#diablo meta

[swindlefingrs]

Diablo IV: Hatred vs hatred

i wrapped up a second playthru of the diablo iv story and i think there's something to the fact that there's a distinction the game makes between "Hatred", proper noun, and "hatred", common noun. i can't stop wondering why this delineation exists:

i don't think its a typo since a handful of dialogue options make a distinction between Hatred and hatred within the same conversation:

my initial thought is that Hatred isn't shorthand for Mephisto or Lilith, not a specific entity, but rather their plane of existence or domain. the game mentions a few times that demons can't be killed, hence the soulstones, that they eventually return to their domains to reform. if their domains were obliterated, would they also cease to exist? would the eternal conflict end if there weren't a Burning Hells or High Heavens?

this could also align with the idea that to be a "Lord" in the vaguely feudal sense - they're addressed as Lord of (the place name/land they steward). in this case, that land would be Hatred.

Donan talks about how a demon's essence seeps into reality from where it's held in a soulstone. maybe a demon brings parts of its dimension with it into Sanctuary?

so it seems to me, that the prophecy is talking about light piercing the heart of the realm of Hatred. what that "light" is and what/where the heart of the realm of Hatred is, i dunno!

[fluff-and-such]

Seriously though there was a bit in Michael Moorcock where Elric goes to the realm governed by the gods of Order and it's just. Flat and featureless and unchanging.

Meanwhile places that get taken over by Chaos are places where you can't trust the ground you walk on to not suddenly turn into custard or grow fangs or whatever.

Hell!Rat and Heaven!Rat reminded me of that.

That sounds pretty close to the concept behind Heaven and Hell in Diablo. Can't have too much light, everything will stagnate and eventually decay. Can't have too much dark, everything falls into chaos and destroys itself.

Sanctuary needs to be kept just right, or else calamity.

Heaven and Hell Rats were doodled with this in mind too. Good eye, and good thought!

[egophiliac]

Hi it's just to let you know that the official romanization of Revaan's name is Raverne ! Also they have romanized Baul's name to Baur !

Twst coming back at us again with the least expected romanization! thank you everybody (oh god my inbox) (no it's great, I literally asked for this and the reactions have been INCREDIBLE, thank you all!)

I do like Raverne though, I think it's got a nice fancy sound to it! (I had kinda suspected it was going to be an R instead of an L, so the fact that it's SO close to Laverne except for that is hilarious to me personally.) and Dragoneye Duke is honestly probably the best translation for his title, I wasn't envying the localizers that one. :') Baur instead of Baul I was NOT expecting, but in retrospect I think his name's supposed to be a reference to the Bauru crocodile, so that actually makes way more sense!

someone else also said Meleanor has become Maleanor, which is the REALLY weird one to me, because I was so surprised it was written as Mel instead of Mal in the first place?! oh god no I can't decide which one I like better. 😭 (I wonder if they might change it to Mal...they have made romanization changes before) (like I remember House of Distraction being corrected to House of Destruction in Playful Land) (I did check and she's still Mel for now, but I dunno, they might Mal her up and some point and save me from having to make a decision about which one to use) (HECK I CAN'T DECIDE)

uhhhh thank you for letting me ramble about anime names, let's just say MONOGRAMMED SWEATERS FOR EVERYONE

[el-diablo-espacial]

Enfócate...🍃

[cloversdreams]

we welcome diablo as the newest member of the 120 club

[silvrunnr]

tag dump .

. open . › non mutuals .

. face claim . › el diablo loco .

. meta . › endless road to nothing .

. character study . › inspiration from things seen .

. npcs . › faces on the road .

. dash prompts . › beneath the moon .

. about . › trying to cut some teeth .

. aesthetics . › time is slowly chasing me .

. musings . › treat me soft & tender .

. skills . › flesh & blood .

[pocji]

anyway lexi liu album really good

[isolationaroundus]

Even though I will hate overwatch 2 and blizzard forever (and of course have very little to none hope for d4) but while the hype is huge and it's the first day of the game I might as well play a little just to remember the good old days...

hmu to play together

[flickynightdarkness]

My Full Comfort Characters List

Oggy, Olivia (Oggy & The Cockroaches)

SpongeBob, Sandy Cheeks, Gary The Snail, Patrick Star (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll (Sanrio)

Little Miss Sunshine, Little Miss Shy (Little Miss)

Mr Quiet, Little Miss Giggles (Mr Men Show)

CookieSwirlC, Jaiden Animations, Dawko, Rageminer, REU Music Channel (YouTubers)

Chudd Chudders & DangerGrid Of Doom (Skatoony)

Jigglypuff, Eevee, Darkrai, Alice, Alicia, Iris, Sylveon (Pokémon)

Rosalina, Boo, Count Bleck, Tippi, Peach, Daisy (Mario)

Mario, Yoshi, Luigi (Mario/DIC Cartoons)

Cream, Chao, Orbot, Cubot, Zavok, Zazz, Dr Eggman, Vector, Chip, Tails Doll (Sonic The Hedgehog)

Sonic, Tails (Sonic/AOSTH)

Poppet, Dr Strangeglove, Baby Rox, Captain Squirk, Jeepers, Kissy, Shishi (Moshi Monsters)

Hanazuki, Yellow Hemka, Pink Hemka, Light Blue Hemka (Hanazuki)

Charles Calvin, Reginald Copperbottom, Right Hand Man, Dmitri Petrov (Henry Stickmin)

Mama (Cooking Mama)

Pusheen The Cat

Shirousa & Kurousa (Sugar Bunnies)

Pipsqueak (The Lorax)

Mushi Sanban, Numbuh 9/Maurice, Father/Benedict Wigglestein & Monty Uno/Numbuh 0 (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Bubble (BFDI)

Winner (TPOT)

X, Cake (BFB)

Orbulon (Warioware)

Kirby, Meta Knight (Kirby)

PukeyHurlC (Grossery Gang)

Duck Guy, Red Guy, Bread Mother, Electracey (Don't Hug Me I'm Scared)

ENA (Season 1/Dream BBQ)

Moony (ENA)

Toriel, Papyrus (Undertale)

Jevil (Deltarune)

Neo Cortex, Aku Aku, Dingodile, Lani-Loli, Kapuna-Wa (Crash Bandicoot)

Scar (Alien Vs Predator)

Secret History! Tails (Mashed)

MX (Mario 85)

N (Murder Drones)

505, White Hat (Villainous)

SCP-049, SCP-999 (SCP)

Sam (Trick R Treat)

Lord X, Majin Sonic, Hog, Curse (EXEs)

Hypno (Pokémon/Poképasta)

Lost Silver (Pokepasta)

XR, NOS-4-A2 (Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command)

Ms Joke, Eri, Tsuyu Asui (My Hero Academia)

Rayman (Rayman/Animated Series)

Snatcher (A Hat In Time)

Scarecrow (BTAS/TNBA/Arkham Asylum/Arkham Knight/Injustice 2/Harley Quinn Series/Happy Halloween Scooby Doo)

Mad Hatter (BTAS)

King Shark (Harley Quinn Series)

Ragdoll, Riddler, Joker (The Batman Series)

The Question (Justice League Unlimited)

Zardy (Zardy's Maze)

Dr. Nefarious (Ratchet & Clank)

Soft BF (FNF: Soft)

Cofi, Bezel, Slushi, Cheezborger (Chikn Nuggit)

Hex, Nikusa, Rascal, Sarvente, QT, Boyfriend, Girlfriend (FNF)

Skid, Pump, Robert, Jaune, Streber, John, Bob Velseb (Spooky Month)

Blitzo, Moxxie, Collin, Stolas, Paimon (Helluva Boss)

Charlie Morningstar, Angel Dust, Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)

Pinkie Pie (My Little Pony)

Taki (Friday Night Fever)

Shuey Rhon Rhon (Beijing 2022 Paralympics Mascot)

Miraitowa, Someity (Tokyo 2020 Mascots)

Harry Hill, Robert Englund, Charles Martinet (Celebrities)

Bingo, Snorky (Banana Splits)

Wall-E, EVE (Wall-E)

Mario.EXE (Mario's Madness)

Needlem0use, Luther, Sarah Hendedson (Needlem0use)

Hank Anderson (Detroit: Become Human)

Bendy (BATDR)

Sammy Lawrence (BATIM)

Tari, Meggy Spletzer, Melony (SMG4)

Mugman, Baroness Von Bon Bon (Cuphead Show)

Slender Man, Splendor Man, Lulu, Jeff The Killer, Laughing Jack (Creepypasta)

Moon Knight

Meilin Lee, Abby Park (Turning Red)

Spot The Dog

Edd, Matt, Tord, Tom (Eddsworld)

EteleD, Corrupt Mii (Wii Deleted You)

Perrito, Puss In Boots, Kitty Softpaws, Three Diablos (Puss In Boots)

Grogu (The Mandalorian)

Sayori, Monika, Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Mr Shark, Diane Foxington (The Bad Guys)

Grim Reaper, Jack O Lantern (Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy)

[the-critic-god-of-books]

One thing to think about when writing powerful protagonists or even overpowered protagonists, is that spectacle will only get you so far.

Stories are about conflict, and having every conflict be about the main character one-shotting someone is boring. there are 2 main options that you can go with: you can make the story a comedy like "One Punch Man" or You can get your drama from another source.

You can also do both like "The Eminence in Shadow" does

let me go on a rant about that real quick

You see the world of The Eminence in Shadow is a dark fantasy. It's on some Game of Thrones shit.

The Cult of Diablos: a secret organization that almost ended the world a few years back is moving in the shadows to gain more power.

Shadow Garden: a female-only group of mater rogues and assassins comprised of the victims of The Cult of Diablos (experiments gone wrong)

Diablos: A woman whose dead body is used by the cult to further their power. she works to escape and return to the real world. to fight Sid and a lot of other shit.

Other factions fight to maintain some sembles of normalcies in a world fucked to hell and back by Diablos.

and then we have Sid also known as The Eminence in Shadow.

Use Sid wants to be Batman but in our world, no matter how hard you work out or how much you train if somebody drops a nuke on you, you die. so Sid kills himself and gets Isekai'd (on purpose btw).

You see Sid has 2 powers

The power of The Eminence in Shadow (supper strength speed mastery of the sword supper good magic) that he kinda worked for

And

The Power of Plot (which he's not aware of ) you see Sid has Infinite luck. and things will always work out for him in the best meta way possible.

Sid makes up The Cult of Diablos when he tells the girls that: will later on create shadow garden, about it. Through sheer luck The Cult of Deablos is real.

You see this anime works through the same logic that Sid does "What would be the coolest thing that could happen if I was in an anime."

Everyone in the world is playing a political drama set in a Dystopian Dark fantasy. And Sid is a 14-year-old edge lord playing Dungeons & Dragons. Sid the comedic character just having fun does some weird cringe edgy shit and all of the serious well written characters have to deal with his bullshit.

You see Sid is the DM's little brother who we have to entertain till he goes to bed and he's playing as NotBatman in our Darkfantasy. and the world is funnier for it.

In Conclusion/ TLDR

The Story works because from day one you know that Sid can win any fight he wants to. and the story is not about fighting. The story is about "how will the characters deal with {black}"

if you want to have a story with an overpowered protagonist then make the story about how they affect the world around them not how many people they can kill.

[kyndaris]

Adrenaline Rush

After slogging through Diablo IV, all the while listening to video essays about terrible authors (thank you ReadswithRachel), there were still a mountain of games that I needed to tackle in order to bring some semblance of order to my ever-growing backlog. But rather than play through yet another hundred-hour adventure, I opted for something far shorter. Enter: Hi-Fi Rush.

While I have very mixed feelings about Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda and now, it seems, Activision Blizzard, there is no denying that Hi-Fi Rush is a masterpiece of a game that serves as a breath of fresh air for anyone tired of the dull doldrums that come from staring at dirt or uninspired graphic design.

In fact, there is definitely something to be said for choosing a colourful, high contrast and bombastic art style to go with one's game. It certainly livens up the screen and makes everything pop. Something that could not be said of the recent triple-A games that I recently played through.

Beyond that, it just brings a smile to my face to see a game that doesn't take itself too seriously when it comes to world-building. And it's all the better for it.

Too many games these days have gone the realistic grimdark route and it has honestly sapped some of the fun out of what would have been interesting worlds. As a random aside, you can still be grimdark and still have a colourful world filled with a mixture of fun and funny characters.

But back to the game at hand!

Releasing at the start of the year with no fanfare to describe of, Hi-Fi Rush was a sleeper hit for many gamers although it has tracked well with critics. So, when it was on sale on Steam, I went ahead and bought it. And instead of sitting there for years and years, the delay between purchase and me playing it was only a few months, give or take!

What struck me immediately was the art. I loved seeing the bold lines that defined the characters and the environment. Instead of the dreary atmosphere that came from Diablo IV or Forspoken, I was met with a highly saturated world that wasn't afraid of splashing around a little colour.

True, it might not be a colour scheme or graphic choice for every game but it certainly stood out from the stuffy triple-A crowd.

The second thing that I fell in love with were the host of allies, from Peppermint to Macaron, CNMN and finally Korsica. Though the game was fairly short and the time that I spent with them didn't extend to hundreds of hours, I enjoyed what few conversations that Chai had with them and the immediate dynamic that naturally sprung up between them through in-game banter.

This was a game that didn't waste one's time with endless backstory. It was a burst of game that could be replayed if one wanted and did not overstay its welcome.

Combat, too, took on an interesting twist with attacks landing on beat. This provided some extra challenge to combat but never made pulling off combos difficult as I slashed and slammed my way through the Vandelay Technologies offices to bring down the man - or in this particular case, greedy CEO Kale Vandelay.

It also made sense from a narrative perspective with Chai having his music player being inserted into his chest when his broken arm was initially replaced with a robot arm at the start of the game.

And perhaps that's what makes Hi-Fi Rush such a great game. Almost all of the aspects of the game are interconnected - be it the gameplay, the narrative or even the logs that players can pick up. The fact that the game isn't afraid to also poke fun and get a little meta, which only adds to the game's charm.

While the villains were a little one-note, playing into stereotypes, there were also hidden depths to their characters that were often revealed in their boss battles. And what spectacles they were! Especially against Roquefort! That was truly wonderful - especially the homage to Scrooge McDuck's money bin.

Honestly, there were so many iconic moments, it's hard for me to nail down which one was my favourite.

If I had to say what my main gripe with the game was though, I'd say it had to be the lack of healing options during battle except for special abilities. It was also disappointing to see how little Chai recovered when he picked up the small health energy that was scattered around the environment.

Still, it did make the boss battles nailbiting knowing that I could only heal Chai only once I'd managed to fill up the energy bar to use my healing special ability.

As for gameplay that wasn't combat related, while it annoyed me that I couldn't explore every inch without first unlocking another character first, I enjoyed the challenges although I did find the platforming a little finicky on occasion.

Overall, though, Hi-Fi Rush was an excellent palate cleanser after the less than impressive Diablo IV. And while I would have liked to spend more time in the world of Hi-Fi Rush to understand the backstory for a few more of the characters, I enjoyed my time with it - from the zany plans to the humorous gags that are maintained through the entire game like the Vandelay robots rebelling by ensuring all the coffee machines only serving decaf.

Here's hoping that developers learn to break up their usual doom and gloom with something that brings back the joy of gaming. It almost feels like we're returning to the early 2000s when all games needed to have dark broody tortured protagonists except they're also now extending it to the game design and game world. Which, in all honestly, I'm not enjoying.

After all, you can still make gut-punching emotional games and still have a beautiful world to admire!

True, don't go the route of Thor: Love and Thunder but it doesn't need to be another cookie-cutter stale grey world.

[swindlefingrs]

One of my favorite Lorath scenes is after you reunite Oyuun and Zolaya and he starts to tear up (and deny it) at these two lovera reuniting. He's a softy at heart :(

i forgot about how choked up he gets!

tbh i think he deeply cares about people, that it's a driving force behind wanting to become Horadrim along with doing all the traveling he's done. i can't see an actual misanthrope dedicating his entire life to protecting humanity.

sort of like the hermit doesn't want to be a hermit because he dislikes people, but more of self-preservation from the pain of losing people, or not feeling like he deserves compassion/thought based on how much he holds himself responsible for Elias' choices?

i wonder if that has something to do with his own lost love, too? if it's a similar experience to his so it hits harder?

[miss-latam-sexy-tournament]

The Leouch edit was done by the lovely: @lipid

Brackets have been done for round 1! I fucked it up a little bit in the end but alas, it looks great :) Polls will start tomorrow and to make things more interesting the further a contestant advances, the more extravagant the parts of a beauty contest will they experience.

Quarterfinal contestants will be drawn as anime girls / twinks, if the character is already from an anime, they will be drawn like a muppet.

Semifinal contestants will be drawn with fantasy dresses based around their country.

Finalists will be drawn in swimsuits

The winner is going to be drawn as -redacted-

Good luck to everyone!

Matches will be listed below the cut

Juan del diablo VS José "Chepe" Fortuna

Soraya Montenegro VS Mirtha Legrand

La Tenchis VS La Comay

Ermes costello VS Michiko Malandro

Diego "Godot" Armando VS Lelouch Lamperouge

Isabela Madrigal VS Luisa Madrigal

Imelda Rivera VS Rio Morales

Franco Colucci VS Félix Khoury

Lúcio Correia dos Santos VS Jayce Tallis

Paola Argento VS Ignacio

Misato Katsuragi VS Chimi

Dardo Fuseneco VS Angel Torres

Yzma VS Kronk

Chayanne VS Cepillo Colgate 360 con limpiador de lenguas y mejías

The letter ñ VS Angel

Sofia Vergara VS Anita

Juan Pueblo VS Jesus Cristo

Bimbo VS Señora Harina Pan

Din Djarin VS Moon Knight

Federica P.Luche VS Nazare Tedesco

Jetstream Sam VS Agostinho Carrara

Burro VS Homero Simpson

Muerte VS Zé Carrioca

Scorpio Milo VS Jimenez

B'Elanna Torres VS Bail Organa

Black Hat VS El Charro Negro

Juan Carlos Bodoque VS Goku

Simón Bolívar VS Camperonix

Rafael Aveiro VS Ernesto de la Cruz

Meta Knight VS Mr. Electric

Ricardo Martinez VS Sado Yasutora

Carmen de la Pica Morales VS Patricia Dorval

Ace Visconti VS Alma Winograd-Diaz

Lalo Salamanca VS Gustavo Fring

[ankle-beez]

[ID: A three-and-a-half star review of "Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!" by ankle-beez on Letterboxd that reads, "my interest in this was only for gay velma but honestly this was delightful, a very fun meta celebration of the entire franchise. hope they put coco diablo in future projects, she was great. if future movies are as good as this one i might keep up with these".]

[el-diablo-espacial]

[waterdeep]

Was diablo 4 good in terms of gameplay, story, and meta ?

no idea, haven't played, i just think lilith's hot