's forcing me to look up how spiders communicate.

The introduction of The Lizard rings like a horror film, the setting in Florida couldn't help but make me think of The Alligator People (1959). Virtually all the tropes like the monster staking a claim in hostile territory and scientific mishaps and an ancient castle ooze charm, it's only the near ending when The Lizard wants to create more reptilian humanoids that you're forcibly reminded that this is a supervillain we're dealing with.

I have to wonder if The Lizard was originally intended to be a one-and-done given the character never returns during Ditko's time on the title but Curt Conners does. Much like Mysterio returning to his first costume, it's something that's only established as an ongoing threat when John Romita takes over. I have to say the character's design is probably the first Ditko one that's something of an acquired taste, had he worn a purple coat and had black eyes with white pupils like on the cover, it would have been more cohesive and threatening, though I'm not a giant fan of more animalistic subsequent designs decades down the line. This issue's title page is another all-time favorite of mine for how much it reads as a three-dimensional space. Ditko occasionally goes all-out, though at the same time I feel like we see way more of Spider-Man sans webbing in this issue (whenever the character is far enough away from the camera that drawing them would be too much of a hassle. Blah.)

I have to wonder what people reading this for the first time have to make of Liz Allen and Betty Brant being Peter's love interests, because if it wasn't a full-time thing last issue, it certainly is now. Betty's appearances in the live-action Spider-Man films have more or less been cameos, is what I'm saying. Given Liz's newfound interest in Spider-Man I think it's quaint if disappointing that it isn't until Civil War, over 40 years after this, that she discovers it's Peter under the mask alongside the rest of the world. Womp womp.

Probably the most realistic thing about this issue is Jameson accidentally starting a tabloid frenzy wherein he demands Spider-Man go down to Florida to fight The Lizard. It's ridiculous but plausible enough that I could see people actually read papers and developing a strong opinion on the matter.

@duel1971 : This issue may be my favorite so far. The story takes Peter out of NYC and down to Florida on J Jonah Jameson’s dime to get pictures of the Lizard. This leads to Peter and Jameson being traveling partners, a concept I would happily read a full-length story about but which is only touched upon briefly here.

Curtis Connors has one of the most well-realized supervillain origins we’ve seen yet in ASM. The tragic nature of the character feels iconic: the loss of an arm motivates him to recklessly experiment on himself and leads to a complete physical transformation that renders him a threat to his beloved family and, as the issue draws on, civilization itself. (Or at least Florida.) In addition, lizards being a natural predator of spiders makes the Lizard’s ability to physically outmaneuver and outmatch Spider-Man feel ordained by nature.

Some parts of the story feel a little clunky – in particular, I’m not sure what a serum that turned a man into a lizard would do to actual lizards. The story doesn’t seem to have a firm idea either, but apparently it would be very bad. I appreciated the attempt to raise the stakes, but found Curtis’s alienation from and eventual reconciliation with his family to be much more compelling.

[mynamisfab]

customer service Brant and political science major Alvar my beloved <3

@tw-5

[heydragonfly]

Group shot of my campaign group that I DM for, the Red Flags! they are bundles of chaos 🫡 Clockwise, the characters are: Mog the grave cleric of Charon ( @woolieli ‘s character), Tempest the druid of mist, Brante the surfer monk, and Tinnuien the beast master ranger with her beloved drake Jordie :)

[lehdenlaulu]

Remind me to write the proper impressions post about DD2 when my head is less full of snot and more full of coherent thoughts, but the affinity/romance system is so funny.

First Sven and Ulrika started leaving me letters and gifts outside of my door after I'd only talked to them a couple of times, and now I apparently have a whole-ass accidental harem with Brant, Glyndwr, and his bloody dad (and probably sister too, soon, lbr) joining in. And what's extra funny is the bright red anime blush on the characters' faces that apparently indicates maxed affinity, but honestly rather makes them look like they're very drunk. 😂

Glyndwr also randomly showed up at my door when I happened to be in town and wanted to go on an adventure/date to show off his new bow skills so I wouldn't think I'm out of his league, basically. Bless. I do wonder if this time I have more choice in my so-called beloved than in the first game where my Arisen first accidentally seduced the Duke's wife and then ended up with Selene kind of by default, apparently. Ah well, guess I was luckier than those who were assigned the annoying court jester. 😆

I guess that's the frustrating charm of this game: you only have the two autosave slots so you can't go back and do things differently, so the consequences of your actions -- or lack thereof -- are very real.