Pain is a great motivator…
Part 26 || First || Previous || Next
—Full Series—
Meanwhile Toriel:
(Loud noises don't wake her up usually.)
Artist note: I’m so proud of this :))) I know it’s a lot of dialogue and reading, but dialogue is grueling work for me. I’m glad with the art and for the amount of pages I made in such a relatively short time span -w- page 5 was super fun to work on. A lot of blood, sweat, and hours here... :) The backgrounds were a big bore tbh, but I finished them! Yippie!
3K notes
·
View notes
Splatoon 3: Side Order is good, but not great. I still highly recommend it, but if you care about the story, you're going to be disappointed. Quick review: spoilers ahead.
Side Order was the devs experimenting with Splatoon's gameplay loop. The campaign is a rogue-like, and it works amazingly well. Super fun, super challenging, building my deck and fighting through challenges with the stakes of resetting really scratched an itch in my brain. They did a great job with it.
Unfortunately, I feel like priority went to game design rather than story. Much of the mysterious artwork we saw in the first teaser trailer was completely unused; turns out, all of that was just concept art that never made it into the final product. Side Order failed to make me care about what was happening. I don't know why the protagonist had to be Agent 8; it could've been anyone else and the story would've worked the same.
Octo Expansion was the absolute peak of meshing story and gameplay. The campaign's hook is insanely strong; we immediately empathize with Agent 8 because we know from previous lore that octolings like her have been trapped underground for all their lives. We care about her fight to the surface because it's a fundamentally ideological fight for freedom. The plot stuff about Tartar and the Thangs is just nice set dressing; 8's fight for freedom is the real story.
There's none of that in Side Order. I don't particularly care about Marina's metaverse, even if it's tied to Octo Expansion's story. I don't know why Acht is there other than backstory stuff. It really feels like 8 is just told to do something and she does it because she's the protagonist; she has zero personal stakes or motivations in the conflict. This is a story blunder the devs did in Splatoon 3's default campaign––forgetting to give the protagonist a personal reason to fight––that I hoped would be fixed here, but alas.
What makes it worse is that the gameplay and story progression are completely out of sync. I beat the entire game on my third run in 4 hours. With each run, you get up to two keys to potentially unlock bits of story. That means you'll get about one piece of the story every two runs. There are twelve pieces of the story; I got the first and then beat the whole damn game. Now I have to go back and grind to see the remaining story when I've already beaten the final boss and resolved the conflict. I missed the entire story because I never had to reset because I blazed through the gameplay! It's just a real shame that I experienced everything without knowing... why it's happening. The final boss had me asking myself what the hell is going on because I don't know the backstory at all.
Again, I still really recommend. The devs did a great job, but Side Order remains in the shadow of Octo Expansion's incredible success. Like the default singleplayer campaign, there's just a lot of lost story potential here that, while not necessary, would have really elevated this DLC into something amazing.
586 notes
·
View notes
hearing about gale from tara is always such a treat because she's known him for so, so long, ever since he was just a boy and has watched him grow into who he is now:
Player: Excruciatingly awkward. On my side, at least.
Tara the Tressym: Don't be too hard on yourself, sir. You've been like that all your life.
Player: It's very unsettling how you can tell what I've been up to just by looking at me...
Tara the Tressym: Tressyms are exceptionally intuitive. And also, you wear your emotions like a very garish cravat.
Tara the Tressym: If that's all, then what comes after is for you to decide, Mr Dekarios. Think well on all that's happened, and stay true to that heart of yours. It's a good one.
which also sort of ties into this:
Player: I'd never want to lose you, Tara. I'll return the Crown to Mystra.
Tara the Tressym: There's a good humanoid. You had me scared for a moment here. But you're wise - and wiser all the time.
Player: That's just my boyish charm.
Tara the Tressym: Boyish charm and knees that creak like rusted hinges! Quite the combination.
Player: I'm honestly not sure. But don't worry - it's nothing I can't handle.
Tara the Tressym: Very tough.
Player: Must be the beard.
Tara the Tressym: Don't be silly. What is it really?
she's absolutely not averse to teasing him. however, it's never cruel and always light-hearted, just like she's not afraid to call him out on evading questions or making him reflect on the choices he takes if she does disagree with him. it really speaks of how long they have been at each other's side.
Tara the Tressym: Mr Dekarios. Gale. You are the finest mind - the finest wizard - I have ever had the pleasure to know. If anyone can beat this thing, it is you.
When you tried to control the Weave - when it all went, pardon my language, belly up - I was terrified. Scared you'd be hurt. Scared Mystra would punish you for your transgression. But do you know what never crossed my mind?
That you wouldn't figure a way out of it. My clever friend never leaves a knot knotted. This parasite is one more knot, so get to tugging threads. And - Mr Dekarios - please. The beard. I'd cut it down myself if I could hold a razor.
so from tara's pov, gale's always been awkward and obvious with his emotions.
she's convinced he has a genuinely good heart, one that she hopes he'll stay true to.
tara thinks he's wise, and growing wiser (condition: gale rejects to take the crown for himself).
she also thinks he's clever and brilliant.
790 notes
·
View notes
what does pinterest think of you?
search up -
aura
album
view
animal
@butterfliesareamyth @treasure-goblin @potato-salad-uk @kale-of-the-forbidden-cities @feeling-kinda-sad-ngl @nicknelsonblog @writingandwritten @loulooser @amenacingsloth @fingerfuck-the-function @periwinkle-the-11th @rorythinks @kip-davis @imactuallyagiraffe @panic-like-the-disaster-you-are @willows-woes @joeylivesinspace @lyssified @shortgaything @the-literally-anything-blog @literallyspiderman @toast-jpg @crow-flower @and anyone who wants in!!!!
294 notes
·
View notes