#Game dev woes

[ninamodaffari]

five hundred and thirty people laid off from riot. We aren't even one month into 2024.

there is no security in the work within game development. My dad would tell me 'just work hard, be essential and earn your place' but that isn't how it is anymore. You could be the best, most amazing artist, as so many of my friends who were laid off were, and it doesn't matter. They will get rid of you just as easily. I don't even know what to feel anymore, but as someone who had been laid off in the past, I cannot convey how devastating it is to have your life uprooted just like that.

[websterweaver]

I'm debating on if I should start working on my JJK or TG project next? like I guess I need to figure out what all these games need and what all I wanna do with them. I'm still feel very new to game development. And I'm still learning GDscript. I just wish I was faster at learning code... but I need to be patient with myself. I'll learn it in time. just keep practicing.

[deer-in-the-weeds]

Man this self sabotage shit is crazy. Idk what the hell happened between this post and the last but i just couldnt work on my game in the SLIGHTEST. I need to make this damn thing already and im not gonna stop until i at least have SOMETHING

[randomnameless]

I mean… fire emblem shouldn't be taking in consideration when making points about representing real world issues or using it as a crutch for sociopolitical arguments irl. One of the best examples in this franchise of "culture bias" and "covet bigotry" is Fates, where Hoshido is too pure, too good, and Nohr is the bad, bad, evil barbaric nation. And this goes so far as to make birthright's story a more watered down version of blue units vs red units story from shadow dragon.

In 3H now the good, pure nation is Fodlan, and those who surround it are either filler to make the worldmap look prettier, or barbarians that like to hunt the good guys for sport (Almyra and Sreng, and possibly Dagda), with Brigid being a repetition of the noble savage trope. Just bc there's a poc guy that wants to unite people and get rid of prejudice in story, doesn't mean that the developpers agree to that or support that.

(Also, let's not talk about Hopes and how Claude's altruistic dream turns out to be unifying two different nations and make the cohabit by force with him as sole leader of both. AKA the typical fire emblem trope of uniting different countries under one ruler, something that's not progressive in the slightest)

Mmh,

Speaking on eggshells here because Fates isn't really my area of expertise, but basically, iirc you can thank Pat for scrubbing the worst of Hoshido!

Fates' best route is Revelation (rip izana) where both countries accept to set aside their differences to work together, meaning that, obviously, Hoshido wasn't only "blue unit land" against Nohr's "red units".

Even through Birthrout, you can catch here'n'there, even in the Pat version!, how Hoshido isn't roses'n'daisies, it's the land where Mikoto takes her niece "hostage" ffs as a measure against Corn's kidnapping (you can't tell me she never guessed Azura was Arete's kid!), where Ryoma (idk if you were the same anon as back then?) as the crown prince ignores the plight of the nohrians and why they were attacking Hoshido because life in Nohr sucks and they're starving (idk if, much like the Leonster/Thracia conflict, Hoshido refused to trade with them and let them starve instead), the fuckery with Mokushu and Shura's backstory, or Hoshido being Misogyny Land (tm).

Heck Birthrout has you march on Nohr's capital city iirc, and fight in the streets - it's in Birthrout that Corn's obsession with taking revenge/defeating Garon leads to Elise' death - so it's not the the "blue unit waltz on red unit lands, routs the enemy and calls a day".

So I don't think the Fates writers really wanted to push the "pure unproblematic land" card with Hoshido compared to Nohr, but rather depict them as both flawed - in different ways - and needing to work together.

Now, I wouldn't say the nations of Fodlan are good compared to the rest of the filler nations that make up this verse's world - after all it's Adrestia who starts hostilities against Dagda'n'Brigid and Adrestia who most recently flattened Brigid and made it its vassal! - but in a sense you're right calling them filler, the FE series in general don't spend a lot of time to depict nations in general, they're just "the place character X is from" and for all of its, hm, reknown writting, Fodlan is following the trend, Albinea is no less different than Cheve (wait, we have one map set in Cheve! kill that) so bar flavor text, they're effectively just "filler".

I disagree about Sreng and Almyra being filler though, if Sreng could be seen as a ref to the Thracia situation or Norh/Hoshido fight for ressources, Almyra?

Is basically Verdane all over again - with the dubious honor of having a Verdanite Lord who, unlike Jamke has some relevance to the plot bar his introduction, but most important, seems to appreciate and want to emulate/import the values/methods of his country to the cast/main plot.

Can you imagine FE4 where Jamke suggests to kidnap Deevtar to seduce lure Andrei in a trap and rekt him?

Of course not.

Just bc there's a poc guy that wants to unite people and get rid of prejudice in story, doesn't mean that the developpers agree to that or support that.

I guess they agreed with the "get rid of prejudice without dealing with the dragon in the room" idea, but the main issue I mentionned and talked about in the other anon reply was the how, and what, doylist wise, it conveys.

"I'll unite people and get rid of prejudice by busting open your country to my people who are as prejudiced as you supposedly are, and I will bring you new values"

That's... not a good way to bring people together lol.

Even in FE16 I found Claude and Almyra's writing a bit odd : why asking Timmy first to stop shunning Bob when Timmy started to avoid Bob because Bob keeps on stealing his lunch money? Shouldn't you ask Bob first to, uh, not be an ass?

In Nopes?

Bob ruins Timmy's house, hits Timmy's toddler sister in the face and still steals his lunch money - but now, Bob has the nerve to tell Timmy that he's doing this to "help" him.

Also, let's not talk about Hopes and how Claude's altruistic dream turns out to be unifying two different nations and make the cohabit by force with him as sole leader of both. AKA the typical fire emblem trope of uniting different countries under one ruler, something that's not progressive in the slightest

Hmmm,

I don't know if you played the older games (FE1 to FE10), but as far as I remember, bar Archanea verse, we have different rulers for each countries and the world is never an unified entity -

And even then, Marth doesn't unify the world by making people "cohabit by force", as forced as it is, everyone gives him their crown.

Sanaki doesn't tell Elincia to suck it as she annexes Crimea in FE10, ditto with Innes and Joshua, or Ced and Ares in Jugdral... I can see Leif's unification of Thracia falling under that criteria, but even then, it's not so much by force than Travant making suicide by cop because he wanted the peninsula to be united and understood he couldn't be the one to do it.

Uniting the continent by force is, on the contrary, what red emperors do, and in traditional FE games, red emperors are defeated.

To return to your main point :

I mean… fire emblem shouldn't be taking in consideration when making points about representing real world issues or using it as a crutch for sociopolitical arguments irl.

Of course, and I totally agree!

The FE series has always been, as its core, a series where a "rightful ruler" returns home to rule "rightfuly" and better than its predecessors, by acknowledging what they did wrong and what they can do now.

That being said, a game is never written in a vacuum : that's the doylist side of various discussions : "What were the devs thinking, was what their reasoning when they decided to make the game this way?"

In 2004, real world persons believed that putting Devdan in their game was okay.

You can give them some flak because different cultural references between Japan and the US world (hell, western world at this rate because damn if Devdan hit "international" racist stereotypes boxes!) - and yet, can you really suppose the devs wouldn't have known, in 2004, that those stereotypes are harmful to real life people and Devdan was basically an insult?

But Devdan was just a living (as much as a fictional character can be alive, but you catch my drift lol) stereotype, the issue was just with Devdan existing.

It was 2004, 15 years later, we expect of IS - not your backwater company! - to never ever fall in the same pits, right?

(well, we had FE13 with the Feroxi main characters who love to fight being dark skinned... so the Devdan dev might still have been there :/ )

FE Fodlan, let it be for design or even names, took some inspiration from RL (it was funny upon release to catch all those links and nods!), and while i appreciated the aesthetic, it was bound to create another "Devdan" issue.

You have Almyra, designed with several RL inspirations (they weren't being subtle with Claude's battalion called the Immortals lol), from design (Claude's clothes and braids!) to units (mounted archers!) to, well, names.

Okay, in itself, it's nothing as insulting as Devdan's existence. But taken with the context?

The devs wrote that Fodlan's aesthetic was supposed to be the Age of Discoveries (1500s and onwards?) so yes, during that Age, you had people who were prejudiced as fuck against people from other lands/different cultures.

But in 2019, we know that those prejudices were full of shit, and either fueled by ignorance, or just, the need to find a good "excuse" to get new lands/manpower/ressources.

Maybe the devs wanted to showcase this part of history : depict the characters being prejudiced against "foreigners" and have them later learn that their prejudice was unfounded !

But... they took the inverse path

Hilda's racist stereotypes? They're shown to be....

True through both games!

As you put it, Almyra are the "barbarians" who : attack the land the characters are from when they're at their weakest, for no reason than to get a good fight - even if it means dying which in turns create several orphans they don't give a fuck about - pillage and "rampage" in cities, let their allies die after accepting a "mutual support" alliance with them, and ultimately rave and scream at their "outdated" values and how you're going to bring them yours.

"You see those people who were derided as savages and barbarians back then in RL - and still are in some parts of the world because the early 2000s happened and in general because racism exists? - Well I'm going to base my fantasy "token barbarian country who is untrustworthy and backstabs everyone" based on them!"

:/

I know you can't compare tomatoes to watermelons, but the Baten Kaitos franchise also has a nation who's, more or less, full of assholes, racists and imperialist pieces of shit. But the devs in those games designed each island/country from scratch, there is no nation that immediately calls back to "RL country X or culture Y"!

you can make a farfetched point about the people wearing ceremonial masks and having totems being a mix of several RL inspirations or at least being a call back to them... but they're part of the most OP people of that universe!

So why? Why, doylist wise, FE Fodlan designed with care - you can't tell me those costumes and outfits were designed in 10 minutes! - Almyra and its characters... only to have them act out as what an english book from the 1780s depicted "oriental" people ?

Unlike Devdan, the racism doesn't ooze out from the way the characters/country was designed, but what role they fit in the story.

It's not a sociopolitical commentary or representing real world but more like another jab at IS for being as prejudiced against non western/japanese cultures and civilisations as they were when FE4 was released, which is problematic in 2019/2022.

(and then you have Square Enix giving us Hyzante in Triangle Strategy, which is even more in your face with the dubious parallels)

[ket-shee]

Making concept art for my bug fables fangame is surprisingly fun. It's just a shame the coolest looking character is a boss that only appears for like. 20 minutes LMAO

[goldentigerfestival]

if there is one thing i will never recover from with crestoria's crossover being gone for good, it's that we'll never ever know the story behind transgressor yuri.

if there are two things i will never recover from with crestoria's crossover being gone for good, it's that leon and aegis' loyal friendship will never ever return.

[disgustedorite]

I think we as a culture need to be more normal about "Chinese knockoffs"

[woesoftheirwretched-if]

death, life, is there a life after death?

WOES OF THEIR WRETCHED.

| “You will be getting your revenge, no matter what the cost is and whom you have to use..”

Main blog : @pearldvs || other if blogs : none....

LINKS :

DEV-LOGS || FAQ || WARNINGS || SECRET ROS & FLINGS || MASTERLIST || BUG REPORT || THE SEED verse 9:80

PLOT: a recommended 18+ interactive fiction (that contains disturbing/dark subject matter that is not for everyone)that takes place in a mix and alternate universe of ancient medieval times. Nothing in this story will be historically accurate. Woes of their wretched (wotw-if) is where you play as a consort of a cruel king, Leif. You are going to get your revenge for yourself and possibly for other reasons but you will play as a consort and a parent.

| 18+ themes such as described nudity, graphic depictions of blood and gore, depression, rape, abuse, forced Marriage, morally questionable behavior, toxic and unhealthy relationships, child abuse, and more(you can check out the full warnings down above)

note | you will not be able to pick the gender of your child, you will have a son. the main character will start off as a bad parent towards their son and later on the game, you can still be a bad parent or try to be a great, how you choose will affect your life, other characters, and your son's life.

| mc will get pregnant regardless of gender due to magic (if amab)

FEATURES

=Choose the person you wish to be, customize your name, gender, sex, sexual orientation and appearance, you can also choose what kind of parent you want to be; loving and caring or unloving and uncaring as well with choosing what kind of lover you wish to be; loving, lying, manipulative, toxic, healthy…

=Choose your endings and life : There are bad and happy endings for anyone. Yourself, Your Son. It's all up to you, what you can get.

=Build or break your relationship with characters such as ros(romance options) and your son. Even though you can help them, there is no way to make everyone happy but it’s your choice to pick who can be or not.

=Romance anyone of the eight romance interests and 6 secret romance interests(and a few that would be seen as conversational)…but some are not really romance options, a few might die, betray or reject you… will you pick the right ones and be possibly happy? ( 14 ros in total and 4 flings )

DEMO: Prologue 0.5 —on itch io [40k words] : has beem uploaded.

| currently : working on the rest of the prologue part one...

Note: as of currently, I cannot use butlers on Itch io due to my chromebook being messy, if you want. You can download save files or export it.

NOTE; EVERYONE IS THE GAME IS MESSED UP, SICK AND THEY'RE AWARE, DO NOT BABY ANY CHARACTERS (-the kids ofc)

ALL 8 ROMANCE OPTIONS[ros] & OTHER NON-DATEABLE CHARACTERS BELOW

All romance in this story is optional and can be skipped all together if preferred. Still, the platonic relationships will be rewarding and deep on a different level. There are currently no options for poly relationships but I will think about it..

[MAIN CAST]

THE VOICE [unknown] , ?? - ◇

??? : the voice is something or someone that has been with you ever since your mother had died when you were ten years old.

?? : your mother had the voice inside of her mind for a long time when her father was killed, this voice seems to be from your mother's side and it says it is a demon.

| the voice and mc will have a complex relationship and throughout the game, the voice will be a bastard and judge you throughout the game and later on you can have a nickname for it.

#wretched : voice

MC 'DOVE' AUGUSTKINGS (ALCOTT) [genderselectable] , 21 - ☆

Backstory: You are a outcast as people would say, just in the shadows with the title of 'one of Leif's many consorts' as people would say...

📎 A person, with gold eyes and customize-able to your likings.

#wretched : mc

| customized-able looks except for eyes (gold)

° | mc will originally be a bad parent towards Emil(your child) due to trauma, its up to if you want to be a bad parent or a great parent... your child's faith will lay on your hands.

EMIL AUGUSTKINGS [male] , 7 - ♧

Backstory: your child, you had no interest in him, born out of force and no love for him, but you realize that you can take your revenge - a possible heir of the throne, your ticket to revenge.

📎 An young boy, he has light brown skin, he has gold eyes. He is short in height (4'0). His hair is dark green and short that reaches to his ears and it is neatly combed. His body is skinny and petitle.

#wretched : emil

| you are unable to name him but you can give him a nickname later on, if you wish so.

MIRSELL CONSTAN [female] , 57 - ◇

Backstory: A old woman that takes care of consorts' children, a nanny but she seems to take care of your child more. - A elderly woman, a nanny people would say. She calls herself, Emil's Mother. Not around you, obviously.

📎 An older woman, she has brown skin tone, she has black deep eyes, she is short in height (5'4) and her hair color is fully grey and white and it is shoulder length and tied in a bun. Her body is leaning towards chubby.

#wretched : mirsell

| you can choose her faith later on the game, she can die or live also she can hate or love you later on.

ARTHUR IOVMISE [male] , 47 - ○

Backstory: A man, he is an assistant of the king, he also helps the consorts - He is a strong man that is also seen scolding the consorts, his daughter was also a consort of the king but rumors say that he helped her flee.

📎 An man, he has a tan skin tone and he had dark blue eyes along with his height being tall(6'1) and his hair being dark green with some grey hairs(he has facial hair), it is short and reaches to his ears, his body type is lanky and tall.

#wretched : arthur

| depending on your choices, he can hate or love you as his own.

SONA(SOPHIA) BELLWON [male] , 25 - ☆

Backstory: A servant, he is having an affair with one of the consorts, a young woman named Emilia - He is a servant that is related to Lady Mirsell, his grandma, well not really but he says he is.

📎 An man with fair skin, he has hazel eyes and he is average in height(5'11) and he has a color that mixes of grey and blue, his hair is shoulder length and is tied in a low ponytail. His body type is lean and average.

#wretched : sona

| sona will either help you or betray you depending on a very important choice you will make and he will be important as well.

LEIF AUGUSTKINGS [male] , 56 - ♧

Backstory: He is a man that was raised by a cold mother and a ill father, he is cold as well - He is your husband, he wants a heir, a strong one. A son. Every daughter is ignored, you're lucky.

📎 An man who has two different colored green eyes with dark blue and brown skin, he is tall(6'4) and his hair color is dark green and it is ear length along with his beard which is a stubble and his body is quite muscular.

#wretched : leif

| he will die in a lot of endings except the bad endings and he is one of the main problems with your life and trauma.

ESME DAWN-BALDASSARE [male] , 18 - ☆

Backstory: your brother, despite being younger, has taken care of you, he is your sweet brother and he love you and Emil. - your his only family left and he is yours, he doesn't do much but stays at king Leif's castle at your request.

📎 An man with olive skin that is your younger half brother, his eye color is ruby red, and his height is short(5'4) his hair color is purple but with natural highlights of ash blonde and it reaches up to his shoulder and often tied in a small pigtail. His body is lean.

#wretched : esme

| no matter what you do, esme will always be there for you.

MOTHER ALCOTT [female] , 29 - ☆

Backstory: your mother, none hardly used her name in the castle, she was like a curse - she had died when you were younger, around 8. Just taken away by your father and his guards.

📎 An woman whom you called your mother, she has gold eyes like yours, she is quite tall(5'12) and her hair color is black and unevenly cut, and it is left loose. Her body is thin and bony.

#wretched : mother

| no matter what you do, she will always hate you.

+ more *on codex in the game, more characters will appear on there once more chapters are released... i will make a separate codex for more characters since putting all of them in one would be too much. (Important characters only will show or who have more appearance than others)

[ROs] 8 known ros, 6 secret ros and 4 flings

(ros : 14 in total w/ 4 flings)

| one or more of those romance options(ros) can die, betray your or your child or even reject you. you can be healthy or toxic towards characters, romance options, and even your son.

| most ros will start with slow burn, flings, and towards you can confess your feelings where some might reject or accept you but some ros are not really ros, dont trust anyone. (some ros might not like your child and will try to convince you to get rid of him, everyone is a red flag including mc)

| note. one of the ros is legally your step-son but none of the consorts(leif's consorts) feel like family and one the flings is your cousin. again, its up to you, if you want to romance the ro or sleep with the fling. One of the ros is older and does know mc when they were younger(not really but they do know and see mc when they were a child meanwhile they were an adult) and it might be seen as uncomfortable, one fling is married just uses mc for pleasure. (Again, everyone is toxic and might not show their true colors)

×

MICELA LENN [female] , 25 - ☆ [she/her]

Backstory: a young woman who was hired to be a nanny for the children like Mirsell but just younger - she takes care of children, she seems fond of your son, Emil. She also takes care of you, when she can. Maybe she admires you.

📎 An woman with brown skin and dark green eyes. She is short in height (5’4). Her hair is a deep shade of black, short and tied in a short messy bun. She has a lean body type . She has a gap between her two front teeth along with a small scar on her nose. Maria is seen mostly wearing her nanny’s outfit–a black dress with puffy sleeves and a white apron– but when she isn’t working, it would be a dress–a cool shade of blue dress, long that covers her knees and her arms, like an sundress– that her mother brought her before she left her home.

#wretched : micela

| she can be in-love with you or hate you in the first part of the game, depends on you.

LUCEYDELL RICHNESS [male] , 20 - ☆ [he/they]

Backstory: another consort of Leif, he is closer to you than any other consort, he seems fond of you. he is seen as feminine and often is dressed and he was originally a consort of a deity called "wraith". there are some rumors that he is the favorite.

📎 A male with light brown skin and pink eyes. He is around average in height (5’7). His hair is a very light shade of white, long that reaches his chest and tied in drill ringlets. He is average but leaning towards thin, he has beauty marks about everywhere on his face and a birthmark of something that seems like a fingerprint. Luce is seen mostly wearing his robes; it's completely white with gold undertones and has ribbons and many ties on it.

#wretched : luceydell

| he will be kind of a cock block during other routes and also toxic (more on the yandere side)

FAYETTE IRVINE [female] , 34 - ☆ [she/her]

Backstory: a dancer, a woman who has born and brought into a work of dancing and more, she is often brought by the king to perform - she often dances and has her own personal room despite her work, she is seen with kids. She cannot give birth to her own, she once said.

📎 A woman with light brown skin and dark green eyes. She is short in height (5’2). Her hair is auburn brown, long and tied in a low ponytail. She is thin in size and weight. She has a beauty mark under her eye and mouth. She mostly wears a long blue gown that is tied with many laces and noble french-wear; when not working as a dancer but is seen wearing a small dancer's wear.

#wretched : fayette

| this is the ro who knows and seen mc when they were a child but fayette never payed attention to young mc until present day(chapter one) and fayette doesn't remember them but can still be see as uncomfortable.

PANDORA AUGUSTKINGS [male] , 25 - ☆ [he/him]

Backstory: one of the king's children, they hate their father and is wanting to get the throne to avenge their mother - They are technically your step-child since marriage to the king but not really, none feels like family, they seem rude and often bothers you.

📎 A man with warm ochre skin and deep black eyes. He is tall in height (6’1). His hair is a deep shade of black like jet-black along with natural purple highlights, short that reaches up to his chin and left well-combed and slightly slicked-back with some strands in his face. He has an average built. He has two scars, one across his cheek to his other cheek, that goes across his nose and the second one on his neck. He is seen mostly wearing a royal suit–that is white and has blue undertones.

#wretched : pandora

| he is the stepson (legally by marriage) soo... also hates you but hey, hate-fuck/j

SALLY FIORISE [male] , 24 - ☆ [he/him]

Backstory: a baker and florist, he is a young parent like you - he is working at the castle since he is the town's delight and gets paid well!

📎 An man with peach skin and black-hole eyes. He is average in height (5'9). His hair is dirty blonde that reaches his ears and it is messy but yet noble looking. He has a lean; body type. He has one beauty mark under his eye. He has scars on his hands and fingers due to his job. He wears a white undershirt with a black apron with a white bandanna on his head, with black trousers and brown shoes.

#wretched : sally

| he has a daughter that is overprotective of him, depending on your choices, you can be happy or mad with sally.

EMMY GREENBRIAR [f/m] , 25 - ☆ [depending on choice]

Backstory: a knight, your personal knight ever since an attempted murder, the king has brought you a knight. - they are always near you. Visible or not. They will stand by your side.

📎 An person with tan skin and dark green eyes. They are very tall in height (6'2). Their hair is short black hair that reaches chin but bit above and is tied up in a small low ponytail. They have a musclar build and a strong body. They have more scars on their body that is scattered every where, face, neck, legs, back. They wear a knight's amour at all times and without it, is just wearing a loose black shirt with brown trousers.

#wretched : emmy

| regardless of gender, emmy will still be very tall and very strong since some people might like a strong woman with muscles!

ADEN BASTARD [f/m] , 23- ☆ [depends on choice]

Backstory: ironically by the last name, They are a bastard. Born out of incest, their parents both siblings, surprisingly no birth deflects well they were born with an illness - They are a noble and stays close to you after their castle was burnt down, they are soon to be betrothed to an other.

📎 An person with a fair skin tone with red eyes. They are around short and average in height(5'6). Their hair is a natural blue, it reaches their shoulders and it's tied in a low ponytail that lays across their shoulder. They have a skinny body type due to the illness. They easily bruise and often is seen with bruises on their skin. They wear a mix of a nightgown and that still scream nobility instead of sleepwear, it's completely white with some red undertones.

#wretched : aden

| you can help them from the unwanted marriage or not but depending on your choices, they will no longer be a ro if they do get taken away.

MARRYJOY WHITEFIELD [nonbinary] , 22 - ☆ [they/them]

Backstory: not much is known but they are quiet and mysterious, weirdly the king is very interested in marryjoy - they are a mage but a fortune teller, the king seems happy around marryjoy, they have a secret.

📎 An person with a brown skintone and has hazel eyes. They are average in height (5'8). Their hair is white and long that reaches their past their shoulder that is left loose. They have a average build; a mix of skinny yet some chubby-iness on them. They have eye bags on their face along with a circle birthmark on their forehead. They wear a mages robe almost all the times.

#wretched : marryjoy

| marryjoy will be a problem at the start and will be seen at chapter one but rarely.

woes of their wretched.

@interact-if | @pearldvs

[lostpeace]

Well fuck, I was just informed that the version of the game I had uploaded previously had a serious issue with the map tiling that was impeding progress. It should be fixed now but I do feel stupid NGL.

That said if you downloaded the game before and got stuck, you don't need to start over. The save data is stored in the folder labeled "save" and you should be able to just copy and paste it into the new version.

As always, do tell me if there are still any issues left.

Aaaaand done! I think I will take a break now until I fully begin working on my next project, but I do hope you enjoy this one.

[burningcheese-merchant]

I like the fact that the devs agreed and added the parallel that the ancients are all very kind to themselves, even at their worst, how vulnerable they can be. In chapter 10, HB accepts Lily's wrongdoings, and despite the fact that it took her a while to process her trauma, she tries to make peace with her.

Now with the beasts, it's so different because, if you notice, despite having a problem, they don't try to change their ways. That's why most of them don't understand each other; their philosophy clashes greatly. Despite one of them claiming to be very close, in reality, each and every one of them feels so alone. It's undeniable how many people still believe they're close.

It's fascinating to see their parallels. It's good to know they're not close; it's complex and interesting. I want to add about episode 10 i feel outraged by the fact that no one talks about how complex ES's character was the last part of the episode made me cry because i know she only had one purpose when she was created and the fact that HB proposed to her to leave their garden and go with her was the most painful and touched me so much. (seriously my friends asked me if i was okay because i cried a lot LOL) everyone thinks it's an unrequited love, if it wasn't reciprocated HB wouldn't take the time to understand ES and explain to her that the world doesn't have to be perfect like she describes it. it's an episode with a queer tragedy explained in the hardest but sweetest way possible... And the game is from a country that litteraly is a sin to be like this or not good received as well.

All of the BxA r Indeed were pure art but with different narratives as well

Yeah definitely!! I've always loved the parallels between the Beasts and Ancients - not just individually, but as groups. While they both endured equally great suffering, in the end, the Beasts chose the easy way out. They chose darkness and despair. They chose to inflict their suffering onto others instead of properly addressing themselves and their shortcomings. And what's fascinating is that, for a time, the Ancients chose similarly: Golden Cheese succumbed to delusion and hid herself in a fantasy world in order to assuage her grief, Hollyberry abdicated and ran away from her family and her people and her life, drinking and fighting and partying her woes away, Dark Cacao built literal and figurative walls around himself and shut everyone out, Pure Vanilla was an amnesiac for a while, thus technically foregoing truth (albeit not necessarily by choice), then he allowed himself to be a Cookie of Deceit for a while, White Lily... we know what happened to her lol. But they managed to save themselves because they had each other. For each and every one of them, their salvation and enlightenment came when they remembered their bonds with each other and with others they care for. It was that sense of connection and community, which never ever broke despite everything that happened to them. And then opposite to them are the Beasts, who broke apart and descended into villainy because they themselves did not have those connections; not just in reference to them never having had the chance to live as normal people, but in reference to their bonds with each other specifically. I believe now more than ever that they never REALLY cared for each other. That they were never REALLY friends. If they were, why didn't they help each other when they started corrupting? Example, Burning Spice: I believe that what he needed the most was assurance that the cycle of change is not and does not need to be inherently painful or bleak. That there is good and meaning in that endless repetition. What would've helped was him having a constant in his life; someone or something that was always there with him even while everything and everyone else slipped away, as the cycle of change mandates. For all intents and purposes, the other Beasts should have been that constant; they're immortal too. They're gods too. They're his friends. They WERE his friends. Or... were they not? I don't really think so anymore. What the Ancients have together, the Beasts either had a very weak and fragile copy, or never really had at all. IF they were ever friends, they were pretty shitty ones lol. And that's a big part of why they corrupted, and why they're all so bitter and lonely: they each feel as though no one ever understood them or their struggles, not even their supposed "friends". Then these 5 thieves come along and inadvertently give them that lifeline, to which they all react differently (in how they express their attachment, I mean. They're all obsessed but they let it show differently and to different levels), but underneath those differences lies a shared feeling: "oh God, someone finally understands me, someone finally feels what I feel, I can't ever let them go, I need them". It's so horrendously sad and disturbing and darkly fascinating. I love it. I love these pairs, I love talking about them, I can do it forever

And I agree with you that Eternal Sugar is a complex and very interesting character, and I'm disappointed in the people that think otherwise (I hate saying this, but a lot of the complaints kind of sound like they're just butthurt that Eternalberry was canonized and they're looking for any excuse to tear the update down because of it). She seems to be a step above Mystic Flour in that she really, truly thinks she's doing something GOOD (MF behaves this way as well, but ES is legitimately delusional). She actually thinks she's helping people. Deep down, she DOES understand that she's a bad person and she's only hurting those she claims to care for, Hollyberry included, and this dialogue demonstrates such:

She seems to have succumbed to a form of insanity above that of other Beasts; she is still clinging to her old desires to carry out her godly duties and make people happy, but her perception of such has become so warped that she actually thinks things like keeping people in jars forever is making them happy. Furthermore, she purposefully orchestrates situations that "prove" her mindset and ideals correct (allowing people to leave the garden if they wish ("see? I'm not controlling! I'm not desperate! I'm not a dictator! You can leave, it's ok!"), but having them leave while smelling like the perfume that permeates the whole area so Beast-Yeast monsters are drawn to and attack them, thus forcing them back into the garden and further convincing them that it's a safe haven and they belong there). So much confirmation bias with Sugar, it's crazy. SHE is crazy. She is LEGITIMATELY crazy, a sort of crazy that the others aren't, not even Shadow Milk. It is delightfully awful. She is delightfully awful

And oh... Holly... Holly and Sugar... Passion and Sloth... Them...

One begs the other to stay... The other begs them to wake up and leave. Holly is now the second Ancient to fully, directly express understanding and sympathy towards their Beast. She's now the second to fully, directly state that she wants to be with their Beast.

She's HAPPY at the prospect of them being together. Of being two halves of a soul. She would GLADLY complete Sugar and let Sugar complete her... but Sugar has to wake up first. She has to see the error of her ways. She has to leave her garden. And Sugar agrees to this. She probably didn't really mean it, she was probably just swept up in the Yuri Wave and saying what she thought Holly wanted her to say, but even so. I think it's meaningful. Out of all the Beasts, I think Sugar has the best shot of being redeemed. And she has just the right Ancient to help her with such a thing. (Tbh I think they can all be fixed. Not easily, not right away, absolutely not. It would take time and effort and a lot of very painful conversations and realizations on everyone's part. But I think it can be done. Each of them has shown that one little seed of doubt, of regret, of disillusionment. Each one of them has faltered, if only for a moment. Because of that, I think somewhere deep down inside of them is someone worth saving. But that's just me haha) Beast x Ancient is 5 different, delicious flavors of a beautiful and compelling tragedy and they kill and resurrect me several times a day

[ninamodaffari]

I had always told myself I would never discourage a student from wanting to get into game dev -- that any level of skill could make it in with hard work and practice, dedication and passion. But with what is happening lately in the industry I wouldn't be...I wouldn't feel right encouraging someone to become a game dev without them knowing just how turbulent it is. That layoffs are almost to be expected. How devastating they are. How everything can be torn away from you in a second. It isn't about ones ability or passion or skill or dedication. You cannot secure a position. You are, at the end of the day, an asset that they can dump at any moments notice.

[websterweaver]

For some stupid ass reason my PC has decided to stop working. I need to figure out what's going wrong with it. It won't connect to the internet, and it won't detect the second monitor 😒

So I'm screwed without this desktop for my creative work... and even my possible future work because I cannot do a normal 9 to 5 with my disabilities...

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Any particular thoughts on if all of the characters are going to get hometown events? On one hand, it seems like a good way for the devs to have a steady stream of easy story ideas and milk some money from hometown gatcha events. On the other hand, I can see some hometowns being logistically difficult to justify (I can’t think of a reason why Idia or Ortho would bring their schoolmates to their top-secret organization home) or potentially repetitive (Lilia, Silver, and Malleus feel like characters whose hometown events might be difficult to make distinct- Kalim too, if the Firelit Skies event didn’t count as his hometown event).

I guess they could pull a Vil and just have some of the characters go places that aren’t home. Idia could bring some people to an anime convention with him, or Lilia could play tour guide in a place he’s visited frequently. Of course, this all assumes the game’s going to last long enough to get to everyone, but it’s interesting to speculate.

I feel like every one of the main 22 NRC students will get some kind of travel abroad event with a related SSR eventually. They’re great for world building and for making the game $$$/j!! We’ve been colloquially calling these “hometown” events, but it’s kind of a misnomer. For example, Fairest City isn’t Vil’s; he is just traveling there for work-related reasons. This opens us up to the possibility of exploring locations other than students’ hometowns in events.

When you think about it, that makes some sense because there are many weird exceptions in the cast. To name just a few (this is by no means an exhaustive list)!! Cater’s family supposedly moves around a lot, so he has no “true” hometown. Riddle and Trey share the same hometown so if they both had “hometown” events we would theoretically explore the same place, no? We’ve technically already visited the Shroud brothers’ hometown, the Isle of Woe, in book 6. Lilia has a complicated history of traveling around a lot and is banished from the capital where he used to serve; what would count as his “hometown” here???

It would be easier for the devs to logistically justify + avoid repetition, as well as varied and more interesting lore-wise to expand where we can go rather than lock us down to “hometowns ONLY!!” You could get super creative with the reasons for going abroad and bumping into family members (or, as Tamashina Mina has established, not actual blood relatives of the SSR at all) 🤩 I love the idea of joining Idia for an anime con… maybe Silver revisiting the Land of Swords where the Dawn Knight fell in combat and rediscovering his heritage. Figuring out wtf is up with the whole Hunt family, maybe in an event framed like a murder mystery or exploring a jungle region? For Lilia, I’d love to visit his retirement-home-to-be the Land of Crimson Long :DD There are just so many exciting possibilities!!

[fomfarms]

Oh alright! Well in that case, allow me to offer my humble request, personally for my Farmer, I like to imagine that they used to be a princess turned adventurer after being exiled. I don't know too much about the worldbuilding of FoM other than what's been revealed by the devs/game, so I've just had them be from Caldosia (believe it or not I'm guessing with the actual name of the empire cuz their only mentioned through Caldosian)

Anyway, if it's not too much, I guess I'd like to know how u think the cast would take that? Would they actually give a shit? Yknow the works

Though to be more specific I'll request specifically the Bachelors/ettes + Cal, apologies of this ask was a bit long

My Farmer is also from a disgraced branch of a noble family! (long story, short version she's technically a Hawthorne) So I've actually thought about this a bit!

But okay, boiled down,

How would the Bachelors and Bachelorettes react to the farmer being disgraced/exiled royalty!

Adeline:

a bit shocked

she feels like she should've known, either by mannerisms or just by name

but over all she cares about as much as the farmer does

which is to say, your previous title is neutral to her, but your feelings on the matter she actually cares very deeply about

would def try and talk woes of being in a position of power

Balor:

A lot shocked actually!

He never would've guessed it, you seem so down to earth!

Finds it pretty fascinating, if only cause that's one hell of a story to tell

I think some part of him thought about how previously he might've seen you as a mark but now he honestly could never do that to you and he mostly comes away from it all really reflective about how much has changed for him since coming to Mistria and how much he's changed

ultimately he's bound and determined to pay it little mind

you as a person are far more valuable to him than any title you once held

(...it's still KINDA cool though to hang out with a disgraced royal lol)

Caldarus:

very surprised

he never would have guessed

asks a lot of questions about your life as a royal and what royalty is like now and what your country was like

feels like you two have a new found point of comradery, since he also seems to have fallen from grace

at least he thinks

it's all a little hazy

he's mostly just curious and sympathetic

he hopes his questions aren't too bothersome for you...

Celine:

extremely shocked

a little flustered

torn between if she can still treat you like a close friend or if she should be more proper

ultimately falls on treating you like a close friend, cause that's what you are to her

does think the whole ordeal is wildly dramatic and romantic

but also hopes it wasn't too traumatize of an experience for you...

what kind of flowers say 'sorry for the loss of your crown'???

Eiland:

super shocked which is ironic cause I think out of everyone he cares the least??

at least he cares the least the fastest

WHOA! REALLY?! Uh--- neat I guess! :)

I think at first it doesn't really matter to him

but on reflection he actually thinks maybe he kinda knows the feeling

the pressure, the dismissal, the way on some level you might feel like you've failed

ultimately though he goes back to not really caring

I mean, he cares A LOT about your feelings

but he's actually kinda glad you ended up in Mistria

even if the way you got here wasn't the best, his life has only gotten better since having you around

(it's maybe a little selfish, but it is how he feels...)

Hayden:

pleasantly shocked

never would've guessed it since you're such a natural at farming

a bit curious, def shyly asks if he can ask you questions

doesn't think too too much of it though

he knows what it's like to be around someone of great lineage (Henrietta)

Juniper:

goes back and forth with feeling as though she should be impressed and disappointed

on the one hand, you're a ROYAL

on the other hand, you're a DISGRACED royal

boo

this could've been fun

well if you have any strings you could still pull she wouldn't mind knowing

oh, and if you need someone cursed for dethroning you or your family, she'd like to know that too

gotta stay in your good graces, just in case ;)

(it's def not cause she's always wanted to put a massive curse on a bloodline for a friend)

March:

yeah so??

you were royal once, but you're a farmer now

and it's not like he even knew you back when you were royality, so he's not gonna treat you any different

even if you were royal, that doesn't earn you THAT many points anyway

(low key though, he's a little intimidated)

(also confused about how to feel)

(whatever, who cares)

Reina:

WHAT?

REALLY?!

SHE WANTS ALL THE DETAILS /NOW/!!

She also wants to know what the strangest thing you've eaten is!

and the best!

what kind of stuff do you even cook for royalty???

THE KITCHEN IN A PALACE MUST BE AMAZING!!

TELL HER EVERYTHING!!!!

(also low key, high key, she thinks it's sooo romantic! Like something out of a novel!!)

Ryis:

a little shell shocked

not sure how to act around you for a bit

he thought that Adeline and Eiland would be the most 'important' people he'd ever talk to

and here you are telling him your royalty??

or used to be???

crazy

wild

honestly the shock only lasts about a day or two though

when he thinks about it, nothing about you has really changed

you're a part of the town now so, even if he didn't know how you were before, he knows how you are now

and that matters to him more anyways

Valen:

surprised, but it also all makes sense now

she always wondered how someone whose seemingly a rolling stone with little money to speak of was so well taken care of

you're extremely healthy and your teeth are basically perfect

she is a little fascinated about what kind of health care a royal gets

and if there's anything more outlandish the passes between court doctors

but honestly this changes nothing for her

you're still her friendly neighborhood farmer

[randomnameless]

what do you of people who think that pointing out how problematic claude and almyra are in the fodlan games is racist?

?

You mean people who think you are racist for noticing that Claude and Almyra in general were written with the worst orientalist clichés from the early 1810s?

As a rule of thumb, I don't believe you can determine if someone is racist or not based on their opinion of fictional characters -

That being said, there's a difference between saying "I think Devdan sucks" and whatever goes down in the chamber pot, using real world rhetoric about "invasive species" and whatnot to throw shade at fictional characters you don't like.

@gascon-en-exil made a Tellius video about Devdan's uh... well, Devdan in general in Tellius and the wtf that was Devdan in a game released in the 2000s, internationally released at that - and fwiw, some youtube comments talked about minstrel shows and how Devdan reminded them of those shows so, I definitely think pointing Devdan's entire existence - down to his concept - isn't racist in itself, you're not committing robbery when you're trying to prevent one.

About Claude and Almyra in general as depicted in Fodlan...

Well, in FE16 the game basically told us that Almyrans - in the Cyril/Hilda paralogue - are people who enjoy senseless bloodbathes (they raid the border for funsies and feast and party if they're able to return home ffs!) and while they might have different values (which is not a bad thing in itself!), they are the kind of people to turn tail and flee even if it means leaving their allies die (what Claude expected Hilda to do in CF!) or their civilian randoms (Cyril was caught by Goneril forces when they raided their camp).

You can't fight anymore when you're dead, so running away isn't always the worst solution, and yet, the way it's depicted (in CF for tears, in VW to shit on Nader) in the game, it's not supposed to be something we see as good/nice/has relevance.

In Nopes Shahid mounts the greastest invasion the Locket has ever known... to show his dad that he has muhrit too and can attack the "cowards" so plz stop mopping about the son who left without writing a letter.

Aka, Almyra sends its troops to invade Fodlan... in a penis measuring contest for the throne.

Yeah.

However, everything falls apart when we play GW's second part.

Now Nader wants to bring "souvenirs" from the war, by - and it's Lorenz who tells us ffs, not Claude, but Lorenz which has all sorts of implications - pillaging the cities they will be conquering.

Claude asks his dad to give him the Almyran Navy - and by ask I mean Nader has him sign the paper while he's half asleep, a bit like what your random kid does when school asks for a parent's written authorisation, you hang the damn paper to your parent while they're doing something else so they sign without really thinking - for his personal fight in Fodlan that consists in...

Killing the CoS? Yes, but also, and more importantly, to get rid of Fodlan's "outdated" values basically by tearing apart the country/its borders.

In a nutshell, in Nopes, FE16!Hilda's racist stereotypes about Almyrans and Almyra are... confirmed.

To sum up, canonwise, Fodlan depicts Almyrans as people who love needless bloodbathes, who prey on the country they're agressing "for fun!" when it's at its lowest point to mount a serious and real invasion to 1/score points in the royal inheritence record, or 2/to effectively bring disorder/kill/remove important pillars of that country because they want to change its "values and traditions" while pillaging and massacring the land as they cross it.

My bad, it's not the 1800s rhetoric about "the orient" it's both this, and a side dose of throwing the worst tropes ever like "invading people to bring them civilisa- i mean, a new set of values".

In a way, Fodlan is worse than Tellius in that regard, because while Devdan is, hopefully, a side character you can forget to recruit, Almyra - through Claude - is a compulsory point to play through when you play the Fodlan games.

Like, the devs - graphic devs at least - really researched and designed outfits, not only based on RL cultures, but to give a distinct flair to Almyra (when they couldn't be assed to do the same for the "mainland fodlan" characters), like Claude's outfits always have a detail (at least one when it's not the barbarossa class!) to tell you that this class/character has ties to this other place, Almyra!

Surely you'd want to know what Almyra is about, right?

:')

And then you learn and wonder, Echoes didn't bother to draw specific outfits reminding the player of RL cultures gor Grieth or the Brigand Boss, so what was Fodlan thinking when they gave those outfits to Claude and Nader? What kind of associations are you supposed to make?

Are we back in the "Kaga said the land of bandits who kidnap to most likely seduce without consent ladies was inspired by Persia? What the actual fuck?" era?

In a way, depicting Almyrans as the "bloodthirsty people who pillage as they go" is, imo, as offensive as Martin's Dothrakis, I don't think you are, or anyone is, racist for pointing it out.

[threadpull]

more arkh.am knight thoughts

i. still stuck on jon’s voice. sure, he can do an evil laugh. perhaps a nefarious cackle. a sinister chuckle, even. but this man cannot do the unhinged giggling that is required. no, sir.

ii. want to smack ed’s weird lil glasses off his face. what are those about

iii. when will the batmobile stuff cease? woe

iv. not opposed to joker hallucinations, but unsure they make sense, and. i am being so for real right now, game devs. i’ll hold ur hand when i tell you this. we don’t need the joker in everything. mans can just be dead