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ruffled-serpent · 4 years

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Lair Review for Kesten

Kesten is up next, y’all know where to look vv

@heckling-hydrena

Ok wow your lair, with all the tabs and small descriptions is so well organized AND beautiful. Reading the little snippets in your hibden tab descriptions was entirely captivating. I also really like the name you’ve chosen for your city-- and the lore you seem to have written about its origins. Let’s begin:

Johnny

with the amount of stars she has she seems to be a fan favorite! And I can see why. You really made the wine secondary work well by using the accent and dried flowerfall items. The fern and celadon silks are and equally amazing combo, but I especially like how the ringlet gene matches with this whole flowery theme. The hints of gold also marry the two colors well, and overall helps create such a regal and unique looking dragon.

Keegan

Keegan’s design and outfit matches SO well with the Yellow-Throated Sparrowmouse familiar that if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve figured the staff of FR designed this dragon themselves. The pure chaotic energy of this dragon was only confirmed when I scrolled down to the bio and found whispers of “tax fraud” and “he means well but he is also a little evil”. I love him and any mini atrocities that he may be involved in.

Tempest

If I had to describe this dragon with just one sentence it would be “a refreshing, tall glass of cold, sparkling water-- grape flavored of course.” She is elegance with a side of fierce (I mean look at those spikes) and wow I’ve seen double halos layered nicely but this really takes the cake with three whole halos. The top layering of all the purple apparel pieces helps with giving her outfit more depth. I could stare at her all day.

Aoulie

This story teller looks like he came right out of The Never Ending Story. The accent you’ve given him makes me feel like whatever story he’s telling is interwoven with magic to make it come alive, and the moon in the middle really draws the eye in--it’s quite an excellent centerpiece. The layering of the hat and the ghastcrown is incredible. I love how the glowing eyes match with the flowerfall, giving it an overall starry look.

Antigone

Another incredibly looking regal dragon. I want to immediately point out the amazing gradient this dragon has. Even though the majority of the details of Falcon and Peregrine are covered, they’re still doing a fantastic job for the majority of this Look. I love the combination of the golden seraph and the haunted flame sets, but what really draws this all together is the halo and the accent. Sappho and Antigone make quite the stunning team

Hurste

The wanderer that really brings home the “straight out of a DnD campaign” vibe. You don’t see a lot of dragons that take a FR-made skin and turn it into something completely off the wall good. And with a color palette consisting of four colors, no less. Hurste's design makes use of great contrast and camouflage. I really enjoy what you’ve done with this dragon.

Delphina

Delphina may be a non-lore dragon but she is incredibly stunning. The combination of green and cerulean are always eye-catching. I love the aviation pilot look, while still seeming as tho she may have crash landed into a bramble patch it lets my imagination kind of run wild with her design. And I’m such a sucker for matching eyes. Delphina gets a 10/10 from me.

Sandstone

Sandstone looks like a mystic nomad who is perhaps annoyed that the wind keeps blowing away his tea leaves which are carried in the pouch at his side. It looks like he’s found a home near the altar (that he maybe tends to?). In all seriousness I enjoy how the reds and oranges bring a flash of color to his look. It keeps him interesting while not overwhelming the senses. I would love to accompany him on any journey or listen to any stories he may offer.

Eurydice

Yet again another familiar/dragon combo that just knocks my socks off. I love Eurydice’s ghostly appearance, what with all the lanterns, blue flame, and watery halo. The sage cover combine with the previously mentioned apparel items really give her a mysterious charm. I must also add that I’ve never really liked Edged much before, but in her case it almost looks like little embers floating up and out from the blue fire.

Elijah

Red and blacks will never cease to be a fantastic color combo. But I really must commend you on Elijah’s outfit. I’m going mad over the excellent layering choices, with the sash, the scarf and necklace, fan, banner, and grasp. I need a mop to clean up all my drool over here. Capsule was an excellent choice to use with the grasp, and I like how the throat matches the color of the banner’s button. It’s the little things that make his whole outfit flow.

Honorable Mention: Sawyer

Sawyer is just too good looking NOT to mention. The owlcat skin really works well here, and I love how the feathers poke out just from under the wing armor.

Thank you, Kesten, for getting me to review your lair. You’ve taught me to appreciate FR-made accents more, and I can’t wait to start using them in the future. Good luck on getting some lore written down. Everything seems so fleshed out and well written so far!

#lair reviews #kesten #heckling-hydrena

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nekumiko · 6 years

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Colors

Fandom: Daiya no Ace

Genre: Romance

Rated: T

Words: 3, 711

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Summary: She’s fascinated with his hair. Just his hair. But Ryousuke finds it invasive, and of course he won’t let her off that easily.

Chapter Five: Truce

The first color that registers is red.

She sees it – or rather, realizes it's what her eyes had caught before he ran away – on Kominato Ryousuke's cheeks.

She feels it on her own ones.

Hence, watching practice the next day has become awkward.

It's not new for him to notice her there – it is the very matter of their banters, after all. But Kominato never looks back a second time. Until today.

Each time she would calm down, he would glance at her, and red would just creep back up to the tips of her ears.

Once, he holds her gaze for a few seconds too long before hitting very cleanly each baseball thrown at him. If this is like those cliché scenarios in books and movies, is it supposed to mean that he had performed well for her? Because she swears he had on the faintest hint of a smile. Does he think this is some kind of fun joke?

Aya takes a deep breath. Reminds herself that she has to get through this. She needs to get back to the Art Club, plus she would get paid for this. It's all for a good cause.

Promising him a week minimum is a good call, for the pre-summer training camp had started that Friday. The usual before- and after-school practices would not only intensify, but also extend until evening. She wouldn't want to disturb him at such a busy time (she's just guilty of letting two days pass idly by). And since the players would practically be living in the field for a week, it's the perfect time to gather inspiration. For right on the camp's first morning practice, Aya would be blessed with her most-awaited sight.

The pink-haired brothers are at batting practice together! With Haruichi getting promoted to first-string (which Miyuki had not-so-subtly told her the day after the announcement, with Kuramochi overhearing then making a fuss over her being a player), he has now received the right to be on the same field as his brother. And he definitely does not disappoint at how easily he could keep up with the third-year in catching and throwing. Their movements could even be described as identical.

For now. Training camp, as what Aya had witnessed last year, would be hell as it progresses.

But for now, she is swelling up with pride. Inevitably, her eyes trail over to the older brother.

As the players wait for the next cart of baseballs to be rolled over to the one batting for them, Kominato Ryousuke pauses to regard the unsuspecting first-year with a small smile.

Happiness for her junior who is step-by-step achieving his dream of getting acknowledged by his idol, and, she has to admit, happiness because she's sharing the same emotions at the exact same moment as the senior, makes her flush red. Or maybe because the sun had already risen high enough to shine on her sensitive skin now.

Or maybe because a shortstop named Kuramochi, standing near the Kominatos competing for the second baseman position, is now eyeing her with a knowing grin.

Aya could only groan.

The next problem to being uninspired is not knowing exactly what she'd draw. The scenes from practices and games that she draws have always been limited by the distance between her spot outside the fence and her subjects positioned in the diamond within a large field. The main reason why she draws Kominato with his eyes closed. She knows they aren't, but that's just how he usually appears in her perspective.

So that leaves her with the only clear image she has of his eyes.

And that would lead her to recall every single detail of how she came to see them, and most especially the moment itself where there had been mere three-ish inches between them – small beads of sweat remaining unwiped from the side of his face, their intermingling breaths, his boyish scent, his dry lips, and lastly, the piercing gaze of his black irises. Such details would, in a way, make it her first intimate drawing.

What a great thing to think about right in the middle of the cafeteria line.

And Aya almost gets a heart attack when she looks up and sees pink hair right in front of her. Almost. She's now good enough to recognize the stark difference in their haircuts from behind. Breathing a sigh of relief, she taps his shoulder. "Haruichi~"

Haruichi looks back over his shoulder and instantly brightens up. "Oh, Aya-san!"

"Long time, no see!" Aya grins, stopping herself from adding, what with all that bangs blocking your eyes.

"Yeah." Haruichi scratches the back of his head. "It's been pretty hectic."

"Don't worry about it. You got to first-string, so it's not without reward!"

Red colors his cheeks. "That's a pretty harsh way to put it."

She pauses. Pink and red is a combination she'd stuck on Haruichi, but had never imagined seeing on his brother. Could the genes that gave them unique hair (and a sad height) also be responsible for them both to blush... cutely? But what startles Aya is that she might be the only one who knows that. She gives her best reassuring smile. "But you've got to admit that it's an achievement. So, congratulations!"

Haruichi chuckles. "Thank you, Aya-san." He picks up a tray from the stack.

Aya gets a piece of milk bread. She's too distracted these days to cook lunch for herself and Miyuki. "Has your brother said anything?"

Haruichi softly sighs and shakes his head as he continues to fill his tray. Even cute little boys have big appetites, it seems. "He had never once even looked me in the eyes."

Aya sucks in a breath. Hold it in, Aya. Stop making jokes about these brothers' eyes! "Really? Not even a single 'congratulations?'"

"Maybe he doesn't think I'm ready for first-string yet."

Aya's head snaps towards him to say something along the lines of, 'Are you serious? You're already there! In fact, he's—'

But that train of thought cuts off as she sees Haruichi with a determined expression, as if his brother's indifference is what ultimately fuels him.

She hums in thought. Maybe it might be more fulfilling for him to slowly discover that his brother has already been impressed. "I'm sure he wouldn't have told you to go to Seidou without knowing you'd get into first-string, won't he?"

"Aniki… actually didn't. At least, not directly."

"I don't get it."

"He told me not to follow him." Haruichi smiles at the memory. "But when I walked with him to the station the next day, he told me to go to whichever school I'd like."

Hold up. "…Is he always like that? Saying things in the harshest way possible, but actually means the opposite?"

He grins. "You must be good friends with Aniki if you're able to say that about him."

She only laughs uneasily. With a final wish for good luck, Aya excuses herself to allow her a few moments of contemplative silence.

If Kominato Ryousuke is some kind of tsundere, and his brother, who has been living with the guy for most of his life, agrees to it, then what would all those times the third-year had told her to stop "stalking" him actually mean? Is he just someone who gets flustered when people follow him, and therefore copes with it by being mean?

That's just… endearing.

Maybe Aya is twisted. Must run in the blood.

But why do people follow him in the first place?

Being friends with Kuramochi, one-half of the Keystone Combo, has Aya well aware of how harsh his senior had been on him before. But that seemed to have been the push for Kuramochi to work hard, making him one of the best middle infielders in the area alongside the older Kominato, his now-close friend.

And she's seeing a repeating pattern between the brothers, the younger of which now sporting a dirtied white uniform as he not only struggles to breathe, but also struggles to even catch a ball. Meanwhile, the older still manages to stand straight, with just a few specks of dirt here and there in his clothes.

It's only been the third day of camp (Tuesday of the following week, as the players are fortunate this year to be given a whole weekend of rest after the first day of tasting hell).

It's too bad that Aya's too far from them to hear their conversation – she also confirms that they really don't face each other when they talk – but in retrospect, it wouldn't be wrong to assume that he just said something harsh. But as she had now expected, Haruichi stands up and continues to practice with more motivation.

Kominato Ryousuke exudes an aura that makes people want to impress him the more he… well, 'bullies' them. Reverse psychology, is that what you call it? Because it all boils down to respect for how great of a player he is.

Personally, she could attest to that. For Aya is not just here for the aesthetic. The way he plays has also reeled her in.

Yet the full extent of his talent and efforts, which provide a different light to his taunts, could only be seen by his teammates.

Apparently, the fifth day of camp's after-school batting practice would change that.

Coach Kataoka walks over with his own bat, immediately hushing the whole field. "I'm batting," he announces.

The seniors (only, because Kuramochi, a sophomore, is horrified) seem to glow with excitement.

Coach points his bat at them. "First-year Kominato, get off the field!" he commands. "Everyone else, I hope you're ready!"

Haruichi, crouching with his hands on both knees as an attempt to catch his breath, takes one last look at his brother before he walks off.

"Let's go nonstop!" the coach shouts, to which the starters (minus Miyuki and Tanba presumably at the bullpen) answer with an affirmative roar.

From 4'o clock in the afternoon, the constant sound everyone hears is the Coach's bat hitting baseballs at a frightening speed. And because he is against Seidou's current cream of the crop, each baseball is caught and thrown back just in time for the next one to zoom through the diamond.

Alas, even these "monsters" have a limit.

"What's wrong?" the Coach shouts. "You're getting quiet!"

The seven fielders' fatigue from the past five days of camp has finally caught up to them, and being in the dark doesn't help one bit.

Dark? Aya looks around. Following Miyuki's strict advice from last year's camp, she had never stayed to watch evening practice. But how could anyone go home right in the middle of this?

The first-years finally remember to turn on the field's lights, illuminating most of the starters on their knees. But the two seniors infamous for being terror figures to the juniors remain barely standing.

Centerfielder Isashiki Jun weakly begs for another round.

"I can't hear you! Where's your usual attitude, Isashiki?" Coach bellows before sending the ball his way, but he misses and instead tumbles on the ground in the process, ending up curled in pain.

"Who taught you to catch like that?"

The next baseball is sent straight down the field again within the second baseman's range. Kominato Ryousuke misses.

"Where's that smirk of yours, Kominato?"

Kominato falls to his knees, curled up and coughing.

And Aya's heart is torn between breaking from the sight and pounding with newfound, if not strengthened, admiration.

Missing out on Kominato's beginning year in the team means she only got to witness his already-perfected plays. Though she knows that he had worked hard to achieve that – for everyone always has to start from scratch – it is overwhelming to see first-hand the red-hot passion he has for the sport. His skills are above others and he knows it, but he doesn't use that confidence to brag. He pushes his peers' buttons to provoke them into working past their limits like he does, or in certain people's cases, into working harder to surpass him.

But as Aya looks at his just-inked portrait on her desk later that night, she realizes something: she isn't his teammate, so why does he have to be harsh on her? If she then likens Haruichi's story of his brother's turnaround to that late afternoon Kominato Ryousuke suddenly expressed interest in her drawings and then commissioned her to draw him of all people, despite expressing 'disgust' over her hobby for the past year…

Is he just a guy embarrassed over the amount of attention a girl has been pouring on him?

Her cousin would know what to say. To an extent, outsiders could see things clearer. Plus, his position requires him to know every player, even in the tad bit personal category. But remembering how she had barely escaped his scolding earlier when he spotted her still at evening practice, she puts her phone down. She'd deal with that tomorrow. Although if Aya tells him that watching until late had triggered his ship to at last gain ground, maybe she could get away?

Wait, what?

Is that it? Is she really… crushing on the second baseman after all? Why else would she insist on making him her muse despite being told off? It seems like she herself had fallen for that charm. Why does she feel lonely whenever she remembers he'll disappear from her life come March next year? She even considers stopping this "foolishness" called art once she loses her only muse, because she knows no one else could replace him.

Makoto Aya is stubborn, but she's not one to deny truths. (Well, technically, she'd been in denial for a year, but at least she came through, right?) She's got it bad.

Training camp takes away every last bit of the players' free time, leaving only enough for eating and sleeping. Despite her earlier decision to wait it out, here she is outside Field A, a brown envelope in hand.

Aya had stayed up late to finish the commission, as well as to sort out her feelings, so she woke up well after morning practice began. It'd be disrespectful to call him in the middle of practice, so her next chance would be before afternoon practice starts. But then the whole team – not just the starters and managers who had all apparently caught on to her infatuation ever since – would see them. Shameless as she is, she wouldn't want that to happen. Approaching him at lunchtime wouldn't do, either, for Kominato always hangs out with his classmates, Jun-san and Masuko.

The only option left is to ask someone to relay a message to him. But who? Miyuki is automatically crossed off the list. Kuramochi would be the best bet. Or even the second-year managers, Yui and Sachiko, for female support. Yet while she's sure that they won't blab about this, they would also never let her live it down. Haruichi wouldn't have the heart to tease her, but considering his circumstances with his brother right now, Aya doubts they talk outside the field.

Damn, she really needs more friends.

"Makoto-san?" a melodic voice calls.

Aya looks up at the only third-year manager. "Takako-senpai!"

"Morning practice is over. You should go on ahead, or else you'd be late for first period." She gives the brunette a meaningful smile. "Or are you waiting for someone?"

The managers may tease her about the pink-haired senior, but Fujiwara Takako, Aya realizes, could be mature enough for this kind of favor. "Actually, I was waiting for you, senpai."

"Really?" She leans closer to whisper, "Are commissions open again?"

Aya inwardly smirks. Perfect. She is also one of her regular clients (although, her orders are all sworn to secrecy, for it wouldn't be good to seem like she's playing favorites). "Yes! And I'd be willing to prioritize your next request if… well, you'd do me a little favor?"

"Ah, you don't need to do that. I'd do anything for my sweet underclassman."

"Pfft, after I just kind of blackmailed you?"

Click.

At lunchtime, the door to the rooftop opens to reveal Kominato Ryousuke.

Aya stands up from one of the benches. "Over here, Kominato-san!"

He closes the door behind him and crosses the short distance between them, stopping at arm's length. The smirk that Aya had expected is missing. "Hello," he starts in a barely-steady voice. He clears his throat. "I was told you want to meet me up here."

She nods, and then holds up the envelope in between them. "I thought you might need some cheering up in the middle of the exhausting camp." As the third-year takes it from her, she adds, "I mean, assuming you'd like it."

Kominato opens the envelope and slides the paper out. The first thing anyone would notice is the trademark pink in her drawings of him, the color covering most of the top half of this one. As promised, his small eyes are not just mere two slanted lines anymore. Normally, it would have been intimidating, but the girl had drawn on slightly-parted lips to soften his expression into a curious one. "Wow," he can't help but whisper.

Aya stops fidgeting with the sleeves of her gray sweater. "Hm? Do you like it?"

He nods. "Yes. I… I didn't think it'd be better to hold one of your drawings up close."

Her eyes widen. "Better?" she repeats. "That would mean you already think my drawings are good."

"I do." And there it is. Aya's eyes are graced for the second time with a red-cheeked Kominato Ryousuke. "I was actually hoping I could talk to you about it if I ask for a commission. I know I've been a jerk. I'm sorry. I didn't really mean all that."

"Oh, so that's what it is…" She crosses her arms. "But you really required me to do more work just for that, huh?"

Kominato purses his lips. "I'm sorry for that, too."

Aya blinks. Pinches herself. Gets hurt. "You're serious."

He nods. "I promise I won't say such things again."

She smiles. "Well, if you're really sincere about it, and since I could get back to the Art Club because of you, then okay, I forgive you."

He sighs in relief and smiles back.

Scrambling to control the sudden staccato of her heartbeats, she says, "I was right, though, that you are a tsun."

His smile vanishes. "I am not."

"Oh yes, you are." She giggles, then pauses to look away. "It's cute, don't worry."

Kominato's sharp intake of breath could be heard clearly.

But before he could say something, Aya continues, "I wasn't planning on going through with it, but you went ahead and redeemed yourself."

"I don't get it."

"Uh, I think you could figure it out from the cliché setting by now."

"I wouldn't want to assume."

She gulps. "You see, I can completely understand why you're creeped out by me. I'm sorry for that. But I've only recently realized why I'm so persistent, and it's because I actually really like you."

There is silence as red spreads all over the senior's face. It reminds Aya of his brother, but it wouldn't be appropriate to mention another guy right now, wouldn't it?

She gives a nervous smile. "Yeah, so that's that. I'll see you around."

"Wait!"

Aya, already turning to collect her things from the bench, completely stops. He'd just raised his voice with her for the first time, and now she's even more startled. "Huh? What?"

"My answer is 'okay.'"

"...What?"

"What?"

"What do you mean by 'okay?'"

He takes a step forward. "'Okay, let's date.'"

"Why would we be dating?"

Kominato stops. "Huh?"

"I just told you that I like you. But you didn't even tell me if you like me back."

He frowns slightly. "Of course I like you too."

"'Of course?' How would I know that, senpai? You've been nothing but harsh on me. Oh, is that how you flirt with someone?"

"I—"

"And okay, let's say that's just your true nature: a tsundere. But then, why should we date just because we like each other? If you want us to be in a relationship, shouldn't you ask?"

"You're..." Kominato trails off to take a deep breath. "Fine." His frown deepens in thought, then he reaches out and takes one of her hands in his, once again getting close enough to look her straight in the eyes. "Makoto-san, would you like to be my girlfriend?"

She stares at him agape, before squeezing her eyes shut as she feels her face heat up and rival the shade of red he'd sported earlier. "Yes."

Their noses touch. "Then, may I—"

"Hey, I almost forgot!" Aya steps back, dropping his hand to hold her palm up. "Now, if you please." At the senior's confused frown, she says, "It's a commission, Kominato-san. You have to pay for it. And nope, being my boyfriend doesn't mean you're off the hook."

"...I understand." He fishes through his pants pocket for his wallet. He then places two 500-yen and two 100-yen coins on her still-outstretched hand.

Aya's hand immediately closes around the money and pockets it. "Pleasure doing business with you~"

"That's what's left of my lunch money this week." Kominato smirks. "You're a bit mean yourself."

"Then I guess we're meant for each other, huh?" She smirks back. "But you can't fool me. The whole team is loaded because you guys don't have time to go out anymore."

He deadpans, but the smirk finds its way back on his face a second later. "Well, I would have to now that I've got you, right?"

She laughs. "Nah, you've got Nationals to focus on first. Now," she sits back down on the bench and pats the space beside her lunch bag, "don't worry about lunch. I've cooked extra today."

As he takes the offer, he asks, "So does this count as first date?"

She freezes. "N-no. I would've given you these even if you didn't ask me out. It's still part of cheering you up."

As a reply, he softly says, "But you've always had, you know."

Kominato Ryousuke may have stopped tormenting her with insults, but he had definitely found a new way to kill her.

Previous: Trigger

Next: Ryousuke and Aya

#kominato ryousuke x oc #ryousuke x oc #kominato ryousuke #kominato haruichi #diamond no ace #daiya no ace #ace of diamond #ace of diamond fanfiction #diamond no ace fanfiction #nekumiko

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awkwardlyamusing-blog · 5 years

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Tips For Playing Astral Chain

New Post has been published on http://doggietrainingclasses.com/tips-for-playing-astral-chain/

Tips For Playing Astral Chain

Protecting the last vestiges of humanity from an invasion of otherworldly beings is no cakewalk for the anime police persons of Switch exclusive Astral Chain. The protagonist has to juggle detective work, exploration, and an obsessive photography habit while managing a menagerie of leashed beasts, and the game doesn’t explain much about how to do it. A collection of helpful tips is definitely in order.

Fiddle With The Control Scheme

With the player controlling both their character and their tethered companion, Astral Chain has to allow them to do a whole hell of a lot of things with the Switch controller. Attacking, dodging, activating link attacks, using items, summoning Legions, activating a Legion’s special ability, taking selfies, performing chain jumps—it’s a lot. If you find yourself hitting the wrong buttons over and over again, as I did during my playthrough, wade into the game’s menu and change it up.

The default configuration had summoning a Legion mapped to the left trigger and activating their special ability with the left bumper. I can’t tell you how many times I mixed up those two. It ruined the flow of battle for me time and time again. Once I switched to control preset C, moving the Legion ability to the X button, it was smooth sailing.

The IRIS Is Your Friend

Hitting the plus button on your Switch controller brings up the IRIS, an augmented reality computer that covers the beautiful world of Astral Chain with a wealth of useful information. In the field it’s an invaluable tool for uncovering items and persons of interest. It’ll display side cases, which are optional missions that aren’t required to complete the game but are required if you want to S+ rank the game’s files. I also use the IRIS to poke about headquarters, seeing where everyone is without having to move around too much.

Use the IRIS during battle and it will display enemy health and type, making it essential for lengthier “when’s this thing gonna die?” boss fights. It’s the *counts Legions* sixth most important weapon in a player’s arsenal.

Manage Your Legions Well

The first five most important weapons in a player’s arsenal are their Legions, the beasts on the other end of the titular Astral Chain. By the end of the game, the player has access to five different Legions, each with its own unique powers. Knowing when to slash electronic connections with the Sword Legion’s special skill or activate remote switches with the Arrow Legion’s bow is easy, as is knowing when to move platforms with the Arm Legion, or when to ride the Beast Legion (all the damn time). But if you’re not spending gene codes to unlock your Legions’ talent trees and assigning special abilities, you aren’t getting the most out of your pets.

Along with enhancing their basic stats, the Legions’ talent trees unlock ability slots. As players progress through the game they collect ability codes, which can be fitted into a Legion’s ability slots. For example, the Self Destruct +600% ability triggers a shockwave when a Legion’s energy runs out, causing a massive amount of damage. Equipping the ability requires two free ability slots. The Attack Up 25% ability code increases damage done by both the Legion and the player. That powerful ability requires three slots to equip. The right ability code loadout can completely change how battles play out.

Keep Your Legions Clean

You can pet the Legion dog in Astral Chain. In fact, you can pet all of your Legions at the Legion maintenance station in headquarters, rubbing their head and limbs to clean off any red crystal corruption they’ve accumulated while out in the field.

What’s the benefit of Legion maintenance? There doesn’t seem to be one. As far as I can tell, it’s just a weird little mini-game with no real purpose. Still, I hate a dirty Legion.

You’re A Team, Fight As One

Fighting in Astral Chain is a cooperative affair. A player will not last long if they ignore the benefits of having an otherworldly beast at the other end of their astral tether. Get used to taking control of your Legions in the middle of battle. Circle tough enemies to tangle them in the chain, temporarily binding them. Position yourself and your Legion on either side of the path of a charging enemy to stop it in its tracks and then send it flying. Position your Legion in the path of several enemies and then zip towards it, damaging every baddie you pass along the way. And watch for the flash at the end of a combo that indicates an opportunity to perform a powerful sync attack.

It’s easy to lose track of advanced co-op techniques during the game, especially during missions where battles are few and far between. Don’t be afraid to take a trip down to the training center in headquarters to brush up on fighting mechanics if you feel like you’re losing your edge.

Talk To Everyone in Headquarters, Every Time

Almost every file (chapter) in Astral Chain gives your character a little free time to wander about the Neuron headquarters. Take that time to talk to the people. Every named character in the game has at least one unique thing to say during each file. Some have their own little storyline that plays out over the course of the game. Relationships between non-player characters can blossom in these in-between spaces. The more insight we gain into the people of Neuron, the more fleshed-out the game world feels.

Making the rounds also helps uncover side missions, which can be found just as often in HQ as out in the field. Plus, every new file scatters random helpful items about the four floors of the fortress, just waiting for an eager agent to snatch them up.

Don’t Forget To Upgrade Your Gear

While you’re making your way around HQ, don’t forget to stop by the tech room on the third floor to have Tabitha gussy up your equipment. Tabs can enhance the damage and stats of your character’s transforming X-Baton weapon as well as the Legatus, the device on your arm that helps control your Legions. Upgraded X-Batons do more damage. Upgraded Legatus … Legati? Legatuses? Those let you keep your Legions active longer without overheating.

Upgrading does cost credits and material codes, so be sure to rifle through every box and pick up every item you find on missions, and sell any scrap to Tabitha’s colleague, Ted. It’s what he’s there for.

Never Stop Searching For Stuff

The sprawling sectors of The Ark, the world’s last bastion of humanity, are filled with stuff to see, do, and collect. There are cats to adopt. There is toilet paper to collect. There are mini-game side missions involving carrying teetering towers of boxes or eating gigantic food items. Platinum Games packed this game to the brim with cool and bizarre things, and it’s up to you to find them.

Talk to civilians, even if you’re sure they have nothing to do with your main mission. Climb ladders. Wander into tunnels. Poke at dumpsters. Eavesdrop on conversations. Turn on the IRIS and see what you can see. I am not saying you should obsessively comb every inch of every area before moving on to your main mission objectives, but you totally should.

Take Pictures Of Everything

Astral Chain’s in-game camera isn’t just for cute selfies. It’s how players fill the in-game database with information on co-workers, significant civilians, and enemy creatures. It might seem counterintuitive to whip out a digital camera during battle, but you only have to do it once for every creature in the game, and there are only a whole lot of them.

Don’t forget to take pictures of each of your Legions. Then let your Legions take pictures of you. There’s a camera mode that snaps shots from your Legions’ point of view. I particularly enjoy taking photos from the perspective of the low-to-the-ground Beast Legion. Good boy.

Review Your Orders

The “orders” portion of the in-game menu is essentially an extensive achievement system that rewards players for accomplishing various goals. Doing a certain amount of damage with different weapons, completing side missions, upgrading each Legion, and many other activities will complete orders. Completed orders grant players rewards like rare codes, used for upgrades, as well as fun stuff like photo filters for the in-game camera, cosmetic gear, and color sets for customizing your character’s outfits.

I did not notice the orders menu until I was in the middle of the game’s fourth file, maybe a third of the way through the game. On one hand, I felt like an idiot for ignoring the obvious red exclamation point in the menu for so long. On the other hand, I suddenly had all the rewards to unwrap, all at once. As fun as that was, don’t be a Fahey. Look over the orders menu. Make note of what needs to be accomplished. Especially the orders that require you to take pictures of certain people or events, as I missed a few and had to replay files after I finished the game to catch up.

Don’t Worry About Missing Anything

Did the orders bit make you worry about missing things? Don’t worry too much. At any time during the game, you can go to the computer and select a previously completed file to revisit. You can then take care of any side missions you may have missed, snap photos of characters who might not be available in later files, and harvest any lingering collectibles.

Replaying also gives players aiming for an S+ rank for completing file objectives another chance to make the grade. It’s also a great way to fiddle about with the game’s higher (or lower) difficulty settings.

Have A Damn Good Time

Between its fast action, outstanding world-building, and killer style, Astral Chain has quickly become one of my favorite games on the Switch. Dive deep into it. Roll around in it. Let it work its way into your pores. Mmm, that’s the stuff.

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mirrorstone-fr · 7 years

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Sahara has a really evocative name, especially with his color scheme, which is one of the things that makes a dragon stand out to me. Although he's a triple basic, in only three piece of apparel, he still stands out as a beautifully dressed and coordinated dragon, making the most of simplicity to come together in a harmonious whole. The light greens and golds of his accent go perfectly with the light greens and golds of his apparel. In fact, it was hard for me to believe that all of his apparel was from separate sets, since the colors all go together so well they look like they were made for each other. His chartreuse primary is absolutely well suited for it, since it provides that same light yellow-green base for his apparel to shine on, but also has the orangey brown tones of his accent matched in his head-fins. His wings, in a darker and more vivid shade of green, make a great backdrop for the lighter tones and subtle patterns of his accent to show off against. Everything about his colors, apparel, and accent really do fit him perfectly as a wind dragon.

I love tundras, so of course I couldn't resist reviewing Bea. Her appearance is full of personality that jumped out at me immediately. I loved reading her lore and seeing how well it fit her! She really does look like an adventurous and outgoing dragon, ready to meet any new friends and take on whatever new challenges lie around the bend. Her apparel is bright and bold, especially the red scarf that seems to form the centerpiece of her accent. The vest and satchels are practical clothes for traveling of, speaking of a well-prepared and well-traveled dragon, but the bright red scarf and the playful patterns in her sage apparel bring in some more vivid color and a sense of personality. The lanterns are a cute little balance of both, a practical source of light, but also something colorful and decorative, and they help weave that sense of both bright color and bright personality into her overall look. Her natural colors, neutral browns and antique, aren't bright, but they're still full of pattern and movement, especially her cherub with its swirls and stripes that mesh so well with the patterns in her sage outfit. Even if her natural colors aren't as eye catching as a more colorful dragon, her bright apparel, bright blue eyes, and obvious air of bright personality, make her just as eye catching anyway.

Khnum's color combo is really interesting to me, because the blue and silver combo in itself is a pretty common one, but his exact combo of genes and colors is unique and different from any other that I've see. I know he has a midnight secondary, but he doesn't remind me of the deep dark of midnight so much as that moment just after sunset when the sky is velvety blue and the stars are beginning to come out. His midnight shimmer pulls out so many shades of deep blue in a color that's normally dark enough to sit at the edge of the black range, which really emphasizes the blues of his primary. The movement of color in his wings, drawing the eye to notice all the different shades of blue from not only the shimmer but the the petals primary, which has a subtler mix of slate and dark blue than his gleaming wings. His moon glimmer is especially beautiful where it shows on his fins, where you can see the bold contrast in color between his primary and tertiary, and yet the gentle shade of his glimmer softens it into something delicate and lovely.

Kailani caught my eye with her unusual color combination, and then her lore drew me in and fascinated me. I love the idea that she's from the ocean with wind eyes, since her father was Poseidon, the sea god, but her mother was one of the Pleiades who are more associated with the sky. Her colors are a really interesting mixture of wind and water, since her primary and secondary look like water's blue mixed with wind's green. Her spruce primary is a little bit more blue, emphasizing her watery heritage, while her swamp secondary is more green to emphasize the wind colors. And yet, her cherub primary has all sorts of swirls and dashes that evoke patterns of wings and the movement of wind, while her shimmer secondary looks like the surface of water with sunlight reflecting off of it. Her tertiary is definitely more of a windy color, the grapefruit evoking the yellow undertones of wind's signature light green, and carrying those tones across her varied blues and greens with wild abandon. The pattern though, it could symbolize either the movement of currents within water or the playful breezes of wind. She's very well balanced in almost every way, except for where her apparel seems to bespeak of some particular alliance with wind. Perhaps it's the side of her heritage she secretly feels the most kinship towards? After all, she did come from the ocean to learn how to fly. (Or maybe it's just to catch the attention of a certain green spiral who wears the same scarf.)

Shimmer has some really lovely beachy colors, with her sanddollar primary and caribbean secondary. I'm always tickled when a dragon has a thematic color scheme like that, and hers is especially cute. Her ripple primary brings out those pale yellow tones as well as the darker rippling patterns that fade a little bit into a neutral almost brownish pattern, like the contrast on a beach between dry and wet sand where a wave has just washed up. Her peregrine secondary continues that theme, with a pattern like waves, highlighting the light and dark blues like gently lapping waves reflecting the light. Meanwhile her glimmer tertiary is also delightfully watery, picking up the darkest of the blues in the pattern on her wings, and carrying them down in a horizontal sweep to contrast the vertical block of color in her wings. I especially like the way that her apparel is mostly blue with little touches of gold, mimicking the way her natural colors are mostly blue with a little bit of the golden sanddollar. The sweeping blues of her apparel bring out the variety of blue tones in her secondary and tertiary, especially her mantle which mimics the light to dark fade of her lighter wings down to her darker tertiary.

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healthybody-everettechristi-blog · 7 years

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Want Greater Muscle groups? Follow This Advice

So that you made our minds up that you wish to do anything concerning your entire body and you want to develop some muscle mass. Your system is certainly a complicated equipment and you should understand the proper tactics in order to get this accomplished. The following article will help you with what you must know. Teach at the very least 3 times each week. You will need a minimum of 3 training sessions each week if you wish to see important muscle growth. Should you be actually new at weight training exercise, this can be lowered to two at the start however, you need to increase the amount of sessions weekly the instant you are capable. If you already possess some experience with resistance training, you can include a lot more sessions too. Family genes are among the most essential factors in muscle development mass. There may be little you may modify regarding your interior genes that design the body, however you can improve the way you look by increasingly strengthen. Many of us just do not possess the systems that can have sizeable muscle tissue, so accept that and strive for greater color. When following a raising schedule, attempt to usually work out your ab muscles very last. Once you train your stomach muscles just before a sizable body part, you are able to decrease your strength and increase the chances of you acquiring wounded. That is why for you to do your stomach workout after your primary exercise, or you may just turn it into a different exercise routine in a diverse time. At most of the, you need to complete involving 20-5 and fifty reps for every body aspect, roughly two or three times every week to achieve one of the most muscles. This will be very useful to severe lifters. If you aim to do greater than this, you may well be squandering your time due to the fact overdoing it may lessen the outcomes which you see. Try undertaking genuine stairways as opposed to the stairways your health club has. This can help change the point of view that you have for hitting the gym, provide you with an additional amount of determination, burn up more excess fat, and make more muscle tissue. An added scenery might also help you exercise for a longer time frame. Will not skimp on the volume of rest you receive. The procedure of building and repairing your muscle tissues takes place when you sleep at night, and without the need of satisfactory recovery, you have the potential risk of damaging oneself in the course of routines. Get 7-9 hours of rest every night to maximize the key benefits of the workout routines you execute. Hydration is a crucial part in muscle development. In case you are not consuming sufficient normal water, then you could harm your muscles. Hydration is not only vital for body building mass, but preserving it too, so don't overlook this essential requirement of weight training. Modify up your workouts. Reports have confirmed that diverse your reps, power, and exercise routines work most effectively combo to improve muscle tissue. The body are extremely great at adjusting to workout routines, and they should be shocked by changing in the workout routines to get one of the most ideal growth. Look at using tri-collections with your work out plan. These sets require doing a few workout routines simultaneously, and you do these workouts all together without the need of any type of rest. Tri-collections is a wonderful way of shocking a plateaued muscle that must get up to ensure it to grow in proportions. Should you be wanting to increase the muscle mass definition to the body, try out ingredient exercises. This is especially essential when you are just beginning to construct muscle mass. Ingredient work outs are ones that workout many muscle tissue places at the same time. Upon having created your foundation muscular mass and power, it is fine to start out releasing a lot more solitude exercises into you muscle development workout program. Measure body fat, not body mass. Tend not to get frustrated if you are seeking to construct muscles and you do not see a modification of your excess fat. It is possible to lose fat whilst you get muscle tissue, producing a body weight that is not going to transform. A greater indicator is gauging your body excess fat. In case your bodyweight is positioning stable (or even raising) whilst fat ranges are dropping - you happen to be attaining muscles. Quantity is an important element of muscles expansion. A great method of muscle building is simply by employing German Quantity Coaching. This particular instruction instructs you to definitely carry out 15 groups of 15 repetitions for just a single exercise. It's suitable that this exercise is a ingredient 1 to have one of the most development. Use compound workout routines to more proficiently add more size in your muscle groups. Workout routines that concentrate on a single muscle group are fine at a later time, just make sure are trying to bulk up in general, it's better to struck as many muscle tissues that you can all at once. Draw-ups, chin-ups, squats, deadlifts and counter presses are all excellent exercise routines that really work a number of muscle groups. Drink a bit whole milk before you go to bed. The tiny increase of unhealthy calories prevents your whole body from embracing muscles for vitality while you rest, which will decelerate your advancement of creating greater muscles. Have your milk with a little bit of cereal, or try low fat yogurt or cottage type cheese with fruit. It is necessary for you to hang on to perform any cardio exercise till after you have elevated dumbbells should you be attempting to build muscle tissue. Cardio workouts are important for eliminating unhealthy calories but they can cause you to push much less if you are lifting weights. Weight training well before carrying out cardiovascular will assist you to have the capacity to really shed your muscle groups. You possess an mind-boggling variety of work out models or plans that you can try. It is usually simple to forget that does not all approaches are effective for those targets or all sports athletes. Anywhere between 8 and a dozen repetitions is a perfect array for starters. Should you be totally unfamiliar with getting started on muscle building, this variety will unquestionably show you final results swiftly. At a later time you can consider changing your representative array, depending on how your system grows and what body weight stage you alteration to. This article has trained you just what it takes to simply create muscles and boost your standard of living. Now it is perfectly up to anyone to take control of your physique and begin to teach it within a healthier, effective method. All you need to do is get started right now! If you have any questions with regards to wherever and how to use bodybuilding - Bodyuildingguide.Hatenablog.com,, you can call us at our own internet site.

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humanoid-lovers · 7 years

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Young Frankenstein: The Power Point Presentation This is an enjoyable scrapbook, almost akin to a souvenir program from a roadshow engagement, but it’s not a bona fide volume on the making of the film, more a compendium of pulled quotes. If you’ve seen any of the supplemental documentaries on the making of this move, especially both included on the Blu-ray edition, then you’ll recognize a lot of the text within these pages. There’s a rather clumsy introduction from Judd Apatow where he attests to not being as funny as Mel Brooks, subtly implying the mantle was passed to him, wherein he also tries to tie Marty Feldman’s iconic portrayal of “Aye-gore” to the performances in the American version of “The Office.” That’s a connection I doubt anyone can see. The best parts of the book are the pictures, particularly some never before behind the scenes shots. This is the sort of publication that ideally should be wrapped in plastic because anyone thumbing through it in a store can speed read the whole thing in under ten minutes. Go to Amazon

A sentiment winner. Young Frankenstein was released when I was 14 years old, and I have probably seen it 30 times over the years. Since I am so familiar with every scene and line, it was great fun to read about how it was all conceived. If you too are a big fan of the film, don't miss this opportunity to see into the mind of Mel Brooks and the rest of the cast and crew. It becomes obvious just how brilliant the combo of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder really was, and how much Gene will be missed. Getting ready to watch it again. 😊 Go to Amazon

Fun read A bit shorter than I'd have liked and it seemed padded by pictures and script segments. But overall it was fun to hear Brooks talk about the movie. Not a great deal of new info for fans who have already dug deep or listened to the commentary tracks on the YF DVDs. But his love for the film (and for the recently-departed Gene Wilder) shows through. Most of the principal cast has passed on by now, so it seems fitting that Mel would wax nostalgic about the movie at this time. Go to Amazon

Mel Brooks says that of all his movies, this is his favorite -- and after reading this book, I feel the same way! This is a hilarious and nostalgic look at the making of Young Frankenstein. It details Mel Brooks childhood experience with James Whale's Frankenstein, his collaboration with the one and only Gene Wilder, his search for the perfect cast and crew, the editing process, and the movie's eventual release. He's a great storyteller and his love for the movie and the people that helped created it shines through every page. There are hundreds of images, and lots of quotes and insights from those involved -- of course the actors, but also the producer, the make-up artist, the musical director, and more. I really enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone who loves Young Frankenstein or Mel Brooks movies in general. It's a winner. Go to Amazon

Yes book was as good as the movie I almost laughed as much reading this book as I do when I watch the movie. Mail did a good job introducing this to all of the behind-the-scenes characters as well as the actors . Now I just wish the criterion DVD manufacture would put Young Frankenstein on their things to do list Go to Amazon

Great book by a great director This is a nice coffee table book. I enjoyed reading about the making of one of my all time favorite movies. I also liked knowing more of the details about the hard work that went into making a black and white movie during a time when studios wanted everything in color. Fun fact: Mel Brooks briefly went to the same high school and college that I attended, though many, many years before me. The book has a lot of great pictures, both stills from the film and behind-the-scenes stuff, and a lot of interviews/anecdotes by others involved in the film's production. Go to Amazon

Make an espresso and enjoy this fun, quick read As a Young Frankenphile, I was excited when this book popped up on my "must read" list. My excitement was justified. It was great fun to get the inside "doo doo" on the behind-the-scenes production and development it took to get the movie to the screen and then insight into the characters, performers, production staff and, of course, Mel Brooks himself, from their own and others' perspectives. The only thing that made me go "RrrrrrrARRR!" was the relatively high cover price for a 183-page Kindle read that flew faster than a little girl launched through a bedroom window from a seesaw. Other than that, it gets a huge schwanschtucker up from this reader! Go to Amazon

Entertaining, but should have gone deeper Not nearly enough material. What was there was nice, but the book seemed to be hastily assembled, and I would have liked more content. Love the movie, love Mel Brooks, but the book was simply too thin. Go to Amazon

For the ultimate YF Fan! but it was great as far as it far as it went Five Stars Five Stars Three Stars We loved having the inside scoop on how the movie was ... Five Stars Five Stars love it Fun reliving the movie!!

#Judd Apatow: 9780316315470: Amazon.com: Books

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