#Tyrant of the Tower Defense Game

[sometimesthatsbetter]

Every thing i read in Febubary

I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game

The MC of this novel is so fucking silly cause who tf names their kid Ash 'Born hater' Everblack? Like i'm being for real right now, his mom literally called him her 'little hater'. Love that

So, a Korean gamer who was streaming about this old strategy game on hardmode where if you fail once the game resets. The guy got isekaied the moment he finished the game on stream and right in the middle of the battle field too, tough luck hater.

Before we go more in depth about this story I would recommend that you read the novel version, the manhwa seems a little tacky and i've seen alot of readers complain that the manhwa makes everything look cheaper.

So, one of reasons why it made on to my reading list is because it was recommended by my guy friends who has great taste for this kinda genre. It drew him in because it used actual strategies that he would also use in his game instead of throwing around random lingo in hopes to cater to gamers. Like every battle was truly suspenseful and the author isn't afraid to show that every victory requires a sacrifice. Also I've seen people praise the character development of this novel, everyone starts out a little stereotypical and annoying but they get their own story arcs to shine.

Another thing i like is that this story is about the fight against the end of the world. Like i know alot of stories with that kind of premise but rarely do i ever feel the urgencey as strongly as i do with this story. The last stand against a sea of monsters waiting to consume the world and the young prince who's tasked with the question of remaining human or turning into a monster to save his world. I love me some classical fantasy

Anyways, it has 500+ translated chapters and it's all free. Go read it now.

The problematic prince

If i'm being honest here i can think of at least 10 more manhwa crown princes who are even more problematic than the ML, especially that guy from the abandoned empress, yeah fuck you blueberry head.

So the story premise is the typical bad boy x good girl story trope. Our prince Bjorn keeps getting pestered by his ex wife whom he doesn't want contact with and our FL is being sold off to the highest bidder in society, shinnaigans happen and so the are married. That's the very shorten version of the plot

First thing that i noticed, the vibes. It gave off so much Edwardian, turn of the century energy that i adore. From the costuming to the city streets and the interactions between common people. Love it.

The author seems to have been blessed with amazing writing skills because oh my god did the writing style made me swoon. Erna, our FL, can be classified as one of those soft girl heroines but i feel like she's more than that. She knew what she had to do to keep her loved ones safe and always strived for better, she's not a cunning villainess nor a simpering coward. Erna never settled and kept enduring and trying new ways to connect with others around her even when she's being labelled as a home wrecker.

Also the nobilities and medias reaction to their marriage was incredibly realistic, i see alot of manhwas with rags to riches stories or men marrying women with horrendus reputations but never mention how powerful the influence of the peoples opinions. Here you can see that Bjorn and Erna's relationship, while rocky still holds strong, it seemed like they are truly in love and happy with their choices. Yet media still condemns her as a witch, a slut and a disgrace towards the royal family. It even lead to a attempt on Ernas life. Which shows you how easily the public can be whipped into a frenzy just because of a narritive that she is other woman.

The spirit queen

If i even find the author of this manhwa i would like to make out with them and have their babies, cause this kind of genious deserves to be preserved.

Do you want a story with proper drama? Do you want something that actually keeps it's momentum and doesn't half ass shit half way through? Do you want themes about power and how it turns people into the worse version of themselves? Well look no further. The spirit queen has your back

Another thing that i loved about this story was it's sympathy towards the working class. The servants in this aren't the stereotypical happy go lucky loyal maids that you see in manhwas, they also aren't evil back stabbing people either. They know that their lives are worthless when it comes to the upper classes so they do all that they can to survive and to protect their loved ones. And i respect that as hell, even if it made them do less than savory things.

Also i recently learned that the author, Tutu-nim, wrote and drew this manhwa on their own. A true girlboss

Run away with me, girl

Remember all those times you said that you can be a better husband for the FL? Well this is a lesbian romance based on that premise.

It's a bittersweet romance story about two girls who were high school friends meeting each other after 10 years. Maki, who is till doing her graduate courses while living with her mom and lamenting her loneliness, while Midori is engaged and pregnant and living that perfect, normal life she wanted. Of course everything is not as it seems, and that's what the author wanted to explore in the coming chapters of the story

It's a short read, about 16? 17? chapters. But the author manages to do so much in that short amount of time. Every character felt so real and complicated. At first when you see Midori and the way that she treated Maki after their reunion, it's not hard to come to the conclusion that Midori is just playing around with Makis feelings. Especially with the way that she flirts and then reminds Maki of her engagement to her boyfriend.

This manga has the most realistic, hut wrenching potrayals of abuse, love and hate i've seen in a while. And if i'm being honest there is a high chance i would do the same if i was stuck in their situation.

[atheone]

Drew my favorite facial expressions of them aka

1. Alberu's "I'm about to scam someone" face

2. Sung Hyunjae's smug face

3. Choi Yuseong's "I'm so handsome" face

4. Lucas' "Don't go anywhere without me" face

[boot2004]

Ok so I’ve been reading this series called “Tyrant of the Tower Defense Game” and it’s so good

So basically a guy who was basically the best at this tower defense/almost DnD like video game beats the hardest difficulty with no savescumming (Ironman mode). He’s the first ever person to do this after years of the game coming out. He’s then sucked into the world of the game. Innovative, I know.

So he becomes the third prince Ash in the game, who sucks bad and is supposed to die in the tutorial. So now Ash has to survive the tutorial, defend the castle town of Crossroad from monsters until he’s beaten the game again, and he has to make sure people don’t realize that he isn’t the original Ash.

The characters are also really good. Ash is almost like Kim Dokja from ORV if you’ve read that (self-sacrificing, caring, uses people), Lucas, who is Ash’s bodyguard is basically a golden retriever in human form, and there’s other great characters too who you’ll get to know.

For people who care about genre I’d say it’s a mix between comedy and action (wow a manhwa that has those two? never seen before) but it definitely has its serious moments. Characters you like might die. Your blorbo might die. My blorbo (probably) won’t die because that’s Ash.

Read it read it read it read it

^This is Ash btw

[derekscorner]

[itsanneeey]

Lily = Human Flamethrower lol

[sleepdeprivedartboi]

One of the greatest Manhwa panels I've seen.

Yes your eyes don't deceive you. He's using a crippled mage as a flamethrower. Peak shit. Lloyd from greate estate developer would be proud.

[bidokja]

do u have any manhwa/webnovel recs? preferably stuff like orv but its ok if its different too :D <3

I actually have a whole list of different series I'm currently reading if you're interested in that, but if you want my personal ORV-ish picks...hmm. "Stuff like ORV" is a big range. Are you focused more on the genre, or the themes? The tropes, or the message? All of the above? IDK, so I'll just do my best to recommend a varied handful to you.

I have to preface this with: This is a tall order, anon. Honestly, I don't think any of these are on the same level as ORV. ORV is a whole different beast. But, one comes close, and the rest at least share a few similarities. So, here we go~!

✨ BIDOKJA'S "STUFF LIKE ORV" RECS ✨

NOTE: Links lead to MangaUpdates and NovelUpdates unless marked with an asterisk (*). These pages contain links to official and unofficial English releases, so you can choose whichever you want.

SSS-Class Revival Hunter (Novel / Manhwa) Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Supernatural Tropes: Deities, Future Knowledge, Game Elements, Hunters, Missions/Quests, Regression/Time Travel, Tower Climbing CW: Suicidal actions -> If you read only one thing on this list, read Revival Hunter. It's the only series I feel can stand on the same stage as ORV as a whole. Highly recommend the novel first, but the manhwa is a great adaption too.

My S-Class Hunters (Novel* / Manhwa) Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Supernatural Tropes: Deities, Dungeons, Future Knowledge, Game Elements, Hunters, Regression/Time Travel -> Definitely recommend the novel more here. I think the manhwa is doing an alright job of adapting it, but it makes some...unique editing choices.

Those are the two I feel are the best in quality while having some overlap with ORV. For a longer list of recs, check below the read more.

Whether the series below share more or less in common with ORV than the ones above, they're series that I feel aren't quite as good in quality. This is, of course, only my personal opinion. Plus, quality level isn't equal to enjoyment level. So don't hold back and check them out! Things in bold are ones that I personally enjoyed the most, regardless of "quality."

I Woke Up as the Villain (Novel / Manhwa)

Level Up With the Gods (Novel / Manhwa)

The Live (Manhwa)

Lout of the Count's Family (Novel / Manhwa)

The Player Who Can't Level Up (Novel / Manhwa)

Regressor Instruction Manual (Novel / Manhwa)

Return to Player (Novel / Manhwa)

Solo Leveling (Novel / Manhwa)

The Stars Are On My Side (Manhwa)

Thumbs Up, Level Up (Novel / Manhwa)

Tyrant of the Tower Defense Game (Novel / Manhwa)

The World After the Fall (Novel / Manhwa)

[luckykittens198]

Me reading "I Became the Tyrant of Tower Defense Game" and reaching ch 407: Fuck. SALOMEEEEEEE 😭😭😭😭

[just-another-blog-of-fluff]

Can we get a teaser from your next prompt?

Admittedly, I hadn't started writing beyond plot-mapping until the last few days 😅 I'm finally starting to regain some motivation and mental capacity to write now that I've settled into parenthood a little more.

It will likely still be a bit before I have a completed fic to post, but here is a preview of what I have written out so far (under the cut) - bear with me, I'm VERY out of practice. As a refresher, the next prompt is where the reader forgets their relationship with Loki due to a spell/blip in the multiverse (see my Masterpost for more details):

"Darling, are you alright??"

Your head snapped up the moment you heard the door slam open. As your gaze met Loki's, your eyes widened.

"You... how did you get in here?" you demanded.

"I... walked?" he responded in jest, tilting his head in confusion.

"You know what I mean! How did you get in the tower? How did you get past security??" There was an unfamiliar animosity in your tone that made Loki uneasy.

"I don't follow."

A laugh burst from your chest - not the bright, infectious laughter Loki had come to love, but a sharp, sarcastic bark that cut like a dagger. "You don't think I know who you are?" Your hands clenched into fists at your sides. "Why are you here? Is this some pathetic attempt at vengeance against the Avengers?"

Loki took a step towards you and you flinched, taking a compensatory step back. You squared your shoulders and straightened your posture, shifting your weight defensively to your toes as though preparing to run. He paused at your harsh reaction, his brow furrowing.

"Darling, is this your way of getting revenge on me for earlier? I told you already I-"

"Earlier? I've never met you - what do you mean earlier??" Your eyes flashed with a look of panic and indignation. "Have you been spying on me?? Biding your time until you could barge in here and take me as a hostage in your sick little game?"

Loki was beginning to feel a burning sense of desperation in the pit of his stomach. You were being completely nonsensical, acting as though you were frightened of him. The former would-be tyrant was well acquainted with glances of terror from the general public, but not from you. Never from you.

"If this is a joke, it isn't funny any longer." Loki began advancing toward you once again.

"A joke?" With your gaze firmly fixed on Loki, you reached blindly behind yourself, hand fumbling along the surface of the table before closing around the barrel of a syringe. You whipped it out in front of yourself threateningly, knuckles turning white from the intensity of your grip. "I'll show you just how serious I am!"

"Now hold on a moment! Please, darling, let's be reasonable here-"

"Stop calling me that!" you demanded furiously, raising the syringe higher as if to frighten him into submission. Loki lifted his hands up in front of himself in surrender, halting in his advance.

"I don't understand what's going on here, but I swear to you on my life I would never cause you harm. You have to believe me!"

"Believe you? The God of Lies?" That sharp, sarcastic laugh escaped your lips once again. "You must think I'm a fool. I may be a simple medic, but I'm stronger than I look. I won't be taken down without a fight!"

[pllanks]

Tyrant of a tower defense game monday 🙌

[teenmanhua]

I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game

Tower Defense & Dungeon Attack RPG I saw the ending to the game no one was able to clear. But, when I came to my senses, I was inside of the game. In fact, I was in the tutorial stage, a place where strategy was impossible. “I’ll clear this bullshit game no matter what……!” Tyrant of the Tower Defense Game 디펜스 게임의 폭군이 되었다 Read the full article

[cerastes]

“Who Is Real” Commentary and Analysis

Let’s talk about Who Is Real, the second event in the Chinese New Year themed side story going on in Arknights, visited yearly as part of the game’s Chinese New Year celebration.

The scale and stakes of the event are similar yet distinct to those found in Twilight Of Wolumonde: Whereas Wolumonde focuses on a smaller scale conflict that is still nonetheless tied to the central themes of the overarching writing, that is, the trials and tribulations of the Infected and how everyone is trying to eke out a living in a more than uncaring world, usually around caring individuals or smaller communities, centering principally in Leithanien’s quite literal ivory towers, Folinic and Mudrock’s rage, and how a pebble can cause an avalanche, Who Is Real instead focuses on the more introspective themes the game likes to explore in conjunction with the Infected themes, except, the story does not involve Oripathy at all. No, Who Is Real centers more around another important aspect of the Arknights lore that it has insidiously, subtly, and deliciously introduced piece by piece without yet calling major attention to it yet: Terra’s Problems Besides The Infection.

Make no mistake, Oripathy is grave, it’s the driving point of the narrative, but what makes the world of Arknights feel so whole, so fleshed out, so alive, is that you can tell from early on that there is far more to the world than just this one illness, and thus not everything is informed by the Infection. Oripathy is not the end-all of everything in the setting: There’s music festivals, trends, celebrations, holidays, cultural traditions, you name it. Oripathy is our main problem, because we are Rhodes Island, the pharmaceutics-slash-private military contractor that has set out, specifically, to end Oripathy and help as many Infected as possible. Oripathy is, indeed, a big problem in the world, and our main narrative driving point, but it’s not the only big problem in the world, oh, sweet agony, not by a long shot! Let us recount a couple:

Kjerag and Columbia both seem to be embroiled in their own under-the-table wars between the people with most power in the respective lands. In Kjerag, the Church seems to want a monopoly on influence and power, especially over merchants and big name families, whereas in Columbia, we have full on secret, private wars between rich families and a very worrying issue with the military industrial-prison complex.

Bolivar, last we heard, was torn apart in a three-way war between three different factions, all heavily implied to be different flavor of fascist tyrants vying for power. We also know that, in the future, there will be an important conflict known as the Great March of Bolivar.

Ursus is a rotten, ever-expanding imperialist war machine well oiled by the blood of the subjugated, and it does not care if its gears grind its own citizens on occasion. We know more about Ursus as it is more tightly linked to us by virtue of their incredibly harsh and cruel treatment of the Infected (killed on sight on most every occasion), but there’s more to their lengthy list of sins than just that.

Iberia, the so-called home of intellectualism, is fully content with spreading anti-science and pure lies if it will further its purposes. A secretive, seclusive country that severely limits entrance to outsiders. One may leave freely, provided they understand coming back will be highly unlikely. They are the closest, not coincidentally, to the Aegir, and thus, the Ocean, which is alive, furious, and wants to kill you so, so very badly, constantly spawning Deep Princes and gigantic malformed horrors from the depths, stopped by the first and last line of defense, the Abyssal Hunters.

Kazdel, the ancient home of the Sarkaz, is a blasted wilderness where life is worth less than the bullets in a rifle’s magazine. A land that exists in permanent turmoil, where Sarkaz mercenaries will kill each other daily just to put moldy bread on the table, where those with a bit more money will establish ‘clans’ or ‘families’ to try and wrest more power, claiming theirs to be the true lineage of the Sarkaz King. In what is my personal favorite instance of the game using gameplay to drive the narrative home, during the event ‘Darknights’ Memoir’, the milestone reward for killing ten thousand enemies is a pittance compared to literally every other reward in the event, cleverly and perhaps coldly driving home just how little value the lives of Sarkaz hold in Kazdel.

And this is not a fully comprehensive list, oh, no, we haven’t covered Rim Billiton or Lungmen or Laterano or even minor places like Siesta, all of which have enough skeletons in their respective closets to warrant their own lengthy posts. What I’m trying to make very clear here is that Oripathy isn’t the only problem Terra has to deal with. It’s our main problem, because our point of view character and playable characters deal with it principally, but it is not the sole problem out there. This is important to keep in mind, not just for the purposes of this post, but just, in general.

Where does Who Is Real fit, then? That would be the Yen entry. Lungmen is a part of Yen, this concerns Yen as a whole, and the event gives a concise answer to an implication found in Ancient Forge: Nian and her 11 siblings are in fact fragments of an ancient Yen god who was defeated and torn asunder but not quite killed. The god currently ‘sleeps’, being 12 different people that split from it, all with their own personalities, sentience, and skills. The True Lung killed this god and many, many other gods, a debt that remains unpaid, an anger that remains unquelled, only dormant, and when the time comes to awaken, the 12 pieces will be whole once again, and the redemption of their people will be inscribed in letters of blazing ruin across Yen. Nian knows this, Dusk knows this, and we are to understand every other god-fragment knows this: It is inevitable that the god will awaken once again some day, and it WILL want to devastate Yen and drink deep from the pail of its vengeance. What isn’t inevitable, if Nian is to be believed, however, is the devastation itself. She has a plan, and she intends to see it through.

But we’ll come back to this in due time, yes? Let’s talk about the structure now that we have discussed the context. I have decided to put the bulk of the post under a Read More because it gets long, so get comfy, grab a snack, perhaps a nice drink, and join me as we find out, indeed, Who Is Real and go over the overaching themes and plot that started with Ancient Forge.

In a move that I hope becomes more frequent, the event does a wonderful job of introducing us to fun new characters while also letting us learn more about recognizable old characters. The choice of Lava, one of the protagonists of this Yen God saga, and Kroos, a well loved character, is a great one, we’ve been dying to know more about the 3*s. As this takes place in the future, we see a far more honed, skilled Lava and Kroos, no longer Reserve Operators, they are fully fledged Operators that are expected to shoulder important tasks by themselves now instead of always having to operator in a squad under an Operator or leadership. Soon enough, we meet Mr. Nothing and Saga, two characters that set the mood and that remind us that this is, indeed, a Chinese New Year’s event, which should be on our minds at all times, as Nothing and Saga both embody well historied, well beloved tropes of stories both ancient and modern found in China (and other parts of Asia, indeed), throwing them into the mix, with their own patented Arknights twist, as a celebration of craftsmanship and folk culture popular in China and other Asian countries.

Mr. Nothing is the quintessential wandering martial artist embroiled in a conspiracy: A suave speaker, a charmer that is bumbling and captivating in equal parts, using a veneer of incompetence and cowardice to hide immense insecurity, humility, and incredible strength. If you’ve watched enough Wuxia or read enough old martial artist stories, you know Mr. Nothing: Picked by his Master, Lien, as a child and taken to live with her and his many new brothers and sisters at a martial arts hall, where he would trains, work, and improve under her tutelage, clearly idolizing his Master and not believing himself worthy to be her successor after she unfortunately gets killed by the cowardly tactics of her enemies in the martial arts world after he is framed for killing a rival of his. Inheriting her title and weapon, Mr. Nothing travels the land of Terra trying to evade those who would finish the job and kill him, attempting to lie low to eventually strike back and claim vengeance, when he finally ascertains who is behind it all. The martial artist that wants to avenge his master is a well loved trope in folklore.

Saga, on the other hand, is the quintessential wandering monk. After living a life of seclusion at her monastery with the well traveled Head Priest, hearing his stories of adventure day in and day out, Saga always pondered the meaning of things, the workings of things, the sheer joy of experiencing things this seemingly wonderful world has. The greatest question her inquisitive mind had, however, involved the painting scroll he received from a master painter: Why did such an elaborate painting, “Crude Mounts Utmost Risen”, have a waterfall that consisted of but a single stroke? The Head Priest sent her to travel to world to look for her answers, and this, this, dear reader, is one of the main themes of Who Is Real: “What is your answer?”

Who Is Real deals with the introspective question of “What Is Your Answer?”. What would you do, put in a specific situation? And will you remain true to yourself through and through? Lava, Kroos, and Mr. Nothing are trapped in an impossibly idyllic and illogical world where the sun and moon share the firmament, fixed above the heads of the residents of P’o-Shan Village, a village that knows no Infection or Catastrophes, where men and women wake up, work, and then kick back drinking tea while listening to the riddle-like stories of the Umbrella-Boiling Hermit. There’s the occasional monster attack, but all the villagers need to do is run towards the sun, and all is well and good. In this Village, our heroes meet Saga, who very clearly, much like them, doesn’t belong there.

But here’s where the usual “trapped in a nightmare dimension” story tropes end: Saga is fully aware that she’s in a painting. Not only that, she’s fully aware that she’s been in many paintings. And she doesn’t mind it one bit. Saga is very much living her best life, trying to take everything in without much worry for what happens, precisely because, well, this isn’t a nightmare dimension. As mentioned before, P’o-Shan Village is nearly idyllic, with very little in the way of trouble, and when the monsters do in fact cause destruction or eat villagers, the next day, as long as the real people within the painting sleep (and thus stop looking at the picture), the painting, and thus, the world returns to its original shape, as it was not being perceived anymore and thus all changes are reverted to be the original painting again.

This is, then, when the question What Is Your Answer is important: In a world where it doesn’t matter if people die or not, because they will be alright the next day, is it worth protecting these people? While Saga meditates, our three remaining heroes agree that, yes, it is worth it, but even then, they falter to some degree, with Kroos calling out Lava and Nothing on their destructive use of Arts and ignoring some of the beast wandering into town, respectively. It’s when you start giving things some leeway that, little by little, you become sloppy, after all. It’s an issue if you become sloppy and uncaring about the value of human life, however (doubly so in Lava’s case, given she’s a Rhodes Island Operator, basically out there fighting for human life). This is yet another nod to how Kroos is far, far more self-aware and mature than she lets on, but also a grim reminder that Kroos, at this point, had to deal with something that shook her to the very core involving Beagle, likely reaffirming to her the value and weight of human life.

The next interesting bit is the fact that Saga, somehow, breaks out of the painting world, and manages to meet Dusk, the painter and creator of these worlds, who is flabbergasted as to how the hell she managed to do that on her own: Until now, the only people that leave Dusk’s painting are the people that Dusk lets out, such as the Head Priest, whom Dusk seems to be fond of enough to have freed him and even have given him a painting as a gift. It is also implied that she’s let other people leave before, further suggesting that trapping people in her worlds is not something she does for fun, but rather, for another purpose. Here, an interesting conversation takes place, as Saga finally can ask the artist herself why the waterfall consisted of a single stroke.

Dusk’s immediate answer is that Saga should have her own answer for the meaning of the single stroke waterfall, as art is to be interpreted by those who consume it. Saga, however, has indeed come up with her own interpretation of its meaning: To Saga, the waterfall being left unfinished with a single stroke represents the greater scenery, the greater beauty of the world beyond that cannot be put into art. This answer impresses Dusk, who then proceeds to give her real answer: She simply thought the waterfall looked good as a single stroke, and thus left it as such, her interest shifting to other parts of the painting instead. She simply didn’t finish it because it looked fine to her that way. This is such an incredibly interesting thing to see conversed in a story, as art is wholly interpretative, and sure, we know of Death of the Author (even though the vast majority of people use it wrong), but this goes beyond words and intent, and goes right into the consumption of art and derivation of its meaning as it passes through the lens of our reality, experiences and temperament: In the reality of the artist behind its creation, the single stroke waterfall is simply as it is because it looked fine, and the artist then moved to parts of the painting she was more personally interesting in, while the observer, who has no way to peer into the artist’s thoughts and habits, assigned her own meaning to the unfinished waterfall, fully informed by her own incredibly optimistic and hopeful outlook of the world, full of potential, stretching endlessly before her very eyes.

How could Dusk keep someone like Saga imprisoned in an idyllic world, when Saga can’t be a prisoner? She took the world in stride, and from it, learned much. The worlds of the paintings she resided in for over 10 years might be fake, but her experiences and the wisdom derived from these are real, much like stories and illustrations and novels and video games are fiction, but what we can derive from them can play a very real and fundamental role in building us into who we are. Fully satisfied with Saga’s answer, Dusk tells her she’s free to leave and to give her regards to the Head Priest, and to preferably leave soon and without saying much more lest she changes her mind, as Dusk is the reclusive, temperamental type, much like Nian warned Lava. She reassures Dusk that she does in fact intend to let Lava, Kroos and Mr. Nothing leave later.

However, Saga was not done.

She keeps pressing on and on, and finally, shows her the Nian Charm that Lava entrusted her with. Now she has finally been found by Nian, who is now there, which Dusk is not very happy with.

Now, now, at this very point and at a no point before, Dusk actually means them harm. Before, she was simply a physical god capriciously doing as she wanted, but now? NOW she actually trapped them in quite literal nightmare realms, forcing characters to relive their regrets and then experience them with an even worse ending than what happened in reality. This goes to show that she sincerely was just doing as she wished with people that dared to interrupt her solitude in the mountains, but didn’t necessarily mean harm. Does this mean it’s alright for her to do that in the first place? No, definitely not, it’s even stated that many people that have gone into the painted worlds have just lost their sense of self and have become part of the painting over time, but she always traps people in idyllic places like P’o-Shan Village, and this is important to note, as Saga mentioned that through every painting she’s been through, there is an incarnation of Dusk within, much like the village has the Umbrella-Boiling Hermit, that looks out for the people trapped in the paintings and gives them some information, and that looked out for her. Dusk herself even says to Saga “You’ve been here enough, please, you’ve seen so much, just let me get you out of here” at one point. Now that she actually has been enraged, however, because she dislikes Nian a whole damn lot and was trying to not be found by her, she’s not putting them in peaceful, idyllic places anymore. However, see, Saga has not regrets. Unlike Mr. Nothing and Kroos who harbor immense guilt and regret over certain events in their life, Saga as no such experience. Dusk doesn’t know how to break Saga. She does NOT understand how to break people with no regrets, because she herself is broken by regret and cannot compute how someone like Saga could possibly exist. So instead, Saga gets trapped in a realm with thousands of other versions of herself. And by “trapped” I mean “they are all trapped in there with her” because, again, Dusk simply cannot trap Saga in a way that matters.

Just like art is informed by the artist, so are Dusk’s worlds and ideas of punishment and torment informed by her own experiences, by what she has seen, what she has not seen but can imagine, and by what she has experienced. The point is, Dusk is an extremely pained, bitter, sad individual. We knew she’d be temperamental, as Nian told us as much, but through her choice of punishment and her way of life, plus the scenes at the end of the event, we can see Dusk for what she truly is: Resigned.

Dusk has given up.

Nian explains that one day, the Whole will wake up, the god made of the 12 siblings, and when that happens, they will rejoin into this furious god, and their anger will set Yen ablaze. Dusk’s response is “yes, I know”. Dusk has given up and has decided to use her time to do what she enjoys: Painting undisturbed. Or is painting undisturbed what she truly enjoys? No, it’s painting. Just painting. Dusk’s voice lines have her explain that she likes people, actually, she may not enjoy their continued presence, but she likes people, and it is only a very select few that Dusk enjoys the presence of. It all makes a lot of sense when you consider that Dusk very much used to be around people before, long, long ago, even having taken in the orphan Dawn. She taught Dawn to paint, conversed with her, watched her grow from an orphaned child she took in to an elder, ill woman on her deathbed, and then had to come face to face with the cruel reality of being a physical god -- a fragment of one so powerful that she might as well be a full-on god -- among mortals, tormented by the knowledge that no matter how many people she becomes close with, she will eventually outlive them all and have to deal with the heartbreak, over and over and over, only to eventually succumb to madness as she rejoins her siblings to form the wrathful god that will destroy the landscapes and people she likes so much.

Dusk has given up, because the only outcome possible for her loving people is pain from loss, and to eventually destroy them all in blind rage.

And so, Dusk paints utopia after utopia, idyllic places like P’o-Shan Village, beautiful landscapes, because eventually, she will destroy the real world. She will succumb, she will become one with the others and form a god that will destroy all she appreciates and loves. Only her art will remain, and through it, achieve the immortality she wishes she had, instead of the cursed one she really has.

Dusk and Nian are opposites: Dusk has given up, and has become passive, merely indulging in whatever currently interests her, and otherwise shutting herself off from the world. Keep in mind that she trapped herself in her own painted worlds and made the painted P’o-Shan Village basically a heaven for Dawn. Dawn mentions, on her deathbed, that she wanted to be a shopkeeper like the owner of the pawn shop next door when she was a kid. Dusk turns Dawn into a shopkeeper in the Painted Village, and the Ink Spirits will not, under any circumstance, attack Dawn. 

Early in the event, we learn of a Yen fairy tale titled "Dusk Beauty Flying to the Moon". It ends up very much being about Dusk herself, with some key differences: The ‘lover’ from the fairy tale is in fact Dawn, which is left ambiguous as to whether she truly was Dusk’s lover or not, given Dusk rescued her from the ruins of the Village as a child, thus Dusk was probably more like a mother to Dawn, their separation came to be because of old age and death, as Dawn was mortal, and the “mourning flight to the moon” at the end is Dusk climbing a mountain to trap herself in her own painting world, away from the rest of the world, where she would continue to maintain the painted Village, where Dawn could live comfortably forever.

This is what Dusk decided to do until the time of reckoning came. Dusk gave up.

Nian is the opposite. Nian, too, loves people, loves the world, loves food, loves her craft, loves being herself. It is all too likely that she herself has also gone through this pain, but she has not given up. Nian refuses to give up, and like the blacksmith she is, she has decided to temper others to deal with the eventual revival of the god. But, see, she hasn’t decided to just temper others, she is also of a mind to temper herself and her siblings, to win them over to her side, to resist and make a stand against the vengeful destruction they will bring eventually, to curb the divine retribution they will bring into the world whether they like it or not. Nian’s first objective was to find the right forge where she could temper others and herself for the task, and this forge is Rhodes Island. Next, she needs the materials. Nian seems to specially have a very keen interest in Lava, who we know from her Files to have great potential in Originium Arts, as well as Doctor and Kal’tsit. But by herself, she won’t stand a chance, no matter how much she tempers herself and others, she needs have other fragments on her side, and her first choice is Dusk, her younger sister. Temperamental, reclusive, capricious, complicated Dusk. It makes sense, when we consider the things above, that Nian will go for Dusk first to try and get her on their side: Dusk is all of those things, and more, but Dusk is not cruel. We see time and time again that she’s willing to use her godly powers to have trivial fun over others, but she’s never out to actually harm or torment. The monsters that attack P’o-Shan Village, if you read the enemy descriptions, tend to just be natural consequences of her emotions, with Bitey being the most common Ink Spirit as it is a manifestation of her being frustrated as an artist while drawing. When she’s out to actually torment others, she doesn’t even rely on monsters, she just shoves you into a nightmare dimension and calls it a day (and then relies on actual combat spirits like Free when that doesn’t work). Dusk is fundamentally gentle, not nice, and Nian knows this. As long as Dusk didn’t know that the others were there on Nian’s behalf, Nian was sure Dusk wouldn’t actually harm them (and made sure to arrange it so she’d be there the moment Dusk learned they were to actually protect the party from her wrath) and, after almost coming to blows (WR-10 is merely a warm-up for Nian and Dusk), Dusk relents, though not because Nian was convincing.

It was everyone that convinced Dusk, mainly Saga.

Through Lava, Kroos and Mr. Nothing, Dusk saw the inherent goodness of people when they try. Even though the people of the painted Village weren’t real and there were literally no consequences to them dying as they’d be alive again the next day, the trio protected them as if they were real. Their answer was “protecting them might be meaningless, but that doesn’t mean we won’t try”. Saga impressed Dusk by somehow escaping one layer of her painted world by sheer meditation and harmony with herself. Not even Dusk is fully sure how Saga managed this, and then came Saga’s answer regarding the waterfall, an inherently hopeful, sage answer, full of integrity and soul. Perhaps she felt that way one time, long ago, and perhaps Saga’s devastatingly optimistic and yet realistic worldview made her long for the world she dared experience once upon many seasons long past, but either way, it was enough to satisfy her. As mentioned before, Dusk made it clear she also intended to let the others go soon as well.

Then, she learns of Nian and attempts to actually torment them.

And Saga again escapes by herself. And she didn’t escape a peaceful, idyllic world this time, no, Saga escaped Dusk’s sincere attempt to break her, almost as if it was nothing.

The others had Nian bail them out with, hilariously yet fittingly enough, gigantic firecrackers (Dusk is also a nian, hence firecrackers are also her weakness), which Nian was willing to bear with if it meant saving them from Dusk, but Saga had only herself to count on, and her response upon seeing infinite alternate versions of herself was “oh, yes, this is indeed possible, I can see how it could happen, mhmh! Interesting!”, having a nice chat with even her worst most foul versions, and then just... Leaving.

So it is not that Nian offered her empty, hot air, Nian rolled up and offered an alternative, legitimate way to combat the eventual rejoining, which neither of them want, to prevent the complete annihilation and the world being set ablaze that would inevitably come as a result of their awakening, the destruction of this world and this culture and these people that Nian and Dusk both adore.

Nian spoke of a way their sordid future could be prevented, and Dusk saw the evidence: These four. Their deeds, their personalities, their strength. Even had Nian been able to find Dusk on her own, it would have been a failure anyways, as Dusk would’ve rejected her. No, Nian needed Lava to go through Dusk’s capricious game, because Nian sees something in Lava, something amazing, something great, something essential to stopping the upcoming tragedy, and was confident that, if Dusk saw this as well, she’d believe her. It ended up being Saga that fundamentally shifted this opinion, end of the day, a variable that Nian could not possibly have accounted for, and Kroos and Mr. Nothing definitely helped, but her main chip here was Lava, who didn’t see anything except darkness when trapped in the nightmare realm, which only kinda sorta inconvenienced her before Nian bailed her out, which is... Very telling in and on itself.

Dusk saw all of this, and just how Nian was putting all her chips on the table for this bet, and decided to believe her. Not because she’s her sister, not because she particularly likes Nian (she does not), but because she offered her an idea with substance and a semblance of proof. Nian showed Dusk that they didn’t have to destroy the world, and that for this to work, they had to work together with each other and with Rhodes Island.

In the end, Who Is Real is a story of the light at the end of the tunnel, and the world beyond the light, of the horizon stretching endlessly before you, full of possibility:

Mr. Nothing is pursued and tormented by those who would take his life, but Rhodes Island reaffirms his belief that there’s good people willing to help him out there, and more importantly, that will put his skills to good use, so he too can help others. Keep in mind Nothing is at odds with his considerably skills because it is him killing a rival martial artist (that intentionally took the death) that ended up kicking the plans of Lien’s enemies to kill her, and also he doesn’t feel worthy of being her successor.

Dusk had given up and resigned herself to quietly live her days out in self-imposed solitary confinement, where she would just paint and paint until the madness overtook her, she fused back with her siblings, and razed the world, where she couldn’t get close to anyone again and risk suffering again after she inevitably outlived them. But, with Nian’s proposal, she can try and get the siblings, who only ever brutally fought each other as enemies, together to stand against their collective destiny and prevent the ultimate destruction of the lands and culture and people they adore.

Saga, well, she’s a special case. It wasn’t anguish that shackled her in place, but rather, curiosity. Finally obtaining the answer she wanted (and much more), the monk sets her sights towards the next discovery, the world but a ripe plum for her to enjoy, discover, and learn about. To learn more about the world, herself, and others, Saga walks the path both beaten and virgin, eager to see what tomorrow has for her.

Who Is Real is a story about giving an answer, and the answer, in the end, is to press on. Nothing will change if you resign yourself. There’s no such thing as impossible odds, just lack of trying and/or not knowing how to tackle the odds. 

Who Is Real is, ultimately, to see what lies beyond the single stroke waterfall.

[theghostofblackbunnymask]

Pleasepleasepleaseplease prompt A4 and yandere Jschlatt _(:3」z)_

Author's note- So I'm making this based off the headcannon I did for General Yandere Schlatt Headcanons

Author's note- This encounter isn't based on canon events (I think)

Warnings- Physical abuse, Cursing, Yelling, Threatening people,

You, Schlatt, Quackity and George were on stage as Schlatt did a speech to the citizens of Manberg. You looked at your finger that held your wedding ring as Schlatt talked about whatever. The thing is, you didn't love Schlatt, he forced you into it, and he even abuses you on a daily basis. Mid way during Schlatt's speech, a voice in the crowd spoke up.

"Y/N!"

"Hm?" You said, looking around in the crowd, which was pretty hard since you were wearing an eye patch since Schlatt hit you over the head with a wine bottle the night before, and some glass got into your eye.

Quackity poked your shoulder to catch your attention, and then pointed to a familiar blonde.

"Y/N! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Tommy?" You asked just below a whisper.

"Tommyinit! Glad you can make it!" Schlatt said into the mic.

"Y/N! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DITCH US LIKE THAT?!" Tommy yelled as the crowd back away, making him be in plain view.

"Calm down Tommy."

"NO! THEY DITCHED US FOR A GUY THAT STOLE OUR COUNTRY FROM US! HELL, THEY'RE EVEN MARRIED!"

Wilbur looked at you dead in the eye, reading your facial expression, before looking back at Tommy.

"Y/N, Tommy has a point, why did you ditch us for Schlatt. You know he stole our country, you know he's a dictator, and you said it yourself, you despise him. Why the fuck did you marry a guy you despise?" Wilbur said, looking back at you.

You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out, Quackity looked at you with pleading eyes. Your mouth couldn't say anything, it wasn't because you wanted to not admit what Schlatt did, but it was because you did this before and you got hurt severely.

"Yeah Y/N, why did you leave them?" Schlatt asked, pulling you close before whispering into your ear.

"Mess up and see what happens..."

You looked at the ground and nodded your head, not looking up to see Tommy and Wilbur. Tommy clenched his fist before looking up at you with tears in his eyes.

"I TRUSTED YOU! YOU WERE LIKE AN OLDER SIBLING TO ME! And now you just left me for a tyrant... You're just as bad as he is," Tommy said before running off in tears.

Wilbur glared at you before running after Tommy. Schlatt pushed you away and finished his speech. Once the speech was done, he grabbed you by your wrist and began to walk back to the white house. Schlatt pulled you towards him and whispered.

"Good Doll," Schlatt said with a smirk.

The 4 of you walked into the white house and went your own separate ways. George went to his room to go to sleep, Quackity went to his office to work on something, and Schlatt dragged you to his office. Once you two were in his office, Schlatt locked the door and grabbed a bottle of alcohol.

"Schlatt..." Y/N said quietly.

"What?" Schlatt asked, annoyed.

"Why were Tommy and Wilbur here?"

"You don't need to know, Doll."

"I'm not your doll," Y/N whispered, bringing their legs close to their chest and wrapping their arms around them.

"What?" Schlatt asked, taking the bottle that was in his hand away from his mouth and turned around to look at Y/N who was on the couch.

"I'm not your doll Schlatt!" Y/N said, standing up from the couch.

Schlatt looked at Y/N with a sinister smirk that made Y/N regret their decision. Schlatt through the bottle at Y/N, purposely missing their head. Y/N flinched as Schlatt stepped closer and closer. Y/N panicked and kicked the door down, and made a run for it.

"A game a cat and mouse, seems fun..." Schlatt said, before running after them.

Y/N ran to Quackity's office, and knocked on his door.

"Y/N? What's wrong?" Quackity asked as he opened the door.

"He's coming, he's coming... Please don't let him hurt me, please..." Y/N said as they gripped Quackity's shirt.

"Ok, hide in my closet and don't make a sound," Quackity said as he showed Y/N the closet.

"Come out, come out wherever you are~" Schlatt said as he walked down the halls.

Schlatt opened the door to Quackity's office, Quackity was nervously sitting at his desk doing paperwork.

"Hey Flatty Patty, have you seen Y/N?" Schlatt asked.

"No, why you ask?" Quackity asked nervously.

"They ran off. And I thought they ran into here, and if you're lying..."

"I'm not I swear!" Quackity said, putting his hands up in defense.

Y/N watched through the cracks of the closet, they could only see a set of ram horns and fluffy medium sized golden colored wings.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I looked around, right?"

"Actually-"

"Are you hiding something?" Schlatt asked getting close to Quackity.

"No-"

"Then what's the problem?"

Quackity looked at the ground and mumbled "Nothing." Schlatt hummed in response as he looked around. Under Quackity's desk, nothing, behind various paintings, nothing, the cabinets, nothing, the last he was going to check was the closet. When he walked towards it , Quackity went in front of it his body shielding the closet.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Schlatt asked.

"You can't look in here, something important is in here, something that can't be replaced, and I DON'T want you to break it!"

Schlatt looked down at Quackity menacingly, making shivers go down the duck hybrid's spine. Schlatt moved his hand to Quackity's cheek, and with a smirk he slapped him hard across his face. Quackity fell onto his knees as he held his cheek, holding back his tears. Schlatt pushed him aside and opened the door to see Y/N sitting on the floor, curled up in a ball as they covered their ears.

"So you were lying," Schlatt said as he looked at Quackity who was crying as he held his cheek.

Schlatt grabbed Y/N's wrist and dragged them out.

"I'll deal with you later," Schlatt said to Quackity as he left.

Schlatt threw you into his office and grabbed an empty bottle of alcohol. He walked towards Y/N and towered over them.

"This time I won't miss..."

[carelessgraces]

okay so the point i was going for yesterday:

    this series thrives on its difficult choices and origins was hands-down the best developed to handle questions of grey morality and impossible options. it didn’t always play out perfectly with the mechanics of it being a video game, so you know you’ve gotta be okay at the end of it, but: choosing whether or not to leave a possessed connor behind in an absolutely ravaged redcliffe, for the two-plus weeks it would take to get to the circle and come back with mages? it’s “save a child” versus “save an entire town.” bhelen is genuinely terrifying in that he has all the makings of a complete tyrant — actually literally officially executing his political opponents, repeatedly, and shutting down the only avenue for effective discussion and disagreement — but he’s also exactly what orzammar needs in terms of both social and economic progress. the brecilian forest was a little easier for me — “kill the dalish” isn’t a good option, ever, and when it comes down to kill zathrian and lift the curse vs. kill the werewolves, the former is clearly the choice you’re meant to make? to limit damage in the future, and continued damage now. the mage tower is the hardest, i think, to call effectively morally grey, because there really isn’t anything to suggest that the tower HAS to be annulled? because there’s no indication that if it’s not, the people outside the tower are in serious danger. and by the time you’ve finished everything, you know who is and isn’t possessed, you’ve literally seen it, so annulling the tower at that stage is just kinda evil.

    choosing anora or alistair is another really difficult one because anora proves time and again that she’s either not as competent as she says she is, or she has no moral backbone of which to speak ( because it all comes down to the tevinter presence in the alienage: if she isn’t aware that an agreement to sell elves into slavery has been signed by her father, who does not have an official title besides the one he’s given himself and certainly not one that would be recognized by most foreign powers, that means that she’s not paying a lick of attention to the sudden influx of money in the treasury, to pay for a civil war of her father’s making, or to the actual literal slave trade happening literally under her nose. if she knows and does nothing about it — which seems a lot more likely given that she a.) erects a statue in loghain’s honor after the blight if she rules alone, enslaved elves be damned and b.) has violent clashes with the alienage due to food shortages only if she rules alone, all of which indicate a measure of indifference at best toward the most vulnerable people in ferelden, but i’ll yell about that on my da multi rather than here — she’s willing to bide her time and allow elves, including elven children, to be shipped off to tevinter and enslaved, or she only cares when she can use it politically. but anora is also better trained than alistair, anora has more experience than alistair, and what the country needs is some measure of stability. however, ethically, she really has no place in power over anyone. choosing alistair is potentially disastrous because despite the fact that he’s a really, really, really good man, he has no political training, no experience, and will likely be manipulated by eamon, who we really should be able to let die.

    and the anora / alistair choice is probably the one most similar to the templar / mage choice in inquisition. on the one hand you have a force that will fit in neatly with the structure in place, that will most likely get the most done the quickest, and that will provide some measure of consistency for the people and in gaining allies across the board. this force has proven itself cruel, either through the active choice of cruelty or indifference to the point of cruelty, and offers the most effective results but only if you’re willing to really, really do the ethically fucked up thing. on the other hand, you have a group of refugees fleeing centuries of violent oppression, whose organization is better suited for a university than for a war, who genuinely terrify most civilians, and who would need to be heavily trained. they are, hands down, the ethically correct choice — protecting the oppressed rather than siding with their oppressors, bringing about real change and progress — but logistically and politically speaking it’s kind of a crapshoot. and i think, i think, that if this had been built up in much the way that anora vs alistair was built up — one is a good moral choice, one is a good political choice, you can’t have both at the start but you can hope they’re influenced in the right way — it would have been a lot more effective? and on the fan side: i have a lot more trouble getting people invested in a pro-templar inquisitor than a pro-mage inquisitor, which is fair because i agree that allying with the mages is the right thing to do, and i don’t blame anyone at all for their discomfort with a pro-templar inquisitor. but i think that it’s because this got pitched to us as a moral dilemma when it wasn’t one, and the way that this was made into a “moral dilemma” was by rewriting a lot of 2. 

     because pushing “anders was a terrorist” is... lazy at best? and i’m sorry for being pedantic but this is a major pet peeve: anders does not engage in a campaign of terror. he engages first in peaceful protest, then in physical defense of people, and the explosion at the chantry is both a last resort and is actively timed to avoid collateral damage. terrorism, by definition, requires the terrorist to engage in that kind of act with the explicit intent of terrorizing civilians to force a state or institution to grant the terrorist’s demands. anders set off the explosion at a time when there were few people in the chantry — not during a service of any kind, not when people were paying attention to the chantry, but when their attention was elsewhere. he made a point of limiting casualties, and the act was done exclusively to prevent a slaughter, after nearly a decade of trying literally everything else. ( on the flip side, in inquisition we literally have sebastian inform the inquisition that he intends to invade kirkwall — not because he thinks hawke and anders can be found there, but because he wants to terrorize the civilians until hawke and anders surrender. so we do have an example of how this can be used in warfare, in-game, with the same players, and they’re two vastly different approaches. ) so to make the “anders was a terrorist” line make more sense they insisted on massive numbers of casualties from the explosion, they undermined hawke’s support of anders by default, and they made the explosion at kirkwall out to be the spark for the mage rebellion, when we know from the books that this wasn’t the case at all. so it’s a lot of retconning to try and make the mage-templar choice in 2 a morally difficult one, when we know it isn’t, and when the game doesn’t allow it to be. because love or hate anders, senselessly slaughtering a tower full of mages after a decade-plus of rampant abuses, which are horrifying and canonically confirmed by templars every chance the game has, it really doesn’t stand up to any sort of scrutiny. the only real moral dilemma in “the last straw” is whether or not to execute anders ( tho i’ve never been able to do it, it is set up to be a difficult choice, and it’s much more effective ). 

     anyway i’m not sure how to sum this up tidily but the gist of it is that i think the mage-templar choice in inquisition is best understood as a parallel for the anora-alistair choice in origins, rather than the mage-templar choice in 2?

[gear-project]

My response to the Closed Beta Survey:

People were asking me for more specifics on how I felt about the survey, so I guess I ought to outline in a larger broader sense what I think so far of Guilty Gear StrIVe.

Graphics: 

Outside of individual characters/animations, the stage graphics needed some better rendering for certain objects.  Things like grass and smaller objects looked “plastic” or “lego-like” in some areas, so that could be tweaked.

Lighting seemed okay, effects from various attacks also looked very good, and better than I was expecting at the time.  Clash/Offset graphics need improvement so that they appear more obvious to players (I still miss Danger Time however... that added an extra spice to the game that GG has missed since the original Instant Kill screen in the first game, perhaps it can be optional in certain modes?).

The beta was especially slow in terms of load times between matches though, and even the matching function for netplay was sluggish as well.

I would like to see actual dramatic clash intros instead of “talking head sequences” for rivalries in the future... the first trailer suggested that was possible, so I hope they can actually achieve this once more like Accent Core once had for Sol and Ky especially.

Animation-wise, nothing really outstanding to note other than the fact I still find Ky’s battle stance to be somewhat strange for him, given the screen-facing perspective... I just find it particularly odd to have his battle stance changed so much since the older games.  While Millia’s stance did change, it was more subtle, for example.

The Tension gauge didn’t seem to provide enough information to me, and was rather overly simplified, and I would like better notifications when my risc guard gauge is high.  Character select still looks dull, though I did like the post-match rating system.  I think players would benefit not just from ratings when they win, but tips and advice when they lose as well.

The lobby still needs a lot of work, but I did like the concept of only having access to certain “floors of the tower” depending on how strong you are as a player.  It makes things feel more like a dungeon exploration than just a netplay lobby.  Gatekeepers truly do exist... so such gameplay should reflect that.

I would like to see something closer to what Granblue Fantasy Versus has, times of day, weather, minigames to do while waiting between matches, or even just a place to mess around with stuff.

Sounds:

Everything sounded okay, albeit random.  Normally I have sound effects much louder than music, as certain sounds serve as important “tells” during a fight.  Voicework tends to come second to that, but I did note that in certain underground stage areas, character voices gained acoustics, which was an interesting change.

I also liked how the voices gained a dramatic echo like the Guilty Gear X era once had, particularly for Overdrive Attacks, which I hope they keep.

Controls:

I’m going to say this up front, but I never liked the concept of throw wiffs for Guilty Gear... while it might be more useful for games like BlazBlue, GG was more fast-paced, and generally geared more towards spacing and neutral attacks, giving throws an opportunity to neutralize an attack at close range.

This made throws safer, but also kept players in check who were always about close-range mixups.  Option selects were also important in older games too.

Add to this, and I dislike the idea of them being attached to the Dust button.  This makes it difficult to do things like run up and perform a Dust attack, or airdash in with a Dust without accidentally inputting a throw input.

Unless they came up with a way to better control throws as opposed to pressing Dust and a Direction (or give it a better input window), I’m not sure I like things how they are.

Another issue I have is the Roman Cancel Button... under most circumstances, the default Roman Cancel macro is P+K+S... this was always the default button in most games, but you couldn’t opt for other macros, like S+K+H, or P+K+H.  This is important for characters who negative edge inputs, like Johnny or Zato, as they might need a different macro input so they can better “hold certain buttons” without having to rely on the default Roman Cancel input.  This applies to other things like Slashback, Blitz, or Faultless Defense as well.  Limiting input macros just leads to more problems if you ask me.

Gatling Combo cancels seem “okay” for now... and I understand why they put limits on Punch and Kick buttons, simply because those kinds of moves have higher priority and are safer in most situations.  I think it makes sense to limit benefits when priority is on taking less risk in a fight.

In other words, using stronger attacks is more of a gamble, and therefore should get more natural benefits.  Bigger risk, better rewards.  This goes for guarding as well.  While blocking itself isn’t taking much risk (or rather, raising RISC), players who use technique like Instant Blocking or FD blocking should get benefits from using it.

I don’t know if Blitzshield will return, but I wouldn’t mind if it did, especially if it functioned the same as Slashbacks in older games, especially on block or wakeup.

Gameplay/Nuances:

Not enough special moves/tools for characters to my liking... though some felt overpowered.  Ky’s 6H acting like a Dust Launcher felt way too powerful for someone like him... though I can understand why such exists if it’s a slow attack.

Other characters felt “sluggish” at certain areas, like Chipp Zanuff and his combo routes (which would normally feel easy to chain together).  Even Alpha Blade felt a bit slow.

Airdash Speed/Height also felt slow and limited.  Also I don’t like the idea that forward Airdashes have the “Air Hike” glyph (DMC), but Air Backdashes do not as much.  If they’re going to have air dash “tells”, it should work for any form of airdash.  That’s especially needed for crossups and IAD situations.

Also it felt like Backdashes weren’t very safe, not to mention the damage output being too high.

I missed moves like Ky’s Grinders or Sol’s Riot Stamp... or even classic moves like Tyrant Rave Alpha, Sidewinder, or Crescent Slash.

Lots of characters felt lobotomized and overly simple to my liking, compared to their more developed older versions.  Even EX characters felt more developed in the older games.

I’m still not sure how I feel about Roman Cancels having a “hitbox” or “launch hit” when they go active, but I guess it takes getting used to.  It’s not a bad tool, but I’m not sure how effective such would be as a Dead Angle on defense.

I was also told that blocking reversal moves (DPs) in the air causes a large blowback... I find that interesting, but I don’t know if there’s pushback when blocking said moves on the ground.

It’s fine if you can FD moves to deal with reversals safely, but common blocking without Instant Blocks should at least have some knockback to put some value in reversal moves.

Other Stuff:

I liked the concept of getting to use normal attacks immediately after certain key special moves (like Sol’s Vortex), or the simplicity of the juggles.  Though I hope they improve things like Dust Air Combos... right now Dust only causes launch on counterhit, there are no more ground Dust combos like Xrd had.

It also felt like the window for an air combo was very small as you could only do 3 hits at most after a Dust Homing Jump.  I would like to see more uses of Jump Dust for characters, or even momentum-based combos.

Things like Impossible Dust (homing jump cancel) or even Jump Install would also be nice.

I would like to see more character-customization, like having different types of weapons/outfits, abilities, or stats, in an adventure-style game (like Granblue currently uses, but bigger in scale perhaps).

I would also like to see different modes of gameplay, like an Isuka Mode, or a 3-on-3 battle setup for team battles (not necessarily tag style, but KOF style teams as well).

I would also like to see GG Generations return... classic modes for every style of play:

GG1 Mode, GGX Mode, GGXXAC Mode, Xrd Mode, and maybe even a GG2 mode that makes special moves resource-heavy (like Granblue currently employs).  Having separate modes of play would satisfy everyone... EX fighting styles as well, to further expand character play.  Gold Bosses and Darkside enemies need to return as well.

I would also hope they explore the prospect of a GG animated film or movie, though that’s still wishful thinking.  Having English novels would also help move things along.

Roster-wise, I just want everyone to return at their best, along with really cool new faces.

Closing Notes:

Experiencing the beta first-hand, I can definitely say it has Guilty Gear aspects at its core, but I felt wanting more.  I know they can pull it off, and I gave them everything I could possibly want in the game.

There’s a possibility they might update the beta later on... so I hope I’ll get to participate in that as well.

[msbluebell]

Hello, I'm the same anon talking about the Captured AU. Sorry about that, I'm not accusing you of making Edelgard a Yandere when I sent the ask, I may come off as oversimplifying Edelgard's character with that but the Captured AU where Edelgard amplified her controlling tendencies just... gave off that impression to me, so, again, I apologize. And part of me can't see Edelgard doing that, as much as I'm aware that it's an AU, since even if her methods are questionable, she still gave (1/2)

the rest of the Eagles a choice to whether or not they will fight with her or not. And even in non-Black eagles routes, she gave Petra a choice to whether or not she will help her if you recruit Petra. So even with all her controlling tendencies, I was on the belief that Edelgard still gave people a choice, no matter how little they might be. Edelgard's methods are NOT okay, but I just can't see her having her controlling tendencies amplified like the AU did. (2/2)Listen, I’m not mad at you. You’re allowed to not like something, and you’e allowed to criticize something, and you’re allowed to even think actively bad things about something.

You and I? We don’t agree on Edelgard’s character and that’s the bare bones of it.

I’m really, really, tired of trying to defend my view on Edelgard, or this stupid AU I made that got me so much hate from different anons (not you, I assume). I don’t even like her character, so it’s exhausting to keep repeating my views of her over and over. So, right here, right now, I’m using your argument less to argue about my AU, and more to put my final foot down on my feelings on Edelgard, what I think she’d do, and how I feel about her. So sorry about that.

I completely, totally, undeniably believe Edelgard absolutely would lock up Byleth in a tower for five years if given the option. That’s not even something I questioned when writing this AU. I think she’s ruthless enough to do it, I think she’s got the sense of compassion to want to do it, and I think she has the moral self-superiority to think she’s right for doing so.

This is the girl that was staged a bandit attack in order to assassinate her two fellow House Leaders, both of whom are underage like her. This is the girl that blackmailed Lorenz into siding with the Empire, this is the girl that is invading all of Fodlan in order to tear down the system and rebuild it the way she thinks is right, this is the girl that used Bernadetta as bait in a trap on Gronder Field in every route not Black Eagles. This is the girl that is possibly blackmailing Ferdinand. Her willingness to commit atrocities in the name of her ambition is what gets the other three factions of the game to paint her as evil. And, eespite loathing the methods of TWSITD, she is shown to actively aid them with their experiments by collecting Crest Stones for them to use to turn innocents into Demonic Beasts with her assault on the Holy Tomb. She also explicitly gave them the Death Knight, who then helps them kidnap Flayn for more experiments. She obsessed with control to the point that it’s listed in her bio, and the only time she lets up on any of these qualities is when Byleth is actively playing her morality pet in the Crimson Flower Route.

And that’s not even going into the fact that she justifies all these actions by the “I Did What I Had To Do” logic.

So, yes, with all the criticism you may think I hate her.

No.

I dislike her, but I understand and appreciate that she’s also a kind, compassionate, woman that is actively trying to make her homeland a better play the only way she knows how. She’s working on only half the actual facts, much like Dimitri, and like him she’s attacking the wrong people because she came to a wrong conclusion based on only half given facts. She legitimately does believe that playing the tyrant now is going to save a lot of people in the future, and it’s a genuine character flaw of hers that she overlooks the now in the name of the future. She is completely right about the corruption of the crest system and the need to reform, as well as the issues with the Church. 

But I’m getting off topic.

I believe, based on both her ruthlessness and her compassion, that she would lock someone up in order to save them from the war.But BBell, you say, locking someone up like that isn’t compassionate at all, it’s torture.

Yes, person who just said that, I agree with you. By basic human decency standards. But you clearly have no idea how we treat prisoners of war. Even in modern day. And, yes, Byleth is a war prisoner first, as I have tried and failed to remind everyone over the course of this AU.

And, my lovelies, being a POW sucks hard, but I bet it sucked harder in an age before crossbows.

Edelgard, in this AU in particular, thinks she is saving Byleth’s life by keeping her a POW. And, on top of that, she’s keeping Byleth fed, in a nice room, with comfortable beds, nice clothes, entertainment. Compared to a wet, cramp, dirty cell with rats that eat you, no toilet, no bed, and no light I bet this prison seems like one of those fancy rich people prisons that are nicer than my apartment. Not only that, Byleth is getting company every day. (I do admit I decided that the room needs a window, just one that’s kinda like a skylight where it’s way too high up to reach). In Edelgard’s mind, she’s saving Byleth’s life and keeping them comfortable until the war is over. That’s downright compassionate right there. Horrifying to us though.

The thing about this AU that everyone seems to forget is that Byleth loving Edelgard was not the end goal for the woman. Yes, she does want Byleth on her side and thinks she can convince them one day, but actively controlling them and making them love her isn’t the point. The point is to keep this person she’s canonically obsessed with from dying in the war. 

I didn’t say this clearly the first time around because I wanted people to come up with their own reasons and endings for this AU, but in my head once this war is over and Edelgard rules everything, Byleth is free to go so long as she isn’t planning a riot or rebellion or assassination. Granted, I personally wouldn’t want someone that could incite a rebellion running around free, so house arrest in a manor or something is more likely, but the tower won’t be necessary after the war.

That’s how I saw it, anyway.

I don’t care if other people want it to be different. I don’t care if they make Edelgard a Yandere. I don’t care if they make Byleth a twenty foot dragon. I don’t care if they don’t keep it as canonically aligned as possible like I tried to do at first before more and more ask bombed my doorstep and this whole thing swelled way beyond my original prompt and got lost somewhere. I don’t care if this is a good horror story for people, or a story they hate, or a good yandere bait story. I don’t care if people have Edelgard obsessed to the point where she never lets Byleth out, because, you know what? I’m sure they have their own logical reasoning for why she would do that. I can’t personally see it. I know Anon personally can’t see it because that’s where this whole mess of me trying to defend my thoughts on a stupid AU I wrote that got me a lot of grief from much meaner Anons came from.

It’s just a dumb AU, guys, do want you want with it. Block it, hate it, love it, write it. Write a billion spin-offs. Make Rhea the one locking people in towers. Make Claude do it. I don’t care if you somehow make Jeralt a zombie and have him capture Edelgard in a tower at this point.You wanna know something? I’d write how I most logically think that very Zombie Jeralt prompt would happen if someone sent it. And I think that’s the problem. Maybe I’m trying to hard to logic out all this stuff I don’t think will happen. Because I don’t back down from the asks, even when I think there’s no way it could happen I tackle it. Maybe that’s why everything is swelling so much beyond my control, and I got three Anons (not counting you, Anon from this ask) that have harassed me about this.I’m going to turn off Anon Asks if I get one more hate comment btw. Check mate to that particular Anon if they’re reading this. Call me a cunt to my face so I can block you, coward. 

Anyway, I got off point again. You disagree with me, Respectful Anon that disagrees with my AU, and I disagree with you. I’m not mad about the yandere comment, I was just defensive. Here’s my feelings on everything. You probably disagree with them. That’s great! I don’t wanna live in a world where people blindly agree with me! I’m sure you even have a great counter argument that I’ll read, and then can’t do anything about because this AU is bigger than me and also I might still disagree.And that’s it, that’s my whole defense of myself in this AU. Have a nice day.