#finally sort of catching up to my current gameplay

[emphemerally]

That's an... interesting... way to spend your first day as a teenager!?

[shwoo]

I thought since I like Bugsnax so much, I should probably play the developer's previous game, Octodad as well. And I did, like last August according to Steam. But now I've finally mustered up the energy to make a rambly post about what I thought! Sort of mustered up the energy. Just in time for Dadliest Catch's tenth anniversary in a couple of days (On the 30th of January).

Wait, it's been two days since I started this post. Um, just in time for Dadliest Catch's tenth anniversary.

I played the original 2010 game first, and I knew it was a student project, so I was surprised it had voice acting. Looks like the school also gave them a voice acting budget? That's cool. I was also surprised that a game from 2010 still worked fine, although it did crash the first time I tried to go into the kitchen. So I just did some kitchen chores in real life instead. Showed that… video… game.

The game will save if you save and quit, but not if it crashes, so I started quitting after every task, and then ended up having to do the basement and post-basement sequence like three or four times. At least once it was because Octodad got stuck on some geography. Luckily there is a checkpoint if you die there. I know this because I died repeatedly.

The original game was pretty fun, except for the bit where you have to stomp on all the spiders before they reach your daughter's bed and if you let too many through, the chef guy kills you. Which is just the usual game over, but it is funny that he apparently kills you for failing to protect your daughter properly. Anyway, the controls aren't really precise enough to aim your feet properly.

I did like the gameplay in the basement, though, even though it was a big jump in how precise you have to be. But it is a bit weird plot-wise, even with a game that's obviously not supposed to be that consistent. It seems like everything is wrapped up, and then you go through a random hallway of lasers, and chef guy is there and kills you if you walk into the lasers too many times? And then you get through it and the game just ends.

Another thing that surprised me in both games was how often they acknowledge that Octodad is an octopus. I was already familiar with the meme of people responding to Octodad pictures by asking why someone posted a picture of a perfectly normal dad, to the point of never even saying the word octopus, but in the they say it all the time in the game. He is an octopus in a suit, and he knows this. So does chef guy. A giant Pacific octopus, probably, but I found that subtitle in the game files and I'm not sure if it's in the game, because it would only be said if you get caught by the biologists, and doesn't make a lot of sense in context anyway. I should probably check at some point.

Anyway, I liked Dadliest Catch a lot. I've played through it three times now! I like the characters. Like the Bugsnax characters, they seem to have their own point of view and motivations, while still living in an absurd setting.

And I'll usually reference whatever I'm currently obsessing over when playing something else, but I really overdid it with this game, since they were made by most of the same people. Is the reason I like Scarlet specifically because, being a passionate journalist who believes in aliens and hates being lied to, she reminds me of one my seven favourite characters from Bugsnax? Maybe! Probably.

She's better at identifying parasites, though. But the Bugsnax journalist is better at identifying cephalods. Which was another time I was surprised to hear Octodad being referred to as an octopus, since I hadn't played the games when I saw the crossover April Fools trailer. They just came out and said it.

(Pulls down conspiracy chart) Now let me explain the minutae of why Filbuddy = ...Do Scarlet and Octodad have a ship name? If so, I hope it's Octoscar. Filbuddy with a bit of Snorplo with the "one of them is keeping huge secrets from the other because he's afraid of rejection but the other one is more upset about the secret-keeping than what the secret turns out to be" thing.

Gameplay wise, Octodad:Dadliest Catch is kind of... a little too short to really take advantage of its mechanics? But I hear when it came out, they apparently threw you into difficult stealth sections when most of the challenge beforehand was just getting him to go where you need him to. They left in some of the late game stealth sequences when they updated it, as an optional thing, and I did them on my second playthrough. It was pretty fun, now that I was more used to the controls. Trying to navigate the environments for all the ties was fun as well. He's pretty mobile for someone who shouldn't be able to walk on land at all.

I also liked the optional 2D platforming level you can find by flushing yourself down the toilet. I'd play a whole game like that, if the mechanics were introduced a bit more slowly. The last bit took a while to get through, though.

One of the biggest problems I had with the game was not being able to move the camera. It made it a bit hard to see things in detail, and I had more trouble than I should've with the ship level because I didn't realise a beam extended all the way to the middle of the ship, and I could walk on it. I thought I was meant to sneak past all the sailors.

I died there so many times.

Also, there are some jokes and stuff that you can't really see because they're too far from the camera. Like, early on Scarlet says that she send a picture to a tabloid or something that she says made the front page, and she suggests picking it up because she can't be seen reading it. And you can find it in the supermarket, but I couldn't get it close enough to the camera to see what the front page image was without going into the files.

Luckily, a lot of the files are just sitting there easily accessible, like with Bugsnax, so it was pretty easy to find. It's a picture of Octodad sitting and drinking coffee, with the headline "Alien Life Sighted?" There's a few lore kind of things that I don't think you can see in the game either, and it actually answered a few questions I had, about the aquarium especially. Also, I learned Sports Johnson's real name (Maxwell "Sports" Johnson), and what year the game takes place in (1971).

I have a lot of thoughts about the lore, and I think there's more going on, particularly with the aquarium, Octodad having human kids, and the Cod Wars setting in the flashback, but this isn't really the post for it. It's long enough already. Anyway, pretty fun game!

Also, you can see Octodad as a metaphor for disability in general, but he has a weird sleep schedule, basically can't function without coffee, is "usually so talkative", and is so scared of rejection that he never told his wife what species he was. Octodad: ADHD icon?

[markermage]

Felves in Warclema - Characters

Today's post is going to be some of the felf characters that I've thought up.

Euryale Wild

Default Petal Color: Blue

Euryale is a lily felf that is looking for guidance on what to do now that her garden's pollinator has passed with the final wish of her and the other felves of the garden being free and never taking on another pollinator. Her garden decided to honor that last wish despite seeing it as a punishment or curse.

I had thought about possibly using her for an ask blog where she would use the ruins of a nearby EDS to post online, but kept putting it off because I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up a decent number of posts for it.

Capri Honeysuckle

Default Petal Color: Blue

I came up with Capri for what was essentially supposed to be Thumbelina in Warclema. Later on, I had gotten ideas for making it into a game. My current idea is for it to be a 2D collect-a-thon platformer with dating sim segments where the collected items are used to unlock new abilities. The dating sim segments would have Capri completely misinterpreting the actions of nonsentient animals, thinking that they are interested in a romantic relationship with her. The platforming bits would feature the ability to easily switch ligic colors. I was thinking of calling her game "Capri Honeysuckle: Tiny Love, Big Dreams".

Mira Rafflesia & Cary Gysophilia

Default Petal Color: Black (Mira) & White (Cary)

They would be used for a dating sim focused on being a wingman. They would both be questing to obtain replacement pollinators for their respective gardens, but slowly grow attached to each other.

They would have an odd couple dynamic. Mira would be big and Cary small. Mira would be young enough that her petals still cling to her like a bud while Cary is fully bloomed (I like the dynamic of the tiny one being the elder of the two). Cary would optimistically brainstorm various plans while Mira pessimistically explains why they won't work until one of her explanations seems too unrealistic to happen. Cary would be a supercharged, chaotic gremlin while Mira would be grounded and calm.

At some point, Mira would punch a human in defense of Cary.

Cleo Rose

Default Petal Color: Red

I wanted to make at least one felf villain, and this is it. Her characterization is pretty much "BDSM bot that missed the safe word and is still stuck in punish mode". She accidentally killed her garden's pollinator, and was banished. While wandering around, she happened across a giant spider that uses plants as bait for its web, and it managed to activate her "this is a pollinator that I should serve" instincts while sidestepping her "this is a human that is overdue for some punishment" instincts. I've thought about using her as a boss for Capri's game.

I've also thought about maybe making a game where you play as the giant spider while maintaining a web. It would be a sort of tower defense and farming game where you plant seeds to grow bait crops that will be attract animals for you to catch with your webbing. Mid-way through, Cleo shows up and some raising sim elements are introduced.

(No Name Yet)

Default Petal Color: N/A

I've considered an idea for a dating sim game that plays up the difference in morals between humans and felves. It would basically have the felf character getting the human love interest socially ostracized so that they will be more open to the idea of leaving everything behind to live with her and the rest of her garden. One of the unusual choices in the design would be that that narration would use the human's point of view while the gameplay has the player in control of the felf.

That's it for Felf Week

The poll will decide what my next topic will be.

Warclema Master Post

[jungkxook]

—out of the blue. (m)

⟶ pairing: jungkook x reader 

⟶ genre: youtuber/gamer!jungkook + fluff / smut 

⟶ words: 5,204

⟶ rating: 18+

⟶ summary: catching your boyfriend bleaching and dyeing his hair for a livestream is definitely not what you expected — but it certainly has its perks.

⟶ warnings: established relationship, some attempt at humour, .2 seconds of sort of sub jungkook (you just like seeing him on his knees), you call jungkook a good boy, shower sex, hair pulling, oral sex, face riding, standing sex, breast play, cum eating, doggy style, unprotected sex, creampie

⟶ note: because blue haired jungkook has me feeling all sorts of things. also dedicating this to the lovely ryen @kithtaehyung​ because blue haired jungkook is getting her too and i hope this helps!! and thank you to the wonderful @gamerkooks​ and @stanrandomthings​ for always giving me inspiration for gamer jungkook <3

“What the hell are you doing?”

Jungkook has less than a second to react when he hears you bursting through the door of his bedroom, a guilty expression plastered on his face as if you’ve caught him in the midst of a much worse act than what he’s already currently doing ━ but the flustered scowl deepening your countenance is enough for him to certainly feel that way, because how else is he supposed to casually explain why he’s currently sitting shirtless in front of a camera?

Admittedly, the sight is odd enough, and there’s a split moment where your incredulous look is enough to make him feel as if he’s wronged you, and your six month long relationship with him, entirely before he remembers that he didn’t actually do anything wrong like cheat on you, but is actually just trying to dye his hair.

He’s sat in his gaming chair, camera and lights set up around him, and the monitor of his desktop all recording his face to the hundreds of thousands of viewers currently watching his livestream. He had told you well in advance about his aim to do a twenty-four hour live broadcast for his subscribers to both raise money for a donation and to countdown to his next subscriber milestone with the help of his friends ━ and had even asked you to help him plan the event, discussing it animatedly with you for the past month on various occasions ━ but mainly just because Jungkook is crazy enough to sit through a twenty-four hour stream and call it fun.

You had known most of how the entirety of the day would go. Starting from noon the previous day to now, almost an hour before the stream ends, thus far he’s done various gameplays from Minecraft to Overwatch to Among Us simultaneously with his friends who had offered to marathon with him the twenty-four hour event; had a period of time in which Jimin and Taehyung were over and cramped in his room to answer questions and talk to viewers but mostly just to create absolute chaos. You had been there for most of it, though you’re still trying to figure out if it’s a blessing or a curse that you were suckered into paying rent for your three bedroom apartment by Taehyung more than a year ago, and subsequently falling madly in love with Jungkook and forcing you to aid in his antics. You’ve been in a handful of his videos before, appearing in Twitch and YouTube streams, and in the background of vlogs in his channel and the channels belonging to the other boys; and, on that day for Jungkook’s twenty-four hour event, you had joined him at the start before being dragged away for work and then tried to pull an all-nighter with him until you crashed on the couch in the living room, and checking in on him occasionally to give him food and water and to just generally make sure your boyfriend isn’t dead.

Now, with the remaining final hour dwindling down, you had been in your room trying to finish last minute essay writing for school, with your phone propped up on your desk and Jungkook’s livestream playing as background noise to your studying. One minute, he had been playing a round of Among Us, and the next, when you had glanced up, he had the bottle in hand and the detrimental blue dye coating his hair in slick globs. It wouldn’t have been so shocking, had you not seen Jungkook an hour ago when he had his natural dark hair still, and now he had somehow managed to sneak in bleaching his hair in the time you had left him. Maybe it was your fault for not catching it sooner, if only because you had sheepishly taken a small nap amidst your studying only to wake up to a nightmare.

Which is where that leaves you currently, dishevelled demeanour standing at the threshold of his door after chasing over to his room, watching as Taehyung helps Jungkook sufficiently ruin his beautiful hair which you love so much.

“Uh… Dyeing my hair?” Jungkook finally answers, dumbfounded. He’s fortunate he had pulled off his shirt to avoid getting hair dye on it, an old towel now draped around his shoulders to catch any excess mess. He adds brightly, “We asked for suggestions on how to end the stream and someone said I should dye my hair, so Tae got the stuff.”

“You bleached your own hair?” You retort, exasperated. “When the hell did all this happen? I’ve been next door to you the whole time! What if your hair falls out? You should’ve gotten a professional to do it, not Tae━”

Taehyung looks inexplicably offended by your slandering remarks on his (lack of) hair styling skills, retorting with, “Yo, what the━?”

Jungkook blinks, as if just being made aware of what he’s actually doing.

“My hair’s gonna fall out?” he gaps. “Guys, what the hell? Why’d no one tell me?”

He looks from you to Taehyung then over at the comments on his livestream which are currently flooding with the sole topic of you. His eyes snag the first few that appear to him in the frenzied influx of words:

uh oh jungkook’s sleeping on the floor tonight

oh shit run bro

f in the chat for jk’s hair

get him y/n!!!!

“Dude, she’s just being dramatic,” Taehyung waves you off. He ducks out of the way when you reach out to Jungkook’s bed for a pillow and chuck it at the older boy’s head.

“And when he’s bald, then what━”

“No!” A helpless Jungkook exclaims suddenly. He gestures wildly to the stream, “Don’t give them ideas. The edits are gonna start pouring in.”

“Jeon, look, it’s too late to go back now,” Taehyung says. “You’ve got half your head covered in dye and three minutes to go with the stream. How bad can it be?”

A groveling sigh eclipses your lips as you push yourself forward. “Then at least let me help before you ruin it completely.”

Jungkook’s fortunate, to say the least, though he’s left wondering if you’re truly upset with him.

He finishes the countdown to the end of his twenty-four hour stream with you and Taehyung putting the last remaining globs of dye on his hair, a heartfelt goodbye to his viewers who marathoned the stream with him, and a promise to update them on the status of his hair when he washes the dye out.

And, just as soon as he’s shut his camera off, the mundane world returns to him.

It’s no longer millions of anonymous and faceless viewers watching him from the other side of their screens in the tiny bubble that is his room, but just you and Taehyung and the older boy’s frisky little Pomeranian dog and the threat of a wallowing regret as Jungkook thinks to himself, what the hell did he truly just do to his hair?

At some point, Taehyung retreats to his girlfriend’s house taking Yeontan with him, leaving you alone with Jungkook and he basks in the sudden cozy quiet after twenty-four hours of madness as the adrenaline rush begins to fade and mellow out. Back aching, joints cracking and popping as he stretches and moves, and eyes burning in the similar way they do from having stared at a screen for too long, but tenfold, he craves nothing more than to find your sweet and comforting touch to end such a long day.

He finds you in the living room already scrolling through your phone and your Twitter feed to read and marvel at all the comments and memes made by his viewers during his stream and his heart threatens to burst through his chest because you’ve always been so supportive of him and his fans, and they’ve always adored you and your endless interactions with them. So, surely, you can’t be mad at him for bleaching and dyeing his hair. Right?

As his arms come to wrap around you from behind, face nuzzling in the crook of your neck, he hears you bemoan, “You look like a Smurf came on your head.”

Wrong.

Well, not entirely, he guesses. You do lean into his chest, practically melting against him. A sluggish grin tugs at his lips and, instead, he chooses to ask, “Shower with me?”

“Aren’t you tired, Koo?”

“Baby,” he deadpans, and your heart flutters just a little bit, “by this point, I’m running solely on Red Bull and coffee that I’m positive I could fight the gods with my bare hands and win. In fact, I’ve had so much caffeine that I’m fairly certain I’ve ascended to the astral plane. Besides, I need to wash this dye out, and I could use some help. Sleep can wait.”

“Help,” You snort. “You’re such a liar. I already know what you want.”

“To spend time with my beautiful girlfriend? You’re right.”

“I’m not sucking your dick.”

He pulls his head back to look at you. Though he tries to look offended, there’s the tiniest of smirks on his face. “Wasn’t gonna ask you!”

You turn to properly face him in his arms and shoot him a dubious glance. He leans down to press a chilling kiss to your jaw, then nudges his nose against you in the same spot so that you’ll move your head. You do so, despite your prior scolding, and let him kiss the underside of your jaw down to your neck.

“Okay, fine,” You huff finally.

You relent, miraculously, but Jungkook had already guessed you would the moment he had found you in the living room and he couldn’t be happier.

He cherishes the moments alone with you, has come to know them well as he falls into a comfortable routine with you away from prying eyes over the last few months. Because sometimes, as he comes to learn, it’s hard to establish a relationship when his job requires him to be in the spotlight often. What is authentic and what is simply fabricated for views is difficult to discern, and yet you’re patient with him. Not everything to him is money and views and numbers, or what his next big plan is, or how you could potentially help him in some way (despite knowing that any video featuring you seems to skyrocket his views and land his videos on the trending page of YouTube more often than not because he knows everyone loves you more than him). You know when he’s his online persona and when he’s simply just Jungkook, and while there’s hardly any difference between the two, his online personality surely has to maintain a level of privacy and happiness that may not always be true.

At least with you, he can just be himself. He can finally be at ease.

Showering together is just one of the many acts of normalcy he cherishes with you. So, he turns on the shower and lets the bathroom get all warm and balmy as you undress. He’s the first one inside, hissing in delight as he lets the water run over his sore muscles, washing out the dye in his hair firstly so as not to get it on you and fortunately not making too much of a mess of blue dye in the tub. You’ve joined him in an instant when he’s nearly done, squeezing into the space in front of him as you shut the glass door behind you, the pane already beginning to fog and slick with droplets of condensation. He pulls you into him once more, nestling his chin on your shoulder as his hands come to wrap around you. They slide across your front, all wet and soapy, briefly gliding across your breasts, palms brushing against your nipples before traveling down to your navel.

“Congrats, baby,” You coo gently. “Twenty-four hours.”

He murmurs into your hair, “Missed you loads though.”

You turn to look at him finally, and it’s hard not to stare. Your eyes land firstly on his abdomen and the toned muscles there, trailing up to his arm and the pretty tattoos that decorate every inch of his skin, to his soft pink lips and his big eyes. Then, there’s the matter of his hair. The water has done most of the work in washing out the dye from his hair, now falling across his forehead and into his eyes and cheekbones, and it’s only then that you fully register the dye has worked as you struggle to find any remnants of his once-ebony-then-blonde locks. The blue hair is an obvious stark contrast to his natural hair and, you think, it is pretty, accentuating his radiant skin and making his eyes pop.

“I didn’t think you were actually serious all those times you said you wanted to change your hair.” Your lips are pursed as you survey him now, your fingers twirling a strand of his tresses around and around as you inspect it.

He smiles, catching your hand and pressing a quick peck to your knuckles. “Neither did I,” he admits sheepishly. “It sort of just happened.”

You pout. “I’m gonna miss your natural hair.”

“Do you really hate it blue?”

“I don’t hate it. Was more scared you’d ruin your pretty hair and make it all fall out.”

At this, Jungkook flashes you a cheeky smile. He holds his head a little higher. “So you still think my hair is pretty?”

“I think you’re a dork,” You clarify. “And, aside from the fact you almost gave me a heart attack, I’d say the blue is so pretty. Beyond pretty. Kinda hot, if I’m being honest.”

Because you’re not really mad, but it’s fun just to tease Jungkook and see his reactions. At the very least, he can sense this, as it’s apparent with the way his smile stretches even wider on his face.

“Hot, huh?”

“Mhm. But you didn’t hear that from me.”

He feigns a look of mock hurt. “Oh no. You must be really mad. Want me to make it up to you?”

“How are you gonna do that?”

“Well, what do you want from me?”

You take a moment to think it over, but the answer is already obvious enough. It’s one that even he knows, and one that has won you over the moment Jungkook was freed from his stream. You hum aloud, “You, on your knees, head between my legs, like a good boy. Think I can get a better viewpoint of your hair from down there anyway before I judge it.”

“Like a good boy?” A dark smirk tugs at his face. “So now who’s the needy one?”

He lowers his head so that he’s leaving a trail of sloppy wet kisses down your neck to your collarbones. As you let yourself get carried away for a moment, you wrap your arm around his neck, pulling him backwards until you’re pressed up against the glass door. He ducks even lower, kissing just above your left breast and then catching your nipple between his teeth. You swallow thickly, rubbing your thighs together, reminding yourself to respond to him.

“It’s not my fault when you were busy for the past day,” You pout. “And the blue hair really is sexy.”

“Aha!” he straightens up in front of you suddenly, a crooked smug smile on his face. “So I’m not just hot. I’m sexy.”

“You’re literally always sexy. And beautiful too. It’s almost unfair.”

“That’s even better.”

You tug your fingers at his damp locks. When you speak, your voice is a mix between urgency and a whine. “Jungkook. I could’ve already gotten off with my hand at this point.”

“Ouch, feisty!” He pokes his fingers at your sides. Then, nipping a little more firmly on the soft skin of your breast, murmurs huskily, “Alright, alright. But only if you call me a good boy again.”

Part of him is taunting you, but there’s a small sliver of intrigue that makes the thought in his head and the pretty words on your tongue excite him to no end.

Still, you choose to entertain him, maybe a little drowsily and entirely consumed by him, “I will if you let me ride your face.”

A rumble of a chuckle resonates from him. You find him on his knees in the next moment, wedging himself between your thighs. He nudges one of your legs and you follow the wordless command, hitching one thigh over his shoulder as you settle back against the glass door of the shower. He kisses at your hips as he dips his head lower and lower to where you want him, before swiping his tongue at your cunt, tasting all of you at once.

“Mmm, Koo━” A soft whimper sounds from you, making his head swim.

He wastes no time in lapping at your folds, tongue delving into you deeper and deeper as he cranes his neck. The wetness that pools between your legs and on the tip of his tongue is a sticky mess that he basks in just a little longer.

“Fuck,” he groans into your pussy, “you taste so fucking good. Missed this so much.”

His hands are big as they come to hold you close, cradling your ass, your thighs, your hips, anything to pull you into him while simultaneously pushing your thighs further apart.

You manage to find your voice and quip weakly, “Missed me or having your head between my legs?”

“You, definitely,” he murmurs. He busies himself by reaching out with his thumb to press circles against your clit. Your mouth falls open in a silent moan, hips rutting into his face. “All of you.”

“Jungkook━ Fuck━”

He burrows further into you, humming in response. His nose brushes against your clit, the muscle of his tongue a pleasant wet that makes you warm all over. You give another experimental swivel of your hips, grinding against his tongue just right. He pinches at your hips as if to probe you onward, and then you do it again, and again, desperately rocking your hips back and forth against him. Your fingers reach out to grab a fistful of his hair, clutching it so tightly he hisses. But you’re right. The blue locks look dazzling between your legs, being pulled by your hands as you push him further into you.

His eyes meet yours from below your waist, hooded and idle, enjoying the view as you squirm and writhe above him, shamelessly riding his face. Grinding against his chin, nose, and tongue, the slick wetness you leave behind glistens on his skin.

“Ah, Koo━” You cry out. “Fuck, I’m gonna━!”

Your orgasm hits you violently, sending you keeling. Your hips continue with reckless abandon, and Jungkook presses his finger against your clit a little harder, a little faster. The abrupt gushing warmth between your thighs sends your mind spinning, as the steam from the shower and your panting breaths begin to fog the bathroom. When your hips begin to slow, Jungkook laps at the rest of your leaking core before pulling away with a grin brandishing his shimmering face. He lets you pull him up eagerly, clumsy hands fumbling to hold either side of his face as you tug at him.

“God, you’re so hot, babe,” he sighs wistfully, smothering your lips with his for an all too chaste kiss, before leaning in once more to nibble at your lower lip.

“Wanna feel you, Koo,” You prompt urgently. “Want you in me.”

Jungkook hastens to comply, his hands falling to your waist. “Go on, then. Turn around for me.”

You don’t need to be told twice. You spin so that you’re facing the glass sliding door, your back to him. You watch him over your shoulder, momentarily admiring his well built stature, the tattoos that ink his body, and the water that shimmers on his skin. He has to push his wet hair up and away when it falls across his forehead and then he reaches down to grasp at his length, grip tight around his shaft so that he can pump himself sluggishly a few short times. It’s almost painful to watch him jerk himself off in front of you, the tip a burning red and glistening. He catches you staring and decides to catch you off guard when he grabs a hold of your hips with one hand. He yanks you towards him, your ass pressed firmly against his hips, making you jump from the startle, and grins when you look back at him.

Then, ever so slowly, he runs the length of his cock along your folds. Before you can brace yourself for the overwhelming rush of pleasure, he’s sliding his cock past your folds, burrowing into you deep. He curses behind you, his other hand flying out to steady himself by digging into your hip.

“Fffuck. Shit.” He dips his head so that his cheek is resting against your shoulder and sputters for air. “Jesus, fuck━ Been dying to feel you all day.”

He fits so snugly in you, so perfectly, just like always and you take him so well, coaxed by your own arousal. He ruts his hips forward into yours and you nearly fall forward before catching yourself by pressing your palms to the glass. Then, he’s grinding against you, small and precise thrusts that roll into your hips.

“Mmm, Jungkook,” you choke out. “You feel so━ So good.”

“Ah, shit,” he hisses. “Wanna wreck you so bad.”

He angles his chest a little more, pummels his dick into you in such a way that he’s hitting a different spot in you. His eyes stay fixated on the soft, round flesh of your ass and the way his cock slips so easily into you, brows screwed in concentration, jaw clenched. The slight bounce of your ass each time he rolls his hips firmly against you, the way you ricochet forward each time in tandem with his moves. You bow your head, pressing your temple against the glass door now tinted with condensation, only marked up by the imprints of your fingers grasping at anything. It’s almost sweltering hot in the shower now but you both pay no mind to it. He fucks into you with such languid, steady strides, cock beginning to throb and twitch in anticipation. You feel so wet, such a pitiless mess between your thighs already that it makes him growl.

“H-Harder,” You mewl. “Oh, Koo━”

He almost slips behind you in his eagerness to obey, awakening something animalistic in him, a yearning to just release all the tension in his core. This time, he adapts a measured pace, forceful thrusts that have you crying out in delight each time. One hand reaches up to grip at your shoulder to steady himself while his other slithers around your front to grasp at your breasts, all wet and supple, pinching at your nipples.

“So good,” he moans, pressing sloppy kisses just below your ear. His breath is hot as he pants behind you, sending tingles down your spine. “Fuck━”

His voice is cut off by a whine, hips bucking forward in an unsolicited manner as he feels his high drawing near. You lean your head onto his shoulder, stretching your arm out so that you can tug desperately at his hair. It’s a silent, simple command, but it’s one that he immediately understands even without you speaking.

“Wanna feel you━” You whimper. “Wanna see you.”

Jungkook nearly slips as he fumbles to pull out of you, hissing at the loss of warmth and friction. As soon as you’ve turned to face him, he wastes no time in closing the distance between you. He pushes his leaking cock past your folds once more and continues at the same pace as if he had never even stopped to begin with.

“Fuck,” he whines. “Not gonna last━”

You wrap your arms around his neck, drawing him even closer to you, as he presses you against the glass. He hitches one of your thighs around his waist, spreading your legs just wide enough to hit a certain spot that has both of you crying out. You’re clinging so tightly to him, fingers digging harshly into his skin in an attempt to alleviate the building pressure you feel. He knows you’ve almost reached your end when you resort to a gasping, moaning mess, writhing beneath his broad stature.

“Close, baby?” he hums.

You open your mouth to respond but can only muster a whimper. His pace treads over to heedlessly frantic, the sound of skin against skin and the lewd wetness filling the shower. Despite his hips pounding into yours so harshly, his fingers flutter so delicately under your chin, grasping it and moving your head just enough so that you’re facing him.

“Lemme see you,” he grunts. “Wanna watch you when you cum all over my cock. Always so pretty.”

“I━ I’m━ Fuck, Koo━”

But you can’t finish your thought.

You keep your gaze fixated on Jungkook’s, however exhausted and weary it may be. Your lashes flutter, brows knit together, and you suck your lower lip between your teeth, biting so hard Jungkook’s certain you’ll bruise it. Another few hard thrusts and then you’re reaching your high, overcome by such an intense burning that you can’t help but look away out of instinct. You cry his name, face contorting in pure pleasure, and chest arching to meet his. You’re clenching so tightly around him has him sputtering for air, nearly collapsing entirely against you. You’re near dripping around his cock which only means he almost slips from you with each draw of his hips that he makes. It’s why he sloppily rocks his hips into yours, desperate to reach his own high as well.

When you return to your senses, blinking away your blurry vision, you can make out Jungkook cooing into your ear, “That’s it, baby. Doing so well.”

You meet his gaze once more, only this time you’re perhaps even more tired. Hooded eyes watch him, silently probing him to his climax. He comes tumbling towards it, a few more short thrusts of his hips and, finally, he’s there. He slams his hips up into yours one final time, crying out, and then he’s releasing into you in an overwhelming abrupt gush. Only he can’t quite enjoy it because, out of genuine accident and driven by impatience to just get off, the last jerk of his hips hits you a little too hard.

It’s what causes you to slip backward and he, so lost in his own reverie, hardly has a proper grip on you or where he’s standing. When you lose your footing beneath you, slipping on the wet porcelain of the tub, and comes crashing down, he’s brought along with you. “Oh, fuck━!”

The both of you yelp from the surprise, your hands flailing out to brace yourself for the fall.

Fortunately, you land on him when you reach the bottom of the tub, courtesy of him grabbing onto you last second so that he can soften the blow upon impact.

Unfortunately, the breath is knocked out of him from the startle and from the sudden added weight of you on top of him with no warning.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he groans.

“In hindsight,” You wince as you shift your weight above him, “maybe having sex in the shower again wasn’t the greatest idea. Remember last time when we knocked the shower curtain down and I had to get stitches on my elbow? It’s why we got the glass door installed, and then we had to lie to Tae about it.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” He tilts his head back, rubbing a hand over his face. Then, he flashes you an all too charming smirk. “Was kinda worth it though.”

You giggle, sounding so sweet and angelic, even despite the way his cum still leaks from you. Somewhere in the fall, his dick had slipped from you and now lays softening on his stomach which, really, is probably the worst part of the accident to him. He already misses the warmth of you wrapped around him, your mingling cum a dirty mess around him. You prop yourself up on his chest with your palms, but before you can even think to respond, you notice something out of the corner of your eye.

A small mass of fur in the shape of little Yeontan has just poked his head through the crack in the door, oblivious to you and Jungkook’s compromising position. And then, shortly following behind him, is his equally oblivious owner who must have forgotten something in the apartment to bring him back so suddenly.

“Tannie, get back here━ We gotta go━ Oh, Jesus, what the fuck?” Taehyung appears at the door for a millisecond before noticing the situation he’s just stumbled upon. Thankfully, he acts fast, and clamps a hand over his tainted eyes, clumsily scooping up Yeontan in his other hand. “Can you guys please stop fucking all over this damn apartment? My son’s eyes are too pure for this!”

And then he’s retreating, but not before bumping blindly into the doorframe, grumbling along the way. It’s silent for a moment as you and Jungkook gawk at one another; then you hear Taehyung leave the apartment once more, and the both of you dissolve into a fit of unabashed laughter.

“Are you okay?” You ask once you’ve calmed down enough as he reaches out to shut the shower off. You plant a kiss in your boyfriend’s hair. “You hit your head coming down.”

Jungkook’s heart swells at your gentle touches and smiles. “I’m fine,” he promises brightly. “You?”

“Well, you did just thoroughly fuck me, so━” You shrug innocently. “I’m kinda still too giddy to even care.”

“I’m gonna make it up to you,” he says. “For almost giving you a heart attack with my hair and for almost putting you in the emergency room again just now.”

The mention of his hair draws your attention to it once more. It’s not as wet as before, damp azure waves falling into his eyes that you brush away gingerly.

“Yeah,” You snort, “but I’ve decided I like your hair. Like, really like it.”

“Yeah?” he grins wide. “What was the deciding factor?”

You pause, as if to think for a moment. Exhaustion riddles your body and you know sleeping curled up next to Jungkook is nearing your future, but for now you let yourself entertain the last remnants of whatever lewd thoughts are still on yours and his minds before they fizzle away completely. You can’t help yourself anyway. The blue really is nice.

“Definitely the view of you eating me out,” You say. “And can’t forget how pretty it looks when I’m pulling at your hair.”

“Say no more,” he beams. “Then I’ll make it up to you by making you cum on my tongue again and again and again.”

The last thing he hears before he grabs at your cheek to softly pull you down to him for one last kiss, slow and ardent, is a bubbly giggle from you that delights him to no end.

“That’s a good boy.”

⟶ All rights reserved to © jungkxook. I do not allow reposting, translating, or any sort of modifying and reuploading of my work.

⟶ Feedback is always appreciated!

[kyouxa]

Diabolik lovers Chaos Lineage: Shu Sakamaki (Story 14 + CG)

In terms of the gameplay: The black choices lead up to a bad ending, the white choices lead up to a good ending. Please no reposting onto other sites, ask me before translating this into another language too!

Place: Scarlet mansion — Living room

Shu: Ngh!

Kino: You know you can’t win with a brute force approach, right? Ha!

*Kino throws dagger*

Shu: Nn… ! I’ll make sure to fully deal with you exactly that way then.

Monologue

Kino-kun has been magnificently defending himself against Shu-san’s raised sword, and the space he created while doing so was used for him to counterattack with another dagger.

However, Shu-san was luckily able to step outside the danger zone Kino-kun’s attack created.

While I watch both of them fight, I secretly pray for them to stop, and yet none of both sides shows any sign of giving up.

Place: Scarlet mansion — Living room

Kino: Kch… you’re unexpectedly good… but how will you dodge this one!?

*Kino throws another one*

Shu: Your movements are monotony.

Yui: (Good, he avoided another attack… !) 

Kino: Don’t act so full of yourself. Just because you’ve been sleeping everyday, you shouldn’t act so surplus with your strength...

Shu: Seems as if you’re slowly getting anxious. You mustn’t be good at proofing your strength, are you?

Yui: (Both of them seem to have equal strength, but they also seem to slowly run out of breath…)

(However, I still know Shu-san has at least some superiority. If he continues to fight in this state… !)

Kino: Tch… he’s really unexpectedly strong...

…That’s it. I think I came up with a good idea.

Yui: (Eh… Kino-kun… why is he looking over here now?)

Shu: ...Don’t tell me

Kino: I’ll make sure to take the most important thing from you first then!

*Kino throws dagger*

Yui: Kyaaa!?

(The dagger is flying right over here!!)

Reiji: Damn it!

Shu: Fuck!

*Shu protects Yui*

Shu: Are you alright… ?

Yui: Shu-san… !

Kino: Fufu… that’s no good. You make it even easier for your rival to get a chance!

*Kino throws another dagger*

Shu: Ngh… !

Yui: Shu-san!

Kino: Fufu… you still don’t have enough? I’ll deal with your wretched self until you can only crawl then! 

*Kino throws two more*

Shu: Aghh!

Yui: Ahh, stop!

*blood drops*

Shu: Don’t… worry… it just cut the side… of my arm a little...

Yui: ...Nn! You’re obviously lying to me… Nn, you’re also clearly losing a lot of blood right now… !

Kino: Yes, Yes. And you even were close enough to finally receive your highly wished checkmate!

*Kino throws two more*

Reiji: Kch… !

Yui: Reiji-san…

Reiji: I am terribly sorry, I can barely protect you with my hand already being at its limit. I do not know whether or not I can repel them all...

As we are right now, we are the same as hostages. This place is now completely under his control, it allows Kino to aim for us at any point.

Yui: Nn, then the inside of this room is—

Kino: Have you considered escaping from here? If you’d like to get covered in a concentrated fire of daggers, why don’t you try it?

Yui: ….. ! You’re playing an incredible unfair game!

Kino: Whether it’s unfair or not, I wouldn’t want someone to cause a disadvantage with protecting another, while the others are on the wage of war.

It’s not difficult to understand that your brothers are merely hindrances for yourself now too, you should be aware of that by now, huh?

Shu: ...They’re a hindrance? Don’t be stupid...

I’m only here to fight you, for the sake of protecting those guys!

*Shu stabs Kino*

Kino: Aghh!

Yui: (He caught up to the distance Kino-kun created in an instant… !)

Kino: Ngh, how dare you do this...

Shu: You can’t only win with your pathetic sword technique. Even if I’m simile to a hostage that you can damage,

You should give up on clinging onto those useless delusions about being the successor to this old man’s powers.

Kino: Useless… ? What has been useless about it!?

What does a blessed person, who naturally has everything in his life, understand about any of this anyway… !?

You, who always had sheltered upbringing, and never experienced disgrace put over yourself!!

*Kino activates something*

Shu: Nn… !

Yui: W-What’s that!?

(Some sort of semi-transparent light is surrending Shu-san’s position)

*Shu falls over*

Shu: Ngh… you… what did you surround me with… Nn

Kino: This has been created by the church, it’s a magic spell that summons a talisman to catch a vampire while being chased.

Once a vampire is confined within this power, he’ll lose the strength to move.

I’ve been saving this in case of an emergency, since it’s limited to only be used once.

Shu: Why are you even possessing this sort of thing to begin with...

Kino: Who knows? This shouldn’t be worth worrying about now anyway, right?

Even if you try struggling with this magical spell on you, you won’t be able to pass through this barrier until a certain amount of time has passed.

Right now you’re as unable to move as a dartboard getting hit with darts!

*Kino throws dagger*

Shu: Aghh!!

Yui: No, stop it! Shu-san!

Reiji: Shu!

Shu: Nn… don’t come closer, Reiji!

That guy just waits to be able to aim for you as well… so don’t move an inch from over there.

Reiji: Kch… but!

Kino: Look, Look, I wonder how many you can take? I won’t allow you to die so easily on me, ha!

*Kino throws another one*

Shu: Ah… !

Yui: No! Stop it!!

(Shu-san’s whole body is completely stained with his own blood already… he’ll be killed if things continue to go like this!)

Ayato: That guy… why is he so desperately fighting, while also risking his life to protect us… ? 

We’re enemies, and yet this shit doesn’t make sense.

Yui: ...Because you’re siblings...

Ayato: Hah?

Yui: I know you argue with each other every now and then, and I’m also aware of all the things that have happened in the past to you.

*Yui starts crying*

Yui: But, still… even if not all of you are related by blood, you’re still siblings...

Shu-san doesn’t want to lose anyone who's dear to him anymore… ! 

Ayato: ...What are you crying for now… ?

Subaru: Siblings that aren’t related by blood...

*weird sound*

Subaru: Ngh, kch… !

Yui: (Eh… ?)

*weird sound*

Ayato: Fuck… ! What’s this… Nn

Reiji: What is the matter with them!?

Yui: Now that you say it, everyone is… ! 

Shu: Shit… this barrier… sucks…

*Shu tries moving*

Shu: Ngh…

Kino: Hahaha! Must be awful to have no control over your body, but serves you right!

C’mon, will you be even more worn out when I send another dagger flying your way? I wonder if you’re able to avoid it this time!

*Kino throws another dagger*

Shu: Aghh…

Yui: Shu-san!!

(If this continues, Shu-san will…)

(I don’t want… I don’t want to see Shu-san get any more injuries than he already has… !)

Kino-kun… ! Stop this already!

Kino: You want me to stop at the most fun part of this all?

Moreover, it’s useless screaming. It already has been settled that this guy has lost this game.

You can’t do anything else other than stay silent, and continue to watch the show.

Choices

1) We won’t give in yet (white)♡♡♡

2) Please stop this (black)

— We won’t give in yet♡

Yui: This hasn’t come to an end yet...

Shu-san would never lose to anyone who only plays this sort of dirty tricks… !

Shu: ….. !

Kino: No matter how much of an idiot you are, can’t you see that I’m the winner of this?

Now that I’ve brought down Shu, I can finally become the king… I can finally become his successor. And I won’t let any of you be a hindrance in my way any longer.

Yui: That’s not true! I know Shu-san would never lose to someone like you. I know because he promised it to me...

That’s why I’ll keep believing in Shu-san, even if it’s until the very end… !

— Please stop this

Yui: Please stop this! If things are continuing as they’re now, he’ll die!

Reiji: Wait!

*Reiji grabs Yui*

Reiji: Did you forget the promise you have made with Shu?

Yui: Reiji-san…

(That’s right… I promised to believe in Shu-san, even if it has to be until the very end)

Shu-san… !

I still believe in you being able to win this, Shu-san!

Shu: Ahh… Thank you.

end Choices

Kino: Aren’t you sick of not being able to stop that farce by now? It’s really starting to annoy me.

I’ll make sure to crush your hope and aspiration all together then. You’ll witness all of it before your own eyes.

*Kino pulls another dagger*

Yui: (Nn, another dagger… Shu-san, please avoid it!)

Shu: Tch…

Reiji: No way… he cannot possibly stand up in his current condition… !

Yui: Such...

Kino: Now, let’s officially get rid of this pitiable appearance right in front of everyone!

???: Stop it!!

Yui: Eh…

Kino: Huh… ? Just now, who?

Ayato: Finally snap out of it already. You can’t just do whatever pleases you...

Shu: Ayato… ?

Ayato: What are you doing, man!? Hurry and get up!

Bastard, what sort of an elder brother acts as if his self-importance is worth being thrown away even after hearing this!!

Yui: ...Huh…

Shu: You remembered… 

Yui: A-Are you sure?

Ayato: I sure am! When I saw that dull guy during the time I was worn out, it came together in my head...

I honestly got no idea about what’s going on or whatsoever. But even if I don’t, I seriously won’t forgive you if you lose!

Hey, Shu! Stop pitying yourself already, that’s an order!!

Shu: Ayato...

Kanato: That’s right, I’m very much close to losing my patience too. Didn’t we all refuse to come to this place to begin with?

Although Reiji was the one arranging this plan, why is it that such a thing happened… how unforgivable.

Laito: I at first thought skipping this sort of event, may end up being enjoyable. But I don’t feel like taking part in this game anymore.

Come on, big brother. Do your best for the sake of your younger brothers, okay?

Shu: Kanato… Laito…

Subaru: You haven’t lost as long as you didn’t die! Get yourself together and beat him! Shu!!

Shu: Subaru…

Yui: Did everyone… finally remember… ?

Reiji: It appears as if seeing Shu desperately fight in front of their eyes, triggered something that successfully brought their memories back.

That’s sincerely why he is an unpleasant person to me. That person must have fascinated the others with being so determined to its goal.

I sincerely get fed up thinking how I, myself… am no equal match to this man.

Shu: Fufu… those guys… 

Kino: Why… their memories shouldn’t return back to themselves this easily, but yet they still managed to remember.

♡ Roses ♡

Shu’s shoulder: Seems as if I’m still the eldest son, no matter how much I’ve messed up so far. 

Shu’s sword: I've not been defeated yet, so there’s no need to make such anxious expressions. Just keep staying behind me, even if anything unpredictable happens.

Shu: It’s strange. But maybe this is the true strength that lies between the siblings’ bond? 

Kino: ...Ngh. This gives me the creeps… and yet, I won’t let you have your way!

Shu: If so, I’ll tell you something. I’ll bring you down in order to proof something to you.

— I’ll prove that this fight between siblings is over. And I’ll be the one ending it.

[hairphones]

Why Libra is my favorite FE character

(if anyone knows the artist here it’d be appreciated to mention it)

Fire Emblem has plenty of characters people give a shit about. Most of the time it’s going to the lords or any of the really popular “waifu” characters, but in recent time I’ve found people who love all kinds of people in the franchise. The best thing about FE’s characters is there’s bound to be at least 1 person in here that you’ll consider cool. Despite there a lot of reoccurring archetypes I’m willing to say FE is still able to make something that feels unique in each game, even if not necessarily good. Anyways, for me one character who’s stuck out is of course the guy in the title, Libra. I’m always kind of weirded out this guy isn’t anymore popular than he actually is. Awakening is one of the most successful games that had a cast full of characters that ended up being way too popular for their own good. And yet, Libra is one of the few Awakening characters that doesn’t exactly get to enjoy the limelight like the other part of the cast back then. With that being said though I’ve found him to be one of the most interesting in the game and as you can read in the title he’s just flat out my favorite. I guess the best way for me to start is him as a unit.

Libra comes in as one of the more unique classes in the series, war monk. As a prepromote most people probably skipped over what’s given to you here despite what honestly is a pretty solid no investment unit. I say this from his C staff rank and his fairly balanced stats that lets him handle himself quite well for the first few battles he can fight in. Of course I gotta be realistic, Libra is no way a character who’s going to stay good at defending himself. Awakening’s real emphasis of making your units snowball means that ignoring to train Libra will only really leave him as nothing more than a staffbot, and even with training a glaring flaw is that Libra is too balanced for his own good to really specialize in anything unlike the other units. Another flaw comes from his rather limited class pool that leads to Sage and Dark Knight taking up spots in multiple class trees. This does give him access to helpful skills such as vengence or lifetaker, but unless you plan to grind only Libra I wouldn’t call it optimized to constantly reclass and train him. I’m in no way a hardcore FE fan that takes into account how units play in the challenge runs such as LTCs/Ironmans/Low recruitment, but I think it’s safe to assume that Libra’s overall performance will come in as primarily a support unit. But of course, judging him on his numbers isn’t my focus here.

I want to start off talking about Libra’s character with what you can already see from his design. It’s no surprise that most fans make the connection to Libra and other designs such as Lucius from FE7, another favorite of mine. In-game there’s a gag involving him looking female to other characters. However while his face is feminine, he’s actually rather tall and with a masculine frame. As one of the tamer Awakening designs I actually quite like his outfit as it perfectly fits with war monk ( I know crazy). Though you can chalk that up to being biased.

Hell on first appearances you’re most likely ready to assume this character is going to be a born again christian character with the only joke being he’s actually a male judging from the recruit conversation. The fact Awakening has it’s share of running jokes among party members definitely could lead to you assuming there’s nothing interesting about this guy. Yet, shouldn’t the fact he wields a weapon (as opposed to the usual magic tomes these sort of characters use) surprise you? and an axe at that? Lemme emphasis that, why an axe?

Sure FE has this tradition of the 3 main weapon types, but has it ever been used to add character? Not exactly, but it has been part of character archetypes for quite a while.

Think about what kind of character uses swords: The lords, the brave mercenary leader, the heroes, the flashy edgelords that become swordmasters. Swords almost always play a role as the legendary weapon made to save the day in FE games (as well as any jrpg). The sword will always be a symbol of courage in just about any video game.

(this screencap is low quality to stay consistent with the speaker)

How about lances: As far as FE goes the lance is primarily the weapon held by the jaigen archetype and the main weapon for the more chivalrous units such as cavaliers, knights, and soldiers. The kind of characters associated with these are often the diligent or experienced members of the army. You also have the usual flying trio of characters that range from happy go lucky to those that take the situation seriously.

Now what about axes? These weapons are more often than not held by the lower class characters. Hired fighters, bandits, pirates. These characters aren’t ever bad, but they’re not exactly fighting out of heroism or for their nation. In fact these characters are the most down to earth in the grand scheme of an army full of anime characters. Maybe not sooo much in Awakening’s case with Vaike, but every single one of these weapon types have their exceptions. Also wanna mention that one of the most (in)famous weapons in the series is called the fucking Devil Axe.

Going back to Libra, why would a character like him hold onto an axe when it’s pretty apparent he’s more of a gentle character? Why the weapon type that’s the most violent looking of the triangle? Obvious reason is purely gameplay reasons involving the odd design the war monk class is, but looking at it from a literary perspective only makes it look off (especially with the female clerics). This is also something to wonder if you take into consideration his C ranking, implying he’s at least somewhat experienced. Not to mention his high stats for that point in the game.

For better or worse this kind of mystery isn’t exactly answered in the base game of Awakening. However there’s some interesting conversations that’s found in the Summer Scramble DLC that gives an idea. Specifically the one with Lon’qu.

Lon’qu catching onto the dissonance of Libra’s appearance to his skill. The first conversation is only Libra claiming there’s no reasoning behind any of it. however the second conversation has Libra open up to talk about himself more.

As you see there’s no explicit answer to what kind of “darkness” Libra has ever committed before the events of FE:A, but given Lon’qu is the one to take notice of Libra’s supposed bloodlust the implication isn’t going to be anything peaceful. In fact, it’s that violent nature that gets questioned in another conversation in this same DLC.

Again, this conversation feels more important to take note of given what character is talking to Libra. In this case it’s the hyperviolent character who takes comfort in bloodshed (at least in the western release, perhaps Henry is different in Japan?). Either way, this conversation goes hand and hand with the Lon’qu one in a pretty easily. That is to conclude that Libra himself has had a pretty rough past filled with who knows what, and that past version of himself was most likely not justifying any murders as if justification was even something to consider. The Libra you meet in-game is of course still capable of killing, but it’s extremely obvious he has a concept of remorse.

There’s no reason given anywhere as to what changes this man to become the benevolent priest. Though really I think it’s better that Libra keeps it consistent with revealing almost none of the causes in his life and instead only showing the effects. Filling in the blank is not a new thing for FE characters, in fact fans of older games in the franchise seem to really enjoy that aspect quite a lot.

Still, even the current Libra understands himself to not be a person devoid of guilt or sin. A few supports touch upon this aspect such as the one with Sully.

Libra’s doubt that he’s anywhere close to being considered a good man in the fact of the gods adds something that I absolutely love: having skepticism to one’s own morality. There’s something important to follow up this with how Libra views morality in battles in one of the supports with Gaius.

Even as a supposed man of faith he refuses to deny that living a fight against the different nations in Awakening is just a matter of being on the side that’s doing more killing. Take away all the politics of any war and you’ll find people who are simply fighting for the right to keep on living. It’s what considered “just human”. I also find this conversation to be a little more profound given that is the same franchise where one of the biggest features is permadeath. These characters put their faith in their gods to escape death another day while the average player is the one avoiding death altogether.

Finally, a support with Tharja concludes mostly everything learned so far. Where she explores Libra’s memories only to find there was no peaceful childhood.

A newfound devotion to a religion isn’t treated as a fix to a life full of cruelty. To be a good person to many doesn’t absolve you of the terrible things you’ve done to others.. I’m sure this kind of topic has been explored in FE games before or after and in countless other video games/movies/books/pieces of media as well, taking away the religion part of course. Nonetheless the introduction to this kind of thinking to a 13 year old version of me had me really second guessing back then, and it still comes up to me from time to time. Sure I’ve done what’s considered “good” but will it ever outweigh any terrible things I’ve also done? Even today I can’t pretend I have an answer to that, and that’s just only thinking of what I’ve gone through personally.

To wrap it up though, there’s his ending card.

For such a simple ending it really brings out the fanboy in me. The entire game is filled with Libra having his doubts of being a good person according to himself and to the gods he worships. To end his story with him being believed to be a reincarnation of Naga due to his reformed nature just feels so sweet to me.

As much as I wish more characters could have a similar air to them in newer games, I get it’s just not really everyone’s preference. Fire Emblem is always going to be a series of good guys vs bad guys also dragons and with that comes making new characters for fans to get attached to. Still though, I really appreciate the attempt done with Libra. Once again the best thing about this franchise is everybody can find at least 1 character they love, they don’t even need to be playable.

I understand not everyone is going to grind supports to see everything a character has to say (especially not in newer FE games), but as you can see nearly all the nuance of this character was hidden away in dialogue. In a game full of joke characters and tropes, it is refreshing to see a character who acknowledges their own flaws and isn’t played for laughs. I didn’t write all of this to try to convince anyone in some clickbait manner like “THE DEEPEST FE CHARACTER INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS HID FROM YOU” or anything. Nah, I’m sure I sound like I’ve repeated myself many times here. But all of this was to attempt to put into words why I’ll stay with my opinion that Libra is my favorite FE character for being a reformed character done right. And for the fact that uncovering the secrets of this guy affected me personally all the way back from when I was a lot younger. And honestly a large part of it really stems from how Libra is in no way a major character, yet he clearly had a lot of thought put into him.

For anyone that bothered to read all of this I wanna thank you. Whether you liked it or not is up to you, no hard feelings. I know all this is the definition of “reading too much into it”, but I consider speculation on writing to be fun. Anyways hope I didn’t take too much of your time and have a nice day

[qm-vox]

So You Want To Play Hades

I spent six hours coming up with that title because I have problems in my mind which I refuse to either examine or resolve.

So, Hades! The latest work from Supergiant Games, who brought you the interactive soundtracks to Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre, all superb games in their own rights known for their intuitive gameplay, build-your-own-hard-mode difficulty style, incredible atmosphere and characterization, thought-provoking stories, and that sexy, sexy fuckin’ music.

Like, listen to this sometime it’s amazing (all of their soundtracks are available from them on Youtube, by the by, though if you like ‘em you can support the creators by buying the music from them directly too):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH3Aoj1nw58

You’re likely asking, quite reasonably, why in the infinite and undying fuck I’m writing this post right now, and the long and short of it is I want more people to talk Hades with so now y’all are gonna get hit with the sales pitch and what I hope will be a helpful beginner’s guide if you decide to get into the game. Let’s get into that first part, shall we?

Thou Shalt Subject Your Gods To Market Forces

(Image sourced from Supergiant’s website)

Hades is an action-roguelike/lite that places you in the role of Prince Zagreus, secret son of Hades. Zag is trying to move out of his father’s house and live somewhere else for awhile and, well, Dad’s just being an entire dick about the whole thing. Hades challenges you to face down the endless ranks of the dead one chamber at a time, gathering the resources you need to breach upward through the Greek underworld and open the mighty gates into the living world. You can acquire it on Steam or on the Epic Store.

How do you know if Hades is or isn’t for you? If you like action games with tight controls and widely varied playstyles, we’ve got you covered here (if you’re thinking in terms of previous Supergiant offerings, Bastion has the most bones in). Hades also offers a great character-focused narrative, centering around the relationships Zagreus has and develops with the people around him - from legendary shades like Achilles and Sisyphus, to the gods of Olympus, to the cthonic gods of the underworld like Charon, Nyx, and the Furies - which fully incorporates the conceits of the genre. Unlike many roguelikes which sorta quietly elide failed runs or deaths, Zag’s defeats are part of his journey. After all, he’s already in the underworld. Where the fuck else is he going to go when he dies? Connecticut?

Though I can gush about the characters and narrative all day (and I’ll do it a bit more later), don’t get me wrong: Hades expects you to perform some pretty tight mechanics. Since dying is just the end of this run and not the game, the game feels pretty free to take brutal measures; the environments you move in are full of deadly traps, the seething ranks of the dead outnumber you to vast degrees, and you’ll fight a dizzying mix of opponents who do not hesitate to catch you in cross-fires, push you into lava, or drop bombs when you kill them because fuck you for succeeding you weird godling bastard. If you get easily frustrated or flustered, Hades may be quite stressful for you; before it’s anything else, it’s an action game with a heavy focus on combat, and if you decide to ride this train that’s the price of the ticket. If you relish the challenge and especially if you like the satisfaction of watching your play improve, though, it’s one hell of a ride.

In terms of accessibility features, Hades is a mixed bag. It has subtitles and aim assistance available, as well as a variety of supported languages and control adjustments which can alter how you do things like dash or attack, but it’s missing, for instance, a colorblind mode (and that’s gonna be important here in a minute), and many enemy behaviors & traps have audio cues which are not part of the current subtitle support. A rumble feature for controllers that have it is supported; Hades strongly suggests the use of a controller, but I know several players who choose to use a mouse & keyboard and seem to prefer it. Semi-recently, a God Mode option was added which empowers you when it’s turned on and does so further every time you die; it’s the closest Hades comes to an ‘easy’ mode, and while reception of it from my fellow players has been highly positive I’ve not tried it for myself.

If you’ve liked action games in the past, I’d highly endorse giving Hades a try as long as it’s accessible for you. The current build of the game (just before formal release) is selling at $24.99 USD on Steam right now, and like...I am not a highly skilled Gaming Individual(tm). I lose at games a lot. I play most of my games on Easy or maybe Normal if I’m really feeling like my dick is big - and with that in mind, I loved this one enough to buy it twice. I love the tight feeling of the combat, the way the mechanics feel, its gorgeous environments and its captivating characters. Hell, that’s why I’m out here writing a whole-ass article.

Stealth, Guile, Subtlety, And Other Things You Will Not Need - Getting Started In Hades

(Artwork sourced from the Hades wiki)

So you’ve decided to acquire Hades, you already own it, or the first part of this article was intriguing enough for you to look at the advice portion and see what sort of game you could be dealing with. Hades can be intimidating at first; it throws a lot of stuff at you, very quickly, and while it gives you some strong guidance on what to do with many of the resources you’ll acquire not all of those uses are immediately intuitive. The following is a guide to help your first few runs go a bit more smoothly and work on the fundamentals that will help you through your entire experience.

Let’s start with some General Tips that will help you out with every run and every weapon:

- Relax. No, seriously: relax. You haven’t ‘failed’ a run if you don’t beat the final boss. Hell, you probably haven’t even ‘failed’ a run if you die in Tartarus. If you learned something or got any permanent resource - gemstones, darkness, nectar, keys, blood, diamonds, ambrosia - then that run was a success. Even if the game wasn’t currently early access and thus without a proper ‘end’ at the moment, it’s supposed to be fun. Don’t castigate yourself for dying, just dive screaming back in and rip your vengeance from the spectral chest of your slayer.

- Always Be Moving. You only have so many hit points (you start a save file with a max of 50 and the most you can start a given run with is 200) and healing is limited over the course of a run. If you’re standing still, you’re getting hit. Zag’s quick on his feet - keep him moving and use your dash liberally. Once you’ve dealt some damage, leave and let your enemies swing at empty air, then dash back in and bully them back into their graves. When you start a dash you’re invulnerable until the dash finishes, which can make for some real cheeky dodges once you’ve had time to learn enemy timing.

- Watch And Learn. Early on in the game you’ll be learning about new enemies every chamber, especially when you start transferring to new zones and all of the enemies you’ve been facing just stop being a thing. Take the chance to know your foe! You’re not on a clock: don’t leap into the fight immediately. Dash around and watch how your enemies move and attack. What’s the limitations of their tactics? The reach on their attacks? How fast do they swing and move? If you’d like to watch some of that stuff ahead of time, I’d like to suggest amber_cxc’s Twitch channel: she’s been doing a lot of runs and speedruns of Hades of late, among the other games she plays.

- Manipulate Your Rewards. Certain things in Hades can only be offered a limited number of times per run, and once you’ve hit your quota they stop appearing. You can take advantage of this to get more Boons, Centaur Hearts, and Poms of Power. Specifically, you can only have up to two Daedelus Hammers and up to three Hermes Boons. If you can knock these out early I highly endorse doing so; they’re never bad to have, and even if somehow you want none of what they have to offer getting them off the RNG will help you later. Additionally, you can use Keepsakes (more on these in a minute) to manipulate who you get Boons from, when, by changing in and out of them at each biome. In this way you can control the shape of your build for the run.

- Accept That Your Dick Energy Is Fucking Huge. A lot of games try to keep you humble. Dark Souls is infamous for it, of course, and others in this genre such as Crypt of the Necrodancer and Enter the Gungeon do not reward haste at all. That is not this game. Walk into Hades like you’re the lord god of the Big Dick Dimension even if you know you’re not; take risks and learn from experience how you can mitigate, manipulate, or cancel out those risks. That unearned confidence won’t just help you with tip one (Relax), it’ll help you practice in those high-pressure situations which will occur more and more as your Heat rises.

- A Brief Note On Projectiles. This game has a few kinds of projectiles that you’ll need to learn to identify. Balls and Arrows can be broken - hit them with an Attack and they pop and won’t hurt you. Waves cannot be broken; they travel fast along the ground and have to be dodged or deflected. Lasers can neither be broken nor deflected. Traps can’t be broken, and deflecting them doesn’t always make them safe for you; these include the lava balls in Asphodel, Inferno Bombs, and the shit spit out by Bothers and Pests. Know your foe and always be moving.

In terms of the resources you’re offered, there are broadly two kinds: in-run resources, and out-of-run resources. Let’s talk briefly about in-run ones.

- Boons: Boons are the powerful gifts of your Olympian relatives. They change how you play during your run by augmenting your abilities (like your Attack, Special, or Dash) or by offering passive benefits. In general, look at Aphrodite, Athena, or Dionysus if you want powerful defenses, Ares, Artemis, or Zeus for powerful attacks, and Poseidon and Demeter for a combination of damage and utility. Different gods will be good with different weapons, and we’ll get into that later. Boons have a Rarity and a Level; Rarity determines their starting power and how well they scale if they do scale, and Level is that scaling.

- Centaur Hearts: +25 max and current HP for this run. Do you like not dying?

- Poms of Power: Poms increase the Level of a Boon by 1, which generally makes it better at doing whatever it does. Not all Boons will level up, but the ones that you can attach to your Attack, Special, Cast, Dash, or Call always do. You do eventually hit diminishing returns with these, so you’ll generally want to spread the love around if you keep picking up Poms.

- Obols: DOLLAH DOLLAH BILLS Y’ALL. Obols are the coins preferred by Charon, the Ferryman, who will take them from you for goods and services. Obols can be turned into all other resources - even out-of-run resources. They’re almost always a great choice of investment.

These in-run resources are presented as potential rewards when you’re selecting chambers. I tend to run heavy on Boons and Obols myself, but your own play style is likely to differ! Experiment with the feel of acquiring various rewards and see what you like to invest in. After all, they’re only for the run you’re on; you literally can’t take it with you.

Out-of-run resources are used to permanently advance Zagreus’s power, his relationships, or both. They are as follows:

- Cthonic Keys: Used to unlock new weapons and new parts of the Mirror of Night. Once your weapons and Mirror are wholly unlocked these keys stop being useful more or less instantly, and can be safely traded at the Wretched Broker between runs to acquire Nectar (but see Gemstones, below).

- Gemstones: Early in the game, Gemstones can be traded in at the House Contractor between runs in order to enhance the underworld; in particular, they can be used to install fountain rooms, to open up access to Chaos and Erebus, to give you access to Infernal Troves (and upgrade said troves), and to add in-run resources to Keys, Nectar, and Gemstones. These services are in the first tab of the House Contractor and you should buy them out as soon as possible so that your runs can springboard off of these powerful additions. Once that’s taken care of, Gemstones can be used to renovate the House of Hades, including Zag’s bedroom and the lounge, again at the House Contractor.

- Nectar: The nectar of the gods is in short supply in the underworld, and is a treasured gift that Zagreus can offer to his friends. In most cases, the first time you give a character Nectar they will trade you a powerful Keepsake in return; these are run-altering tools you select at the start of each run and change how you play. Early on, spread the love, but once you’re full up on Keepsakes you can feel free to develop relationships through gift-giving however you see fit.

- Darkness: The power of Night is used to give permanent, powerful passive benefits to Zagreus via the Mirror of Night in his bedroom. I would suggest using Darkness to get your extra Dash and extra hit points before anything else, but once you’ve got those tools kinda fuck around and find out. Eventually a dialogue option with Nyx will unlock the flip side of the Mirror’s talents, which must be developed separately and cost even more Darkness; you’ll want lots of this and you’ll want it for a very long time. Oh, and try to save aside 8,888 Darkness for a rainy day. You’ll need it.

- Titan Blood: Offered by the first and last bosses at each level of Heat (more on Heat later). Titan Blood is used to upgrade your weapons, making them better at doing all of the things they do, as well as to unlock Aspects of those weapons. We’re still shy one Aspect as of the latest patch, so ah, don’t stop collecting this. You’ll always have a use for it.

- Diamonds: Offered by the second boss at each level of Heat. Diamonds are used to buy plot-relevant renovations to the House of Hades, to advance certain relationships, and to acquire the fishing minigame and in-game access to the soundtrack within the House. Like Blood, you’ll have a use for these for a long, long time.

- Ambrosia: Offered by the third boss at each level of Heat. When you reach the point at which you can no longer offer people Nectar, genuine Ambrosia from Olympus becomes the princely gesture by which you can show your gratitude. You may be tempted to trade this for Blood early on. Don’t.

When you’re starting out, Darkness and Gemstones will be the gods of your new world, followed closely by Cthonic Keys You’ll run out of immediate need for Gemstones faster than you will for Darkness, but by that time you’ll either be comfortable with Hades or you’ll have determined it’s not for you. Focus on unlocking access to your new weapons, upgrading the underworld itself, and paying off your talents; at this stage, escaping the underworld isn’t really a priority so much as setting up for your eventual triumph is.

And When You Can No Longer Lay Waste - Infernal Arms And Heat

(Artwork sourced from the Hades Wiki)

The assault rifle with under-slung mortar launcher is definitely my favorite ancient Greek weapon.

So I’ve mentioned unlocking weapons, and I’ve mentioned that Hades offers varied play styles, so I suppose I ought to talk about them. Zagreus’s weapons - his Infernal Arms - form the first layer of your play style choices, which will be augmented by your in-run choices, and the second layer comes in the form of the Pact of Punishment and its Heat. Each weapon has differing values for its attacks and behaves very differently. I’m not gonna give you the specific numbers here - we have a wiki for that - and will instead make some general statements on how they play and what might pair well with them.

- Stygius, the Blade of the Underworld: You start each save file with this bad boy. Stygius is a generalist weapon that leans somewhat towards speed; its Attack is a three-hit combo that ends in a Thrust with knockback, while its Dash Attack (note: these are not the same with ANY weapon) is solely the Thrust, still with knockback. Its Special, slower than the Attack, is a high-damage shockwave that breaks enemy projectiles and knocks them back. You might be asking yourself, Vox, why would I Special when it makes people leave sword range, at which point I will direct you back to Always Be Moving; your Special makes your enemies Go Away, which saves you hit points. Stygius can build into almost anything, though its Attack benefits the least from Zeus and Poseidon, and is notable for having the most wild fucking Hammer options. Some of them do little things like make your Special bigger, but then you get stuff like Hoarding Slash (deal extra damage equal to 5% of your Obols), World Splitter (you do one big swing with a base damage of 80) and motherfucking CURSED SLASH, which is where Stygius rips a line of cocaine off of a mirror, cuts your health by 60%, and then heals you for 2 every time you hit something. My advice for this is whatever you start down, commit. Stygius might build into anything, but it can’t build into everything: once you choose a boon path, pick things to compliment that and go fucking ham.

- Varatha, the Eternal Spear: The forgotten child of Hades’ weapons, Varatha is a versatile weapon that, like Stygius, does a bit of everything - and unlike Stygius, does it all at the same time. Varatha’s base attack is a series of three long-range thrusts with low damage, and its Special throws the spear in a straight line, at which point it hovers in the air until you Special again; it follows a straight line from its position to your current one, damaging anything in that line. Last, but not least, you can perform a powerful Spin Attack by holding down the Attack button and charging up. Spin is one of the strongest single hits in the game, but you do have to stop moving to charge it up. However, you can dash out of the charge - even better, dashing releases the Spin at the end of your dash. This means that once you learn the timings of your charges, you can use Spin to attack and dodge at the same time, in a wide circle around yourself. Unlike Stygius, Varatha benefits to an extent from splitting your build up; its Attack wants big hitters like Aphrodite, Artemis, or Poseidon, whose high multipliers pair amazingly with the spin, while its Special can mount debuffs or stranger forms of damage like those offered by Dionysus and Ares. If you start building into one thing, but then Hammer into an alternate focus, the end result is still going to be pretty cohesive. Like Generic Goodstuff, or want a weapon to use while building up many divine relationships? Varatha does it all.

- Aegis, the Shield of Chaos: Just because this thing has the only block function in the game doesn’t mean it’s a defensive weapon. Aegis is a fast-moving melee weapon whose hits cause native knockback, slamming foes into walls, up against cliffs, and through traps & magma. Since Aegis throws people around it’s great for a highly aggressive style; dash in, hit them, and watch them slide away before they can do damage back to you. Its Special throws the shield Captain America style, where it ricochets off of opponents and obstacles before eventually returning. Use this with care; you can’t attack or block while your Special is out. Holding down the Attack button begins to charge a Bull Rush; while you’re charging, you’re immune to damage in the direction the shield is facing, and then when you release you dash to the end of the indicated line, damaging anything you hit. Despite how sexy that sounds, Bull Rush is honestly kinda slow and can be hard to build for specifically; instead, Bull Rush is best used to get out of bad situations, or to outlast big long boss combos, especially those used by the first and second bosses who are known to spit out absolute STREAMS of projectiles. Aegis hits fast and gets lots of bonus damage against normal enemies by bullying them against walls for that sweet, sweet Wall Slam damage, but it craves big damage multipliers less than some other weapons; consider using Zeus, Dionysus, or Demeter for your Attack, saving big damage choices for if you can get a Dash Attack build going. Special is great for mounting utility like Aphrodite or Poseidon that let you control the engagement further, just remember to think before you hit the yeet button.

- Coronacht, the Heart-Seeking Bow: Meet your first ranged weapon! Coronacht deals damage in a straight line by charging up a shot; when your line flashes, release the shot for a Power Shot that deals extra damage. Its Special is...bad, I’m gonna be real; it’s a wide-sweeping volley of arrows that deal individually low damage and will rarely, if ever, hit the same target. Still, it has its uses. Coronacht benefits from either high damage or battlefield control on its Attack; look into Artemis, Aphrodite, Demeter, and Poseidon. Its Special is harder to build for, but Ares and Zeus both do well on it since they can cause damage out of proportion with the range and/or area of your volley. Play keep-away and use distance to get off those charge shots, and remember that you can break projectiles and hit multiple enemies with each attack. Avoid mounting odd damage (Ares or Dionysus) or utility (Athena) on your Attack; it’s not going to come out fast enough to take meaningful advantage of those tools.

- Malphon, the Twin Fists: Easily the angriest weapon in all of Hades, Malphon is a pair of massive fuck-off gauntlets that are used for fast-moving combos at extremely short range. It is unique in that its Attack has a Dash Attack, and its Special - a massive uppercut - has a dash upper, letting you sweep in and deal big damage in a tight area immediately. Though each of Malphon’s hits are individually small, it throws out so fucking many of them that you can put almost anything on your Attack and it’ll work out. Athena Attack? Why not, you’ll be swinging when the enemy is. Dionysus Attack? Poison stacking has never been easier! Artemis Attack? Sure, you don’t do a lot of base damage, but you swing so often that you’ll crit constantly and take advantage of passives like Support Fire. Your Special has much higher base damage and can easily become the focus of your build, and because it moves slower it wants bigger damage multipliers like Artemis or Aphrodite if it’s your focus. If it’s not your focus, consider Poseidon in its slot (to get enemies to Go Away) or a god that will combo with your Attack (for instance, if you’re doing Demeter Attack, consider Zeus Special so you can potentially pick up the Cold Fusion boon and get 10 seconds of free damage every time you tap the Special button). You pay a price for this ease of use: Malphon’s range is directly inside the enemy’s ass, which means you need to have razor-thin timing to dash out of the way of attacks and keep your combos going, especially if you get swarmed. Since Malphon can mount and build literally fucking anything, it’s the ideal weapon to use if you want to power-level Keepsakes; slap something on at the start of a run and then just never take it off. Sure, you’re letting the Three Fates decide your build, but fuck it, it all just works!

- The Adamant Rail: What if you invaded the underworld with a fucking machine gun. The Adamant Rail has an ammo counter; each Attack takes 1 bullet (and Dash Attack takes and fires 2), and you reload by pressing the right-hand stick in. Its Special is a slow-moving mortar that hits in a wide area. The Rail is a powerful and versatile weapon capable of engaging at great range, which tends to build either Attack or Special. If you’re building Special, look for big hits like Aphrodite, Artemis, or even Poseidon, and any Special upgrade at all from the Hammers. Attack usually wants utility or stacks - stuff like Poseidon, Demeter, Dionysus, or Zeus - but certain Hammer upgrades like Spread Shot might make it more worthwhile to invest in big hits for it if you get them early. However! Just because you’ve decided on a focus doesn’t mean you should neglect the other half of your weapon. For instance, an Attack-focused build might still entertain the Targeting System upgrade so that you can more easily land your hits and avoid the enemy, while a Special-focused one benefits from mounting debuffs like Weak or Chill on its Attack.

For any weapon, once you settle into a play style you enjoy, find ways to be rewarded for what you’re already going to do. If you enjoy, say, the Chiron Aspect for the bow which makes it into a Special-focused weapon, mount benefits like Doom or Weak on its Attack since you still have to use that to make your shit go-go. This applies more broadly too; if you’re saving up Gemstones for something, for instance, use the extra money you get during your run to visit the shops earlier and more often. Let Hades reward you for doing the things you already want to do.

To close this guide out I’m going to briefly touch on Heat, which is how Supergiant Games has manifested their signature build-your-own-hard-mode approach. After you clear the game with any weapon for the first time, you acquire access to the Pact of Punishment. This Pact lets you turn on hostile modifiers to your run, which each have a Heat value; once you clear the game with a weapon at any given level of Heat (0, 1, 2, etc) you can only get Titan’s Blood, Diamonds, and Ambrosia with that weapon by advancing to the next level of Heat. In this way the game gradually gets harder on a weapon-by-weapon basis.

So, what modifiers to turn on? Depends on what you’re good at and bad at, but I would highly, highly suggest that you get used to Extreme Measures, Middle Management, and Benefits Package as soon as possible. Not only are they sources of big Heat by themselves that don’t change too much of the run by themselves, but their primary difficulty is knowledge-based; once you know them, they’re practically free real estate. Since Heat is tracked per-weapon and not in total, you can also always go back to weapons you’re not as good with and use practice with them as an excuse to get more permanent resources that you can pour into the ones you prefer.

Obviously this guide is not comprehensive! I’ve left out a lot of things you might want to know, like boss patterns, enemy types, and a whole lot of stuff about characters. Some of these things I’ve not talked about because I don’t want to give spoilers; others I haven’t talked about because I’m, again, actually pretty bad at games and the Hades community has talented folks whose guides on Steam, on the Reddit, and on the wiki can provide you with thorough breakdowns of the math that makes the game work. Still, it’s my hope that this can ease your entry into the world of Hades and help guide you in those early runs when it can feel like you’re spinning your wheels. I look forward to hearing from you; reblogs and commentary are welcome!

See you all in Hell.

[mars-the-4th-planet]

Ivy Munger plays Project Libitina (creepy fic for Halloween for my friend, might be disturbing)

(part one of two)

The episode begins with Jukebox herself wrapped cozily in a blanket, which is how all the episodes should start. She was playing a mod for doki doki literature club called Doki Doki: New Horizons on her GBA. She had little else to do what with quarantine and all. Spookbox watched mischievously out the window, silently giggling and rubber her hands together. She slipped through the window and crept into the kitchen, somehow unheard by Jukebox who stayed focused on her game. Spookbox was visibly transparent to the audience the whole time, representing that she is invisible to the characters in TIMS. (the ivy munger show)

Just then, Trolli and Sakura comes strolling and trolling in. Sakura sits perched atop of Trolli's shoulders. Trolli leans over to look at Jukebox's GBA screen. Currently, Jukebox is making Natsuki Island. In the shape of a trans flag, because of the common Natsuki headcanon. Trolli sees it and chuckles. "Hehehehe, a rectangle island Jukebox? I haven't seen such creative talent since Sakura tied her shoes together. Without laces!"

"H-Hey... I told you, I didn't do it! There was an imposter and they sabotaged me!" protested Sakura helplessly. "Sure, Saki. But seriously, a plain rectangle for an island? I know you can do better than that Jukebox. Especially for Natsuki."

"It's in the shape of a trans flag for the trans natsuki headcanon! No need to tease me Trolli."

"Ahahahahaa, trans natsuki? I love trans rights as much as you do Jukebox, but natsuki has been proven many times to be cis." Trolli pointed out.

"Aren't trans flags just the same shape as-" Sakura began, but was cut off by YouTube personified marching in and throwing a throw pillow at Trolli. "DEMONITIZED! Slurs are not allowed on this platform."

Jukebox sighed and rested her head against her hand. Trolli shot back: "What, cis? Cis isn't a slur!" only to get another throw pillow thrown at him. "Okay, okay... I won't say it anymore, happy?"

"Can I just play my game please? Actually you know what I'm getting a snack. You all need to stop this bizarre drama before a fight breaks out in our comment section."

It was too late for that. Already an argument had begun between people saying "cis is a slur" and "cissy lives don't matter" but that wasn't the main problem Jukebox would have to worry about...

She walked into the kitchen, and got an unopened box of cereal out of the cupboard. Jukebox opened up the top, and with a crinkle she opened the plastic bag inside...

Immediately after it was opened, an arm reached out of the box and grabbed Jukebox by the collar prompting a surprised yelp from her. A second hand reached out too, holding a handgun and pointing it at Jukebox's face. She struggled but to no avail. "Mwahahaha... I just caught an imposter~" a voice said behind her. Jukebox heard sound of something phasing out of invisibility right afterward. "What the- Who are you?! Let me go! TROLLI! SAKURA! HELP!" She shouted, panicky.

Trolli and Sakura rushed in. "Oh no! Jukebox! Jukebox? W-Which is the real Jukebox?"

Behind Jukebox was Spookbox, except she wasn't wearing her usual demonic makeup and had clothes on that matched Jukebox. She just looked like an eviller Jukebox with her hands behind her back. Of course, her hands were not really behind her back at all, they were coming out of the cereal box. "I caught an imposter trying to steal our cereal!!"

"What?? Why would you do this imposter--are you the same one who tied my shoes together!? Hmph!" Sakura jumped up and down while asking this. "No! I'm not an imposter! Who is behind me, I can't see them! Stop being weird and help me! >_<"

"It's... You. Is this some kind of prank?" Trolli asked, looking quizzical.

"For real guys, it's me." Said Spookbox. "I think this is M. M stands for Me, so it makes sense that M would take the appearance of Me."

"What are you talking about??" Jukebox replied, still panicky. "I'm not M! I don't even know who M is! What do you WANT?"

"Hmm..." Sakura looked skeptically at the both of them. "Both of my senpais seem kind of sus... How can we tell?"

"It's simple. I'm good at games, so this imposter should have to play a game to prove it!" Spookbox suggested.

"Which game?"

"Project Libitina! It's scary, perfect for a Halloween special! And it fits with our theme, with our DDLC let's play being one of our flagship series!"

"Why didn't you think of that, other Jukebox?"

"To be honest I wasn't thinking about my channel's content at the moment, probably because I have a gun in my face..." Jukebox pointed out.

"Fair enough." Snarled Spookbox.

"So... I just have to play Project Libitina then? That's good I thought you were gonna take my money or something..."

"I'm also taking your money. Or should I say, MY money. Since you're pretending to be me."

Trolli and Sakura giggled at that remark.

"...Dammit"

"DEMONITIZED!" YouTube shouted from another room.

Suddenly, the screen went to black and white and froze in place. A rantsona appeared on screen, although it didn't resemble any real animal. It looked sort of like if you mashed a zubat from pokemon together with a teddy bear, made the resulting fusion really fuzzy and put a green cap with a red star on it. "ACTUALLY!" he said, although his mouth (which took up the whole face) only cut to a frame where it was open instead of having lip syncing. "Spookbox should not have been portrayed as the villain in this episode! She is a working class hero taking DIRECT ACTION against the bougie youtuber who makes millions off of playing video games! She was right to aim for recollecting Jukebox's wealth as a goal."

Sakura spoke up, since she was also a 2D character she could still perceive what was happening. Although she didn't move at all while speaking. "This is OUR video! Kindly bug off! No one wants to hear your deranged and incorrect-"

The odd rantsona shook violently for a split second, and the video cut to black.

Once the video flickered back on, Jukebox was jumping onto the couch, ready to play Project Libitina. "Wow, it feels like this video has been going on for a while! And we haven't even gotten to the game yet! So I'll keep it's introduction brief. Project Libitina was meant to come out in 2018, but Dan Salvado had several delays. Not this was in any way his fault, he claimed that after working on the game his health would rapidly decline and would receive death threats that made him scared to continue work. Eventually though, he was able to finish and now we finally get to play DDLC's sequel! Or... Prequel if Matpat is right."

Jukebox started up the game and watched as the intro played. A warning flickered on the screen, saying that the game was far too disturbing to be played by people without adaquete mental training and preparation.

"Wow can you imagine having that much motivation. Sick, scared, and he still finished the game? If only certain people could work with that much determination."

Jukebox looked indignant. "What, you mean me?"

"No." Trolli looked directly into the camera. This made everyone watching uncomfortable.

Spookbox swatted Trolli. "Cut that out! I'm supposed to be the creepy one."

"But-

"No fighting, I need to hurry up and film the gameplay segment." Jukebox interrupted.

"All right, with that out of the way, the beginning of the game gives you a nice recap on the portrait of Markov. You get to choose between playing as "Mister Jones" or someone just named "Squid". Squid looks kind of depressing, probably because there was pretty clearly an accident involved with her? I'm pretty sure the researchers tried to give her a powerful tentacle arm, but as you can see... It doesn't look like it worked very well."

"Sure this game isn't too much for you Jukebox?" Trolli asked, voice hinting towards actual concern. "Maybe the other box should have to play it first since it was her idea..."

"Nah don't worry, I'm a brave girl!" Jukebox reassured Trolli.

"So, we're playing as Mister Jones. He's a single father, his wife apparently died but it's not that important to the game really. He honestly seems over it, as mean as that sounds to say. But you see a lot of his internal dialouge and he doesn't seem too fazed."

"Right now we're doing an experiment to try and increase control over Libitina. She kept attacking researchers until we gave her a real bedroom. So my task is to watch her through the window until she gets so uncomfortable that she agrees to go back in her sleeping box instead."

Jukebox took a deep breath and swallowed.

"In fact, most of the game seems to be doing experiments on this kid. The catch is that she has mind powers and can mess with you and other characters in all sorts of ways. For example, since she can sense you coming to the window, by the time you look through it she's already staring at the window. As you can see she's pretty clearly scared of us, so she's going to try all sorts of things to get us to stop watching her. But if we can stay firm, she will become so distressed by being spied on that the only way she can feel any privacy is to go into her ventilated steel container we call her sleeping box. The goal is basically to make her wish she never demanded to have a real bedroom like a normal child."

Jukebox said this clearly, but her voice quivered a little midway through. "She will try everything to get you to stop watching her like I said. Right now I'm hearing things in my headphones like something is behind me in the game. Like an animal growling, someone breathing in my ear, twigs snapping from being stepped on. It's tempting to look behind yourself but if you do it reaffirms her power over you and she will get closer to the window when you're not looking. If she gets emboldened enough to reach you, you get a game over screen. But if you keep your eyes on her, it makes her feel powerless. See? She's trying to hide under her blanket. If she does that it gives you an opportunity to tap her window for giving her extra fear. Don't tap her window when she is looking at you though!"

"What happens then?" Spookbox asked, intrigued.

"I don't really want to talk about that, haha. You get a special game over, basically." Jukebox giggled nervously.

"Now, since she has the ability to draw nearby threats to you, you need to learn how to tell what noises are just her trying to trick you and what are actually dangerous. She won't approach the window when things are outside besides just you. So you can shoot whatever's threatening you. For being a chapter of the game where you just watch Libitina through her bedroom window, it's surprisingly unsettling for me- AAAA!"

A ghoulish person wielding a tool so bloody it was hard to tell what it was supposed to be used for yanked Mister Jones around in the game and swung the tool repeatedly at him. It moved with strangely few frames, like a rushed stop motion project. Jukebox was too late in reacting to the attack, and got a game over screen. The game over screen had Squid holding Libitina by her hand and leading her along a road in the middle of nowhere. They both seemed very happy about it.

"Ohh! Oh my god- that-- not going to lie, this game kind of gets to me. But I'm no imposter or a quitter so I'll just cut until after I find out how to beat this part! And that's just one of several things that can kill you in this part of the gsme!"

The camera cut to black just as Trolli started saying something. When it reappeared, Jukebox looked sweaty and Trolli and Spookbox were no longer in the room. "Okay, so, I finally got the win screen. It took a while, but we finally got Libitina to start shaking under her blanket, and at this point she can't or won't pull any more psychic nonsense on us. We still have to be careful about wandering enemies but we can freely look away from the window now. Any second now... Ah there we go."

A distant alarm went off in the game and a win screen popped up. "Success!" it displayed, over a background of research papers that were heavily scribbled on. A 2D anime style clip played of Libitina begrudgingly asking a researcher to please let her sleep in her sleeping box again instead of a bedroom.

"Now we can go on to the next task! Our need experiment is optional, and apparently is important to the lore according to literally the one post I could find online about the mechanics of Project Libitina. Seems like only a couple people have played it counting me, weird. The reason it's optional though is because it's "the main reason for the warning at the start of the game" but I'm a brave girl so we're doing it!"

Text scrolled on the screen as jukebox selected the chapter. "Knife Conditioning: to-"

Jukebox shuddered and turned off the game. "Yeah, no, not a brave enough girl for this. It's one thing to see disturbing stuff, another entirely to be the one causing it. I can see why this is a psychological horror game. It's just too much for me. Right you two?"

Jukebox turned around, and looked confused. "Trolli? Other Jukebox? Where did everyone go? Wasn't someone else here too?"

She shrugged. "Guess they got bored and left. Oh well! I'm Ivy Munger, and thank you all for a wonderful time!" Jukebox thought it over. "Well, maybe not wonderful but thank you for watching! And don't play Project Libitina unless you are REALLY sure you can handle the darker stuff. Apparently the game has a happy ending and I might get to that later in a future episode but I'm not doing the optional chapters I can tell you that much."

[vikolai123]

Monster hunter world review

Monster hunter, a game that was not popular in the west but is in the east . Created by capcom the monster hunter franchise has grown over the course of the decade with many games,spinoffs most of them are region locked( *cough* frontier*cough* spirits *cough* almost every monster hunter mobile game*cough*)and merch, as a fan of the monster hunter games you can tell how big of a reaction when seeing the monster hunter world announcement back at 2017,heck its the reason why i bought a playstation 4 for christmas so i can play the game. I was hyped when i got the game look at me now in 2020 and i still got the game so dose it hold up well lets see heres my review on monster hunter world the base not iceborn.

The plot of this game is that you're are a part of the 5th fleet of hunter off exploring a new continent dubbed the new world and check out strange phenomena that cause the elder dragon to go to one specific location. accompanied on your journey is your palico and another character the handler the person who gives out quest to hunters on your way to the new world your ship has b capsized by an elder dragon known as Zora magdaros but eventually, you, the handler, and the palico made it to the new world this beginning your adventure. The gameplay of monster hunter world is almost the same if with some slight alterations first off the weapons has new moves and also your equip with an item called the slinger what slinger does that it shoot out pods that you've to find wild you can use it to gain the attention of other monster deal extra damage to them(depending on the ammo you find) or use as a way to escape of way from a monster, which leads me to one thing I liked about the game is the monsters themselves. In In the old games how does the monster does is that they wander around the area you're currently in, sleep and when they spot a hunter they will immediately engage in combat but in the new world thanks to stronger software the monsters act more like animals you can see them wandering the area, go out hunting, taking a shit, and finally the new game mechanic the turf wars, where when a monster encounters another the two monsters will fight each other which deals massive damage each other and in some cases drive a monster away which leads me to another point is for how alive the hunting areas are in this game. In the earlier games, the hunting areas are mostly barren aside from the smaller monsters like the bugs or the jaggies or the aptonoth or apceros there's isn't that much wildlife in the areas you hunt but in this game, there's life teeming all over the area, bugs scuttling on the ground, birds flying through the sky, fish swimming in the sea and or lake, the devs did a good job of making the player feel like the wilderness. In the older games one thing they did include in inventory management with the items and materials you mind for material, catch bugs or carve out pieces out of monsters you kill this leads me to remove a lot of items I don't need but I do in a way to give me more room to stuff more materials so I can make my armor and weapons but in monster hunter world you can say goodbye to all of that because you have a butt-ton material without you removing any of the items you would need to progress speaking of which the items you would have to bring like pickaxes, paintballs they ain't here in this game in the older games if you find mining deposits you would have to bring your pickax and if you wanting to know where a monster at you have to bring in your paintball and if you wanted to know where you have to bring in a map but in mhw you already have these items from the get-go, needing mine ores you already have a pickaxe, wanting to know where's the monster well by the new scoutfly mechanic which basically you collecting tracks or residue you can easily able to track your monster with ease. The final two things I liked about the game is that you can move while drinking your potion and sharpening your weapon no longer you have to find a perfect spot and praying that the monster won't attack you you can move out the way and also you can change weapons and armor during quest if you forgot to change weapons or equips a certain set of armor for that one tough monster you can do so with the tents also you can have food power-ups as well during quest as well. Time for flaws in this game first off the lack of verity of the monster. In monster hunter, there's a lot of monster types we have the flying wyvern, Sudo wyvern, bird wyverns, the brute wyvern, tennoceron, caracipation, fanged wyvern pescine wyverns, Pelagus, fanged beast, snake wyvern, leviathans, amphibians, elder dragons, and black dragons

In monster hunter world we have fanged beast, bird wyverns, flying wyverns, piscine wyverns, pelagus, elder dragons, and black dragons and that's it where my snakes, my giant bugs my monkeys my leviathan's my crustations frogs there all not in the game due to leviathan one I get it's because of its difficult to get the skeleton to work but still what happens to the other monsters types and another flaw is the handler she's pretty much useless in the game's story and we don't that much of her backstory all we know that her father is an adventurer like her but that's all we know I wish we do more for her character finally the biggest flaw if the game is the weapons designs monster hunter despite is grounded in some sort of realism it also doesn't itself seriously leaving the weapons designs to cool to weird and that's why we love about them who doesn't wanna take out a dragon with a big fuck you drill hammer or claws of a demon or even a teddy bear but in monster hunter world we have a regular longsword but some monster parts slapped on it, regular hammer, with monster parts slapped on it, and if your lucky you can get a dual blades...with some monster parts slapped it you see what i mean in the old games the weapons looks amazing and i know that they try make it a bit more "realistic" but if realistic mean we get generic boring ass weapons then sorry i aint buyin the next thing anyway thats all the flaws i can think up with the mhw

So would i reccomend mhw the answer is no despite the praise i give it the game has some flaws to it not a bad game belive me but i see myself returning the old world

Overall i give mhw a rathalos/ 10

[askmerriauthor]

Pokemon SwSh Thoughts - Post Game

So I’ve finished Pokemon Sword’s primary content.  All that’s left is to finish up the PokeDex and drive myself insane trying to whip up all the variations of Alcremie.  That, and delaying buying an online subscription for as long as possible before I bother with trading to get the other game’s exclusives.  Here’s some thoughts on the game after the fact:

Pokemon SwSh really needed to come out in late 2020, period.  I’ve enjoyed the game so far, but I’ve played it for about a week without putting in too much time/effort grinding and I’ve already done pretty much everything there is to do.  I had my Starter leveled up to 100 before I even left the Wild Area for the very first time.  The pacing and content depth of this game are pretty much non-existent, whereas the majority of the effort has clearly been put toward refining the competitive combat development.  That’s great for those players who really like the battle system, but not so much for those of us who like story and broader gameplay elements.

Pro - Streamlined Gameplay One thing I’ve wanted in Pokemon for ages has been the ability to skip tutorials.  I understand the necessity of having them, as every game that comes out is going to be some player’s first and their presence is for that player.  But at least having the option to skip them for us old hats would be nice.  SwSh does that!  I was delighted to discover that the game allows you to bypass tutorials with a simple yes/no prompt when a new element is introduced.  How to catch Pokemon, type match-ups, how to heal at Pokemon Centers, and so forth - all the stuff previous games led us through by the nose has been made optional this time around.

I’ve seen some people saying that this game holds the player’s hand too much as it leads us from one gameplay element to the next and doesn’t let us progress at our own leisure.  To some degree this is true, but it’s far less egregious than in previous games, such as SuMo.  There’s yet to be a good balance between giving the player free reign and giving them enough guidance to ensure we never feel lost, but this has been an inoffensive example as far as I’m concerned.  The game does end up feeling rather railroaded, but I don’t necessarily consider that a fault of hand-holding. I’ll get to this matter later on.

Pro - The Style Galar is a very pretty region and the game makes good use of the Switch’s higher capacity to produce excellent backdrops for the player to explore.  Many of the Pokemon have charming animations (Falinks is my favorite on this respect).  The towns are all really well-designed in terms of visuals, especially compared to the bare-bones looks of older generations.  I feel like there could have been more, but what we got is still great.

Pro - Implications in Lore Those of you who know me know how much I love lore and world building.  Pokemon, as a franchise, is ripe with opportunity to examine its lore to the most tiny and obscure detail, so any new addition to the franchise is welcome on that front.  Galar has some pretty fascinating nuggets to contribute.

I love that the League in Galar, as well as competitive Pokemon Training in general, is treated like a career sport.  In specific, I love that this view and practice is exclusive to Galar - I wouldn’t like it at all if the entire franchise shifted to this angle, but it works great for a one-off region.  I like that Kabu specifically relocated himself from Hoenn to join the sports league as it doesn’t exist in his home region.  The Champion being a sort of major celebrity/superhero, the way Gym Leaders can recruit proteges or even inheritors of their rank from among contenders, the sort of clique all the Gym Leaders have with one another - it’s a really neat dynamic.  I also like the notion that actually completing the Gym Challenge isn’t something common and most Trainers who try rarely make it even halfway through.  That’s an interesting contrast to other regions where collecting Gym Badges seems almost as a given and the League itself is considered the real challenge, or where the whole endeavor is designed to be finished as a matter of course, like in Alola.

There’s also some really neat additions to the overall lore brought in from the Pokemon Masters mobile game.  While its place in canon is questionable, it does specifically mention Galar in a few places.  The idea that Pokemon who do not appear in the current Dex are banned from Galar by customs (perhaps identified as potentially dangerous/invasive species) is an interesting one.  So is the claim that Iris - the Champion of Unova in BW2 - is a cousin of Leon and Hop.  I love it when there are connections amid titles like that as it really helps build a more unified setting.

-Edit-: Darn, apparently those screenshots were fakes.  Strike that positive from the list, I suppose.

Mixed Pro/Con - The Availability of Pokemon and the Wild Area I’m not talking about Dexit - I have my own thoughts on that explained elsewhere and frankly don’t think it’s going to end up as bad as everyone is fretting over in the long run.  No, in this particular case I’m focused on the availability of Pokemon that are in the game itself.

To put it simply... it’s too easy.  I know that filling out the PokeDex isn’t supposed to be a huge challenge, but I’ve gotten the majority of it done - evolved forms, item-reliant forms, gender/size/color variations included - with pretty much no effort whatsoever.  I like the idea of the Wild Area in principle but what it ends up being in practice is lacking.  It’s too easy to just hoover up Pokemon at a breakneck pace, which leads to other zones and the Wild Area itself becoming pretty much immediately obsolete.  I have no need to return to them once I’ve gotten everything I need and there’s not enough general content to urge me to visit again.

The Wild Area itself is a big open sandbox that you can roam around in, which is nice compared to more linear zones in past games.  Galar has its railroad routes, but they’re brief (aside from the obligatory overlong water route, which even then is still quite a lot smaller than other regions’ have been).  However, it’s just that - a big open sandbox.  You can wander through it very easily and even traipse into the “high level” zones without fear because you can see all the Pokemon coming and give them a wide berth to avoid them.  There aren’t any obstacles or challenges within the Wild Area itself, and the game makes it supremely easy to find Pokemon even under specific weather/time conditions, which I feel is a missed opportunity.  I would have rather the Wild Area been MUCH bigger and more involved, full of places to explore and puzzles to solve.  Similarly, I would rather that Pokemon were more difficult to come by as well - that a greater deal of effort would have been put toward tracking and discovering certain harder-to-find Pokemon, with more in-game detective work to find your prize.

Mixed Pro/Con - The Characters The ensemble cast of new Gym Leaders are great - I enjoy the majority of them and frankly want more interactions, more encounters, just more in general.  That’s sort of the problem though - I want more.  The game itself criminally under-utilizes these characters, especially compared to how much more involved and explored Gym Leaders have been in recent games.  There is precious little content using the Gym Leaders here in Galar as it stands and I constantly found myself wanting them to hang out longer and have the chance to learn more about them.  Their League Cards are a neat little addition full of interesting tidbits about their histories, natures, and relationships with each other, but I would MUCH rather have gotten to see all that play out in the game itself rather than read it as a flavor blurb.

On the con side of this, however, is the fact that all of the characters are extremely one-dimensional.  We’ve been seeing a steady increase in the depth and development of supporting characters in the games since BW onward, with SuMo arguably having the most to date.  The overall characterization in SwSh is incredibly lacking by comparison as we don’t get nearly enough time to be with the cast, nor is the cast given the chance to present more than one note per.  Nobody has any sort of emotional growth or development.  The closest thing to a character arc in the game is Hop’s acceptance of the idea that he’s not going to be the Champion, but it doesn’t have anywhere near as much punch as it could and is over in the blink of an eye compared to how he spends THE ENTIRE GAME repeating the same “I’m gonna be the Champion/Hokage/Pirate King!” spiel every time he’s on screen.

Con - Dynamaxing and Max Raid Battles I’m not really on board with the whole “Mega-Evolution is best! No more gimmicks!” train because that’s just silly to me.  Every game has its gimmick and the way Pokemon gradually picks up tricks and traits from its past versions to consolidate into newer titles is one of its strengths.  That said, Dynamaxing is worthless and a pointless addition to the game, both in presentation and practice.

The visual of a Pokemon going kaiju is a neat concept and one I was initially intrigued by, but in practice it falls flat because it’s as thin as cardboard.  It’s just Mega-Evolution and Z-Moves smooshed together with an additional 3 round time limit tacked on.  All it functionally does is buff your Pokemon’s HP pool and add additional weather/status effects to certain attacks, but in some cases the Dynamax versions of attacks are actually weaker/less useful than their base form.  In Gym Battles all the way through the final League fight with Leon, I didn’t bother with Dynamaxing because my Pokemon were strong enough to not need it.  I could one-shot Dynamaxed Pokemon with ease using a non-Dynamaxed Pokemon and that really shows a flaw in the design if ever there was one.  Dynamaxing doesn’t add or improve anything vital to gameplay - it’s just fluff.

Max Raid Battles as found in the Wild Area are even worse.  For those of you who don’t know, these are instanced battles against a Dynamaxed/Gigantamaxed wild Pokemon where you team up with three other players/NPCs.  If you win, you get a bunch of useful items and have the chance to catch the wild Pokemon as well, which is the only way you can get certain Gigantamax-capable Pokemon reliably.

The issue with these Max Raid Battles is that they’re an absolute slog.  In the early stages of the game they’re all super easy to the point that I could solo them and thus gathered mountains of EXP-boosting candies, which let me overlevel my Pokemon beyond reason.  Since the whole “your Pokemon is too high level and won’t listen to you” thing apparently doesn’t apply to Starters and special Event Pokemon, I was able to max-level and run rampant across all opposition with my Starter and my special “thanks for buying early” Meowth.  HOWEVER.  The difficulty scale of the Max Raid Battles increases with your game progress, so by the time I finished the game and went back into the Wild Area, the Max Raid Battles’ difficulty had ramped up.  That’s an okay compromise on its face, but the manner in which the difficulty has increased is poor game design.  The battles aren’t any harder, they just take longer - the wild Pokemon has more HP,  tosses up a few rounds of shields to soak damage at the start and again halfway through the fight, and purges stat boosts from the player and party throughout the battle.  It just makes the fights a pain in the ass to get through rather than making them more challenging or fun, and it’s gotten to the point that I don’t even bother with them anymore.  They’re just not worth the trouble, not even for the sake of trying to farm EXP candies because, at this point in the game, all Pokemon in the Wild Area scale up to level 60+ and thus are perfectly serviceable as EXP farming fodder themselves.

On a lore side of things, Dynamaxing is really confusing.  There’s the whole visual aspect of the Pokemon growing to giant sizes and sometimes changing their appearances, and there’s these massive arenas built to facilitate the whole thing.  But the game itself goes out of its way to impress the fact that the Pokemon aren’t actually getting bigger.  They just appear to grow in size and haven’t actually physically changed themselves so Dynamaxing is more like a giant hard light holographic projection than anything else?  It’s just a really weird design choice to have made and I don’t understand why it was included.

Con - The Writing So, writing is very important to me.  It’s literally been my job for the past decade with various game studios.  I don’t consider myself any sort of literary snob as I feel there’s a place for schlock right alongside masterpieces - they all serve a specific purpose and fulfill a particular hunger the reader would like satisfied.

That said, SwSh’s writing is abysmal.

Right on the face, there’s not enough of it.  The game is criminally short and light on content, which directly impacts its pacing.  Remember earlier when I mentioned that things felt railroaded?  That’s because there’s not enough story to rest on - it all flies by as fast as can be, forcing the player along a very narrow and brief chain of events that don’t feel consequential at all.  Further, the player has no agency in events whatsoever.  It’s not the player’s story - it’s Hop’s story.  We’re the supporting role to his journey, shallow as that arc may be.  Hop is the one who initiates the events of the game without our input as a character and then we spend the entire game following him around, or being pushed into the next event by other characters who are facilitating Hop.  At no point is the player ever given the chance to express their own characterization, motivation, or even opinions.  Nearly every two-choice dialogue option that appears boils down to “Yes” or “Slightly More/Less Enthusiastic Yes”, which is a huge downgrade from the genuine negative responses and NPC reactions that were present in SuMo.

In terms of overall plot, SwSh has pretty much the same level of depth and complexity as the original Red/Blue titles, and that is as scathing a criticism in this modern age as I can possibly imagine.  The whole story is “run in a circle, collect badges, fight vaguely present villainous threat, fight league.”  We are actively forced from one gym fight to the next with no time to breathe, no story-focused events in between, and not even any chance to appreciate the gym, its leader, or even the towns they take place in.  It’s one and done - once you’ve got the badge there’s no reason to hang around and the story shuffles us along quickly as can be.  I mean that literally in some cases - there are hints of a greater plot at hand with Sonia investigating the history of Galar’s legends and the potential machinations of mega-corporate mogul Chairman Rose.  But each time those are broached in game play, the game pushes the player off-screen and says “Well, that’s not something you need to worry about.  Go get another badge!”  I mean, LITERALLY!  There’s a point where The Plot begins to kick in where Pokemon begin to spontaneously Dynamax and cause havoc, which is the narrative queue for the player to become involved and for the story to reveal a new facet.  But when that happens, Leon LITERALLY says “leave this to the adults, you just focus on your Gym Challenge” and runs off-screen to handle it himself.  It would be a good narrative subversion if it led up to things eventually getting out of hand and the player getting roped into things, or the player having the ability to defy such warnings and interject themselves into danger.  But that doesn’t happen - the game just forces us to focus on the Gym Challenge alone and keeps all the actual plot of the game off-screen away from us.  This is very poor narrative design and game design alike, and it all comes to nothing because we’re forced to clean up everything in the end anyway by battling the villain and legendaries as per usual.

Though I should also point out that there’s no villain in this game.

But what about Team Yell and Chairman Rose, I hear you ask?  They’re not villains, both literally and figuratively respectively.  Team Yell never really does anything other than act as brief gate locking elements throughout the game until you finish the Gym you’re at, then they bounce off to the next part of the route they’re set to block.  They don’t do anything bad and, as it’s later revealed, they’re actually just a bunch of Spikemuth Gym staffers who are posing as hooligans to support Marnie.  They’re literally not villains and, once you beat the Spikemuth Gym, they actually become supporting characters who cheer for the player character and help out against the actual supposed villain of the game.

The actual “villain” of the game is Chairman Rose and his assistant Oleana.  However, they’re only villains because the script says they are.  They don’t actually do anything bad throughout the entire game nor is there any indication that they have some sort of grand master plan.  The most we get is some unusual happenings like small quakes and explosions in the distance, but the game never allows us any chance to investigate - we’re just shoved off toward the next Gym each time.  So when Chairman Rose is finally revealed to be the Big Bad, it comes completely out of left field and seems to happen for no reason whatsoever.  Further, IT IS FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.  Chairman Rose’s plan and goal is never explained in depth - all we get is the vague indication that he believes that Galar isn’t sustainable and there will be an inevitable energy crisis in about 1,000 years, and somehow his EVIL SCHEME will fix it.  But, like, even Leon flat-out says “I understand your concern but you’re being hasty, this doesn’t need to be rushed, chill out for five seconds and let’s figure this out reasonably”.  Instead Rose interrupts the Champion match and announces his EVIL SCHEME on global broadcast for literally no good reason.  There was no dire immediacy that required him to do it right then and there, or in that manner, but the plot needed to move us along so that’s how it goes.

It really doesn’t help that, prior to all this, there’s absolutely no indication at all that Rose nor Oleana are bad guys.  They’re just business folk who appear to have nothing but good intentions and support for Leon, with the other adults of the cast all happily trusting them.  There is nothing to make them seem suspicious in practice and they offer no reason to doubt them at all, so them suddenly being the bad guys is just confusing.  Further, how the player is first introduced to the concept of them being antagonists is easily the most ridiculous logic jump and overreaction I’ve seen since the old Adam West Batman television show.  So get this: after a battle, Leon says he’ll meet Player and Hop for dinner to celebrate.  Player and Hop wait for Leon, but he never shows up.  Another NPC explains that Leon was called in for a last-minute meeting by Chairman Rose (who is his boss and has made such requests of Leon’s time throughout the game, as I feel is important to point out) and apologizes for having to miss the dinner plans.  Simple enough sort of situation, right?  The sort of thing that any reasonable person would shrug and say “Well, that sucks but okay, let’s go eat on our own then” to, right?  So what happens here instead?

The Player, Hop, Marnie, and her Gym Leader brother GATHER A SMALL MOB AND STORM CHAIRMAN ROSE’S BUSINESS HQ, FIGHTING THEIR WAY THROUGH SECURITY.

I mean, escalation much?  We all have smartphones - just send Leon a text, for goodness’ sake.  I’m playing through these events constantly going “why the hell are we doing this and why is everyone acting like it’s some sort of dire emergency?”.  And do you know what happens when we finally kick down the doors to Chairman Rose’s office?  We find Chairman Rose and Leon quietly having a peaceful chat, after which Leon apologizes for having to cancel the dinner plans and we all walk out together like nothing happened.  It was just this huge, needless overreaction that has no consequence and that neither Rose nor Leon even bat an eye at.  We, as the players, learn absolutely nothing of importance and are back on the Gym Challenge immediately with no functional changes to the narrative.

Like... what was the point of that?!  How was that the best option to try and put Chairman Rose and his underlings into the role of antagonists for us to oppose?

So what is Chairman Rose’s EVIL SCHEME anyway?  Basically he wants to provide Galar with renewable clean energy which... uh... is bad?  Somehow?  Apparently he plans to use a Legendary Pokemon called Eternatus - apparently the source of Dynamaxing - which is literally never mentioned at any point in the game except precisely when it’s time to fight/capture it, nor does fighting/capturing it have any impact on the story or setting.  You would think that the player being in control of a massive Eldritch horror that has UNLIMITED POWER at its disposal would be something of a sticking point somewhere in the story, but no.  Eternatus and Rose’s plan are never mentioned until precisely the time you need to deal with them, and once that’s done they’re both never mentioned again.  Done and done all in one.  No gradual seeding of information, no hints and clues throughout the game, no development of lore - just wham, bam, thank you ma’am and off we go.

Y’know, call me silly but in a game that has undertones referencing climate change, extinction of animal species, and criticisms against capitalism run amok, is it really a good idea to depict the guy advocating for clean energy to be bad?  That feels like a missed mark to me.

The post-game plot, should one bother to call it that, is just inane.  It basically boils down to a pair of one-shot baddies who show up and say “Ha ha! We’re rich and that means we’re better than everyone! Watch as we cause trouble for vague reasons, get hoist by our own petard, and then fuck off forever! Byeeeee~!”  The post-game is completely pointless and doesn’t add anything of value at all.  Which, again, compare to older games like ORAS’ post-game expansion content and it’s nothing but a damn shame.

SwSh’s writing is shallow and limited at best, with one-dimensional characters, no genuine conflict or resolution, terrible pacing, and repetitive elements that boomerang around over and over and over again to the point of annoyance.  Compared to what we’ve seen Pokemon achieve in earlier titles like BW, ORAS, and SuMo, it makes it all the more obvious that SwSh was not given ANYWHERE near the time and love it needed in development and is a massive downgrade in that respect.

Con - Lots of Style, No Substance To wrap all this up - I enjoyed playing SwSh as much as I did any other early Pokemon game.  I think that, as a first installment on a new system, it’s fine.  That’s all - it’s just fine.  It’s serviceable as a means of establishing the franchise onto the Switch and completing its move off purely-mobile mediums like the Gameboy and 3DS.  It’s pretty to look at and has a superficial level of engagement, but its prettiness and level of content very quickly reveal themselves to be only skin deep.  Once you get past the initial gloss there’s really nothing to this game compared to the content, involvement, and writing quality displayed in past titles on lesser-powered systems.  The towns are all pretty but there’s nothing to do in any of them aside from a Gym battle - there’s no additional fun to be had in each location, making them little more than set pieces.  The characters have initial appeal and potential for more, but the game never explores them at all.  There’s room for a bigger narrative and interesting story with the elements presented, but no opportunity to actually see them fleshed out.  The Wild Area seems big and involved at first, but as soon as you’ve gone around its loop once or twice you suddenly realize how small and compartmentalized it really is, and it lacks any reason to revisit in the end game.  The major game play function - Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing - is little more than a novelty that is basically irrelevant to gameplay itself and, in an absolutely baffling decision by the folk behind the official competitive scene, is actually somehow banned from being used in competitions?  Like, not even “we’ve disabled the Dynamax button in online” but rather “if the competitive Pokemon you’ve spent so much time perfectly constructing has a Gigantamax form, it will not even be allowed access at all, so you better have an identical non-Gigantamax version on hand if you want to play”.  So, what exactly is the point of even having Gigantamax Pokemon then?

Everything about SwSh seems half-baked.  The ideas are there but they aren’t finished.  It should have been given much more development time and, having been in the position of the creative/dev team under demands from the shareholders, I completely sympathize with Game Freak’s devs in all this.  SwSh is ultimately a weak product but one with a lot of good ideas that weren’t given the chance to really shine.  As such, I’ve got rather high hopes for the next installment to improve on the unfortunately thin foundation SwSh has set.  Game Freak’s team has given us some amazing Pokemon games in the past and, assuming they’re given sufficient time and resources to make a title to their satisfaction, I have every confidence they’ll do so again.

[retphienix]

FF12~

I dread my current inability to capture gameplay as I once could all because I’m lacking basic computer parts right now -.-

ANYWAY.

Started playing FF12 and here’s some stuff!

I’M LOVIN’ IT!

I know I’m in a minority, but I’ve gone on at length in the past about my love for the passive combat of DWM and DWM2, I’ve even started and (sadly) subsequently decided not to post extensive analysis of the combat system and how it emphasizes planning and build comprehension over traditional reactionary gameplay in RPGs.

Short of it? DWM combat is preplanning, building your team, building your spellbook properly, and setting each member up for success visa vie personality and “PLAN” orders (charge/cautious, etc).

You set yourself up for success and test your theory time and again until you find an encounter that counters that plan, then you adjust on the fly to counter THAT.

I know I’ve heard complaints on combat in that vein in the past, plenty of times even; Namely that it’s too passive or “Plays itself” and honestly, kinda, yeah? Yeah, it kinda does. But I find it so intriguing and entertaining to partake in.

ANYWAY. FF12 is that.

You can play it like a traditional RPG sure, but with Gambits existing (preplanning pretty much, or programming their actions) it really feels like an extension of that gameplay idea and I am living for it since so few games have any interest in doing that anymore.

Heck FF7 remake goes out of its way to play in a manner that would benefit heavily from gambits, but ignores them completely on some (my opinion) misguided design decision that forces needless micromanaging in a game that DESPERATELY wants to be fast paced and action-y.

So where FF7 remake arguably fails, FF12 succeeds, in my opinion. But clearly they have their strengths and weaknesses. FF7 is MUCH faster and more action oriented, and FF12 might just give TOO much power to gambits- though it is an opt in system so I suppose that’s not TOO bad, could just not gambit your main guy and tada! You’re playing what FF7 remake could have been lol (Being harsh).

But yeah, combat is fun for my tastes! Story has me hooked enough for a final fantasy plot! I love how, just like you’d expect from Ivalice, it immediately starts with backstabbing and political unrest! I genuinely love that- though I suspect this game will focus more on backstabbing for the war effort than say, FFT’s amazing rich elitist and corrupt religious systems plot which I adore, which I wish would be here but I doubt it.

ALSO THIS GAME HONEST TO GOD FIXES (well, rewrites, reinterprets?) SOME OF THE DUMBEST PARTS OF FFTA IN A MANNER I LIKE!!!

Namely, so far at least, Judges. Instead of being an arbitrary and extremely stupid and out of place game mechanic given physical form they are a sort of elite templar group, I dig! Also Clans are back! But unfortunately it doesn’t appear I get to run my own like in FFTA which would have been nice in a game that doesn’t suck eggs, instead the clans are a sort of overarching hunting/bounty system you partake in BUT said hunting is fun where you accept quests that spawn mini-bosses/bosses around the world to hunt. I really like that too.

Cutting away from the game itself and instead offering a touch of praise to the version I’ve decided to play- I’m playing the FF12 remaster and I just wanted to praise the inclusion of a turbo function. Yeah, I really like fast forward added to games with grind- I MIGHT (haven’t thought too hard on it) appreciate that more than adjusting in-game values to accommodate new school grind etiquette. Again, I haven’t thought on it too long, but I THINK I like having the option to go 4x speed to grind over the option to have every enemy in the game drop 4x xp/loot/AP/whatever.

Something about being able to kill the same amount of enemies I would have in the old version, but faster, is (currently) more preferable to my mindset than killing 4x less enemies than the original but getting extremely bloated rewards for doing it.

But yeah. Playing FF12 right now, genuinely having a blast. This is hitting so many notes I’ve been craving lately and I started it on a whim! I was just thinking “Well, FF7 is done, the trainwreck of an ending and all, and I TRIED FF15 but it honestly wasn’t doing it for me. Let’s try 12? I love Ivalice and any excuse to say a game isn’t as good as FFT, that’ll be fun.” and I ended up playing a game that catches my fancy :)

[douxreviews]

Legends of Tomorrow - ‘Egg MacGuffin’ Review

"I’m sorry that our first date got ruined by Nazis."

The Legends of Tomorrow episode title game is really on point this year.

Forgive me in advance if this is overexplaining, but I'm not entirely sure how well known the terms are and it's going to become relevant in a minute. If you already know the terminology better than I do, and I'm sure many of you do, I beg your indulgence.

A 'MacGuffin' is the term for a plot device that exists solely to provide motivation to the characters in a story. The example that's most often cited at this point is the titular Maltese falcon statue in The Maltese Falcon. This is a subtly different thing than 'phlebotinum,' which we discussed a few episodes back. Generally speaking, phlebotinum is a made up thing that facilitates the character's journey, for example, polyjuice potion. A MacGuffin is a made up thing that motivates the character to make the journey, for example the sorcerer's stone. Or philosopher's stone if you live in a country where the publisher wasn't afraid of accidentally teaching children the word 'philosopher.'

The real takeaway is that Legends of Tomorrow has now given me an excuse to explain both of those terms, and regularly allows me pretentiously discuss semiotics, and is therefore the best thing ever broadcast. But I digress.

The genius of this week's episode title is that the golden egg that Nate and Zari are looking for at the Adventurers Club is unequivocally a MacGuffin with no significance of its own beyond that (at least this week).  In fact, part of the plot of that storyline explicitly involves Nate and Zari questioning exactly that point, and they come to the conclusion that it is a MacGuffin that Sara planted just to give them an exciting first date. Which is clever because it isn't a MacGuffin within the story we're watching, but it absolutely is a MacGuffin from the outside perspective, and you know it might actually be possible to be too clever about these things. Whatever your personal tolerance for post-modern narrative gameplaying, I really enjoyed it.

Now, in the past I've complained a bit here and there about the fact that the Legends' reduced number of episodes in a season often makes them condense what could be two or three episodes worth of plot into one. I'm not sure if I've just gotten used to it or if they're getting better at it, but I've really begun to enjoy the fast, breezy clip at which these episodes move. Nate and Zari are really just doing an extended Raiders of the Lost Ark homage, and a nice zippy pace is essential for that kind of romantic adventure fiction. The Ark of the Covenant itself, while we're speaking, is another classic example of a MacGuffin. I'm certain that was not coincidental.

In any case, I think I'm pretty well sold on the Zari and Nate romance, and I think it's down to one particular moment in this episode. When they realize that Sara has set them up on a romantic mission, Zari offers to call it a night and return to the ship, and Nate says, 'Or we could see where this mission takes us.' What he's clearly really saying is, 'Hey, I'm open to exploring whatever this is going on between us if you are, but there's no pressure.' I don't seem to go a week without mentioning how refreshingly adult the characters on this show are.

In fact, part of why the aforementioned fast and breezy pace felt so appropriate this week all around is because the show has romance stories on its mind. We have Sara and Ava, thankfully post-argument, making an effort for one another in the little ways. We have Mick and Charlie at Romanticon, attempting to cash in on Mick's authorial alter ego, Rebecca Silver, without actually having to reveal himself to his fans. Which is so completely on brand for both of them that I loved every second of it. God bless Mick, both for actually caring about his fans and for being willing to admit the fact when pressed.

Then finally we have my current relationship on the show, Ray and Nate. I realize I went on a bit about this last week, but I just can't say enough about how great their friendship is. Thank you, whoever on the writing team made the decision that Ray would give up his soul to Neron in order to save Nate's life, as opposed to Nora's. Neron said he would make Ray kill someone he loved in order to break him, and the show went with Nate as that person. Is it possible to platonically 'ship a couple? Because I am totally team Palmwood.

That was an unfortunate first attempt at a couple name. Please leave alternate suggestions in the comments.

Which leads me to the painful part. There were a number of little clues as to what was coming for Gary, but I really only noticed them in hindsight. When Sara is discussing who the murderer could be in book club, she mentions that it must be the dogwalker because of his pent up frustration and being treated like a doormat. The shot transitions from her to the next scene halfway through the line, which means we're hearing her but looking at Gary. The subplot about Vincent the Adventurer's assistant is basically a mirror of Gary's position. And Gary is clearly crying in the bathroom – a thing that he had just told us he often did – when Ray calls him and he drops everything to go help.

Gary Green, on paper, should not work as a character. He should come across as a caricatured doofus, occasionally good for a comic relief moment. But Adam Tsekhman invests him with something undefinable and real, and he just fundamentally works as a tragic figure despite all the reasons that he shouldn't.

Also, whoever planned out that Gary's nipple returning from Hell would be the final temptation that makes him give in to Neron is a mad genius and should be our leader now.

Everybody remember where we parked:

The Waverider did some proper time travel for the first time in what feels like ages and took most of the team to the Adventurers Club, 1933, in order to retrieve that golden egg. Mick and Charlie, meanwhile, take the jump ship to Romanticon, 2019. Gary uses his time courier to flit between 2019 and the Waverider, and Neron and minion-Gary appear to lift Damien Darhk's old time travel stone from Constantine and use it to leave for destinations unknown.

Remember when time travel seemed like an exclusive and exotic thing?

Quotes:

Sara: "Honestly, with Neron gone, catching fugitives has never been easier. I thought it was gonna take all week."

Zari: "It was that awkward, huh?" Sara: "Even the mummy thought it was awkward."

Nate: "Excuse me, my good man, could you point me to the nearest facilities? I have an urgent need to… uh... relieve my bowel."

Nate: "Wait. Trip wires. This is going to require one of us to squeeze through these trip wires, maneuvering our bodies in unexpected ways." Zari: "Are you asking me to do that?" Nate: "No, I’m asking you to hold my coat."

Ava: "Honestly, I usually just drink rose and let Mona go on and on."

Gary: "I may not be a master of the dark arts, but I am an intern of the dark arts."

Ava: "Were you guys about to hook up?" Zari: "No. no, no, no, no." Nate: "It was definitely on the table."

Bits and Pieces:

-- This show just doesn't do misunderstandings for dramatic effect. Nora immediately told John that Ray was possessed as soon as she woke up. Neron repeatedly goes out of his way to clarify that he's the one doing evil things, not Ray, even when it would really be in Neron's best interest to let the Legends think otherwise, thus driving them apart. That might be the thing I appreciate most about the writing.

-- It seemed odd at first that Mona didn't already know about Mick being Rebecca Silver, but on reflection it makes sense.

-- Loved the Garima cosplay at Romanticon.

-- How many books has Mick had time to write by this point? I mean, I suppose time travel would help with that, but I lost track of how many different titles they mentioned. I particularly liked Raw Hides.

-- Mick's final speech to the con about how all anybody really wants is to feel a connection was a lovely piece of writing, well performed. And a hell of a good underscoring to what was happening to Gary at that moment.

-- I get why they didn't do it, but it would have been smarter for Charlie to have shape shifted into a neutral third party to portray Rebecca. That said, I adored the Rita Skeeter vibe she had going on with her outfit.

-- Outside of the Rita Skeeter vibe, we also had phoenix feathers and a dragon egg. I'm sure there were a few other Harry Potter nods that I missed beside those. Anyone?

-- And speaking of the egg, it's a neat bit of long term plotting that what was just a MacGuffin this week is clearly set up at the end to be relevant to a different plotline later.

-- It's entirely in character for John Constantine to be rude and speak to Gary like that in a moment of stress, but the whole sequence of events felt sadder to me when I thought about the considerate way that he sheltered Gary's feelings last week.

-- I've noticed that they've gotten into the habit lately of consistently leaving someone on the Waverider to 'Quarterback' the mission. That's not only hugely useful for splitting up the characters and facilitating different schedules, it's also a really sound battle tactic.

-- Note added after the writing of this review.  Apparently 'Egg MacGuffin' is the official name of this sort of thing as cited on tvtropes, and not an original pun coined by the writers here.  Ah, well.  Still a clever title for how it was used here.

I loved this episode from beginning to end.  How can we only have three more left?

Three and a half out of four, and the only reason it's not higher is I suspect I'm going to need a higher number to go to in the next few episodes.

Feel free to mention your favorite MacGuffin in the comments.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

[kyouxa]

Diabolik lovers Chaos Lineage: Shu Sakamaki (Story 13)

In terms of the gameplay: The black choices lead up to a bad ending, the white choices lead up to a good ending. Please no reposting onto other sites, ask me before translating this into another language too!

Monologue

A true state of emergency has come over us. Both families, Violet and Orange, aimed for us at the same time.

However, the battle between us has temporarily stopped because of Violet and Orange’s members suddenly being put to sleep by Shu-san’s unexpected entry.

Although Ayato-kun and everyone else still don’t have their memories back, once they wake up they might try to attack us again.

Luckily Shu-san tied them all up, and then continued to roll them down to leave them in the living room for the time being.

Place: Scarlet mansion — Living room

Ayato: …..

Yui: (Ayato-kun, even in his current state he’s able to sleep soundly…)

Reiji: Even if they would be to wake up, they would not be able to cause trouble.

Yui: T-That‘s right.

(Even though they came here for a household search, it was quite easy to tie them up and make them unable to do anything once waking up again…)

By the way, what about Yuma-kun?

Shu: I carried him to my room. He’s probably still comfortably sleeping in my bed as we speak.

The others might just end up being confused with him being here anyway. With this, there’s no need to wake him up yet.

Yui: ...But to be honest, I’m confused myself. Reiji-san seemed as if he knew Shu-san would come back at some sort of point.

To me, it came out like the both of you were having some sort of advanced meeting to set a timing for him to come back...

Shu: It was hard to stay silent about that. But as you already said, everything that happened has been arranged beforehand.

Yui: It was arranged?

Shu: Do you remember it? It was when Ruki attacked us and tried capturing you, the day I remembered everything.

That was also when I decided to get help by taking the opportunity to talk to Reiji.

Yui: Just the two of you? ...Ah.

So that’s why Reiji-san preached me not to stay in your room,  you didn’t want me to be able to listen to your plan—

That’s the only time I was taken out of your room, right?

Shu: Yes. On that day we—

*flashback starts*

Reiji: Well then? What is it that you wanted to talk alone about? Has your mind finally decided to be at least a little obedient now?

Shu: I want to ask you something before answering that. Do you somehow remember the name “Sakamaki”?

Reiji: Pardon? I have never heard of this before.

Shu: So it’s as I thought...

Monologue

I wanted to get back Reiji’s memories, which is why I tried revealing the truth to him.

The Sakamaki mansion. Ayato, Kanato, Laito and Subaru being our younger brothers and all about that.

However, Reiji didn’t even bother trying to listen properly to me once I started talking about it.

Place: Scarlet mansion — Shu‘s bedroom

Reiji: I was already wondering what you wanted to talk about, but for you to tell me such a joke instead...

Shu: This is not a lie or whatever. It’s the truth that you’re my younger brother. You’re the second eldest son of the Sakamaki family.

Reiji: It is impossible for me to believe you talking about such a foolish thing. Good grief, how ridiculous.

Shu: (I already expected it to be complicated… but it seems as if she really had a hard time trying to get me to remember, as well as I do right now)

(I thought there may be a way to regain someone‘s memories without them experiencing an intense shock…)

(I really didn‘t want to use the truth against him… but I have no other choice)

Say, Reiji… do you remember someone named Edgar?

Reiji: ...Edgar… ?

Shu: This used to be a human’s name. I knew him from olden days, and you’ve met him as well.

*weird sound*

Reiji: Kch… Nn… why… my vision, ngh…

Shu: That guy was very close and dear to me. But one day, the village he lived in was burned down.

And he himself jumped into the flames—

Say, Reiji. You can‘t have forgotten about that, isn’t that right?

The one who burned down Edgars village… that was you.

Reiji: ….. !

Shu: You’ve been jealous of me, the eldest son of the Sakamaki family… and because of that jealousy, you’ve burned down Edgar’s innocent village.

Reiji: That is wrong! I am… the eldest son of this mansion… Nn.

Shu: Remember them… the sins you’ve committed.

You’ve gone made because of pure jealousy, and that’s why you burned him down, Reiji…!

Reiji: Kch… Ngh… Ahhh.

*weird sound*

Reiji: Haa… Haa...

Shu: And? Did you remember everything now?

Reiji: Yes… I have remembered… good grief… what a drastic measure of treatment...

Shu: ...I honestly couldn’t think of another way to phrase it.

I had no other choice, but in order to have you regain your memories, I needed to talk about this.

Reiji: It is fine with me… owing to your actions, all of my memories have successfully turned back.

Shu: I have no intention of continuing this absurd fighting we’re supposed to participate in anymore. But I’ll need you to help me with that, Reiji.

I need you to cooperate with me, in order to return everyone back to normal—

*flashback ends*

Yui: That means, Reiji-san’s memories returned back to him ever since that day happened!?

Reiji: Exactly. I must excuse myself from saying nothing about it until now.

Besides, I must have been a bother ever since I lost sight of myself in this space. To you… and to Shu.

Yui: Not at all… I’m just really happy Reiji-san finally returned back to normal. I’m really, really happy about this… !

Reiji: It appears as if you are not holding onto the difficulties, I must have cause with acting delighted. Despite that, I will inquire to make up for my actions.

Yui: You don’t need to repay us with anything. All of this happened to us because of someone confusing our memories, so you haven’t done anything wrong.

Reiji: ...I see. Well then, I truly am charmed by your kind words and will certainly do as you wish. I will do so for the sake of keeping focus on finding a resolution to this situation.

Yui: Ah… and here I believed the both of you really had a huge fight going on.

Shu: That was part of Reiji’s strategy. We did so to ascertain deeper into our investment.

The part of me leaving and the fight the both of us had, it was all included in our play.

Yui: I think I understand now...

I’ve never felt so relieved till now… I truly believed the relationship between you would always have its discrepancy.

Shu: It’s not as if we’re going to treat each other nicely because of that now.

Reiji: I at least can only agree on that relating point.

Yui: A-Ah...

(Nevertheless, they still decided to cooperate with each other to come to a conclusion)

(Thinking about that, it looks as if the entire Sakamaki family is completely gathered in this mansion now. Is that also because of Shu-san?)

Ayato: Nn… Hmm...

Yui: By the way, what kind of a bomb did you throw at Ayato-kun back then in the hallway?

You said something like if you start inhaling the pollen, you’ll be put into a sudden sleep...

Shu: I was told this is a simplicity bomb that contains a hypnotism effect. Reiji has made this one with materials from the provision.

Yui: (A-As it expected from Reiji-san…)

Shu: I received it from him right after pretending to leave the mansion. Just shortly afterwards I’ve been hiding myself nearby the mansion.

Yui: Thereupon you must’ve known Ayato-kun and the others were about to show up to attack the mansion...

Choices

1) I wanted you to tell me about it (black)

2) That was an amazing strategy (white) ♡ ♡ ♡

— I wanted you to tell me about it

Yui: I wanted you to tell me about your plan though. Did you know how awfully worried I was about you?

Shu: Sorry about that. But you wouldn‘t have stayed silent if I told you about it, would you? Just looking at your expressions would reveal it all.

Yui: Uhh… it might’ve been the right choice not to inform me about anything of the plan after all…

Shu: Thought so. Your selfish facial expressions are always the most unusual ones.

Yui: Please stop looking at me like that.

(If he continues to intriguingly stare at my face as he has done until now, I’ll seriously start to feel awkward…)

— That was an amazing strategy ♡

Yui: That was an amazing strategy. You must’ve put a lot of time and consultation in thinking about it.

Shu: This has been Reiji’s strategy too. His abilities have been the reason why I wanted to be able to pull him into my plan.

Yui: Seems as if you put a lot of trust into Reiji-san.

Shu: Don’t start joking around. There was no other way but to put at least some faith into him.

Yui: (I-I guess I’ll have to wait until he completely admits it)

(But I shouldn’t tell him yet. I still want him to continue believing in Reiji-san, at least a little)

*Shu comes closer*

Shu: After all, you’re the number one person I’d always put my trust into first… Nn…

*Shu kisses Yui*

Yui: Nn… !?

W-Why did you just kiss me!?

Shu: All you talked about was Reiji and more Reiji, so I shut you up.

Yui: Please don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by jealousy again… !

end Choices

Ayato: Nn...

Yui: Ah!

Reiji: It seems like you have finally woken up.

Ayato: Ah!? What’s this!?

Kanato: Why have my hands been tied together? I can’t move like this.

Subaru: Shit… untie me right now!

*Subaru struggles*

Yui: Everyone calm down, please! The circumstances we’re in right now...

Laito: Looks as if we’re done for now. Maybe this was a plan to catch all of us from the very beginning?

Ayato: Are you serious? Does that mean the letter we all got was strange after all?

Laito: Well, it might’ve been so.

Ayato: Fuck, then it must’ve been those assholes who sent the letter! What a cowardice move!

Reiji: No, we have not taking part in writing this letter.

Yui: Eh? But I genuinely thought you send it for the sake of getting Ayato-kun and everyone together too...

Shu: That’s not it. Having Ayato and everyone else come here to start a raid was as unexpected for us as it was for you.

I instead started to pretend leaving, in order to set a trap to discover what kind of a person the one planing this secession is.

Yui: W-What do you mean by that?

Shu: Didn’t I talk to you about it? The mastermind behind this entire messing up our memories situation must be lurking around somewhere in this place.

I already expected them to start moving once I disappeared. But I’ve now caught this certain someone out — it‘s that guy.

Yui: Eh… ?

*footsteps approach*

Kino: Ah, I thought you‘d show me an even more showy sort of fight. Is this already the end of this?

Yui: Kino-kun!? So you’ve been doing fine until now too—

Reiji: Do not approach this man.

Yui: Huh?

Shu: When you noticed how everything you came up with went conversely, you must’ve finally decided to come out.

You are the one who instigated these guys to come here, right? Kino.

Kino: Fufu, I can’t help hiding it anymore then. Well, I was slowly losing interest within this, so I kinda just wanted to get rid of unnecessary ballast.

But there was no way I would’ve thought this argument you had was all a simple fake. That’s an unexpected result for me too.

The fact that you’ve ruined my entire work… that’s what annoys me the most though. What’s your reason for that?

Yui: Kino-kun… what do you mean?

Kino: You’re seriously a child with bad judgment, huh. The one who sent the letter to Ayato and the others, that was me.

When Reiji and Shu had their little fight, I thought this would’ve been the ideal time to have them attack and let me get Eve.

Ayato: Damn, this bastard tricked us!

Kino: Fufu, I even was ridiculously successful with that plan too.

Every last one of you must seriously have a low intelligence to fall for that crap.

Subaru: Shut up! I’ll beat that disgusting smile outta your face when I’m free!

Yui: Why did you do all of this… ?

Kino: I obviously did this to have the Sakamaki family crush each other once they’d meet each other.

Yui: Crush the Sakamaki family… ? No way, Kino-kun, you...

Are you the mastermind then? Did you gather all of us in a place like this, removed our memories and then set each other up to kill?

Kino: If so, what would you do?

Yui: ...Nn!

Shu: Just what kind of a person are you?

Kino: Ah, come to think of it, I’ve never properly introduced myself to any of you.

As formerly said, I’m Kino. Karlheinz’ illegitimate child.

Yui: Karlheinz-sama’s...

Shu: ...Illegitimate child?

Ayato: Karl… heinz… ?

Ngh… what’s this…

Yui: (Ayato-kun?)

Reiji: No way, our father would never have an illegitimate child...

Shu: It’s not impossible if you remember that the person we’re talking about here is our father.

In other words, you’re saying you and we are siblings, right?

Kino: That’s right. I’ve already observed a bunch of information of you guys, before everyone started losing their memories.

Yes, I’m even willing to share interesting informations with you. Remember how we talked about Carla supposingly visiting Ruki’s mansion?

That was because he secretly wanted to see his true younger brother again. He doesn’t even seem to remember yet, but he still considered it important.

Now comparing those two to you guys. It’s already shameful how you snarled at each other. Pretty funny how my own brothers acted like this.

Reiji: Kch...

Yui: Why… Why are you laughing about this? Aren’t they your brothers, Kino-kun?

And despite being brothers, you still let them fight against each other… why would you enjoy such a thing!?

Kino: I’ve always enjoyed it so far. These guys existences are only a huge hindrance for me and my plan anyway.

Yui: ….. !

Kino: The one inheriting our fathers power at the end of this will be his zeroth son, me.

Therefore, would those hindrancing siblings of mine continue to comfortably kill each now?

Yui: That’s… so cruel…

Kino: The one obtaining the power reignings everything. The one obtaining them will become stronger than anyone else. That‘s the life this world is about.

Shu: You did all this to aim for our old man’s powers? And you even ordered us to fight against each other now, only to be the successor to his power...

Even if you may be able to obtain what you wish for, you’ll never experience satisfaction. Besides, there’s no way you’ll be able to handle them.

Kino: Hah? As if you’re in the position to discern my body’s strength. Who do you even think you’re facing and talking to right now?

Shu: This is simply a fact. You’ve withdrawn yourself from everything until now. And now in order to obtain those powers, you even wrote this letter.

Kino: So you’re still looking down on me? For real… everyone of you has always screwed with me...

*Kino activates powers*

Yui: (Ngh, the atmosphere around Kino-kun changed itself!?)

Kino: I thought it would be nice to see my siblings come together and massacre each other, but my plans changed.

Shall we decide who will become the king now?

Shu: What do you mean?

Kino: Becoming the king, or in other words, becoming Adam. With Eve’s approval, the chosen one obtains great powers.

I for now and forever, want to settle who the appropriate one among us is.

Yui: The supreme ruler… will become Adam? Eve should approve him...

(That means, this battle about becoming the king is nothing other than choosing who’ll become Adam…)

(Then the chosen one becomes Karlheinz-sama’s successor and inherits all his powers… !?)

Shu: I wasn’t interested in my old man’s powers to begin with. To make it clear, I don’t care about them.

But… Yui is different. I won’t lend her to anyone.

Yui: Shu-san...

Shu: We’ll take on that match you challenged us to then. With doing so, we’ll represent the six siblings of us.

Reiji, I’ll leave this matter in your hands.

Reiji: Understood.

Shu: About Ayato and the others, I’ll keep them tied up in order to prevent them from interrupting.

Subaru: Hah? If so, get your ass up and do something!

Kanato: How dare you to continue your incomprehensible talk while totally ignoring me like an idiot… are you making fun of me or what!?

Reiji: Be quiet!

Subaru: ….. !

Yui: (Reiji-san’s loud rebuke seems effective!)

Reiji: ...Please leave them to me. You will have to deal with him.

Shu: Yes, please do.

Yui: Shu-san...

Shu: You have to trust me once more, just like you’ve always done so far.

Yui: (To believe in him… that’s right. I won’t hesitate to keep doing so)

Understood. I’ll continue to believe in you, Shu-san.

Shu: Yes.

Yui: (I’m sure Shu-san will safely guide us through this situation—)

Shu: Let‘s end this quickly then.

Kino: ‘Kay, but this definitely will be my victory. Now, let‘s have a last deciding match—

[coffee-for-himchan]

Youngjae and ‘why’d you have to be better then me at my own game?

I literally made a momentary split-second decision of driving a fair share of kilometers to buy a console I could barely afford just earlier today, and currently I’m broke as hell but boy am I thrilled for hours upon hours of ignoring reality’s existence and leaping through dungeons and shit ‘cause ya girl’s gonna play every single Zelda game title she can get her hands on, that’s for sure

And I love how this one turned out, thanks for the request!~

“Youngjae-ah… When are we going to watch that movie?”

You pouted and tugged on the sleeve of his shirt again, triggering a fond stare and a little chuckle. Youngjae, already more than aware that watching him play video games wasn’t what you’d originally signed up for, didn’t want to put the controller down just yet, but at the same time knew that your patience was running low.

But maybe you two didn’t even have to watch that movie tonight… Even in his game collection, there were plenty of fun, rather competitive games in which you could challenge each other, making it a fun evening. His glance traveled over your features again and he decided to try his luck. You were a great sort when it came to playing along to all his scenarios.

“Hey, what are you doing?” you asked a little warily, a little curiously as he quietly rose from his comfortable position on the couch, lazily making his way over to the console and exchanging game discs, taking his sweet time in completing the task.

“Youngjae… You promised me a movie night, not watching you playing games for hours in a row.”

Your pout was met with a controller being tossed into your direction, and catching it just in time to prevent it hitting you right in the stomach, you watched in question as he made his way back to the couch, made himself comfortable, waited for the game to load up.

“Youngjae..”

“Let’s play just a few rounds, and you’ll quickly get to see how fun and addictive it can get,” he said, a little smirk being plastered across his face as he immediately started fiddling with the game menu the very second it was fully loaded. Being torn between complaining again and actually trying to beat his ass for once, you decided to opt in for the latter.

“Then prepare to weep like a little baby when you lose to me,” you answered in a determined tone, bringing your knees up to your chest and nestling into a more comfortable position.

“Wow, take it down a notch,” he teased, a little surprised yet amused about your sudden outburst of competitiveness, “But I have to admit, I like the spirit. Though this is my game, sweetie, and your chances are very slim.”

Little did he know that even though it was “his game”, it wasn’t exactly his lucky day, and the stars had aligned in your favor tonight. At least that’s what he liked to think, fighting a tougher battle than he first intended to since apparently you’d gotten very good at this game recently. You threw him subtle, amused glances, noticing how his stance became more and more serious and competitive over each new mistake or loss, how extremely confident he got after every win and how much of a sour loser who pulled a ton of excuses he was when he lost again. But it was funny to watch him acting this way. It was funny, because you saw his internal battle between being a sore loser and a sweetie who’s heart swelled to see his girlfriend scoring so high in a game he loved.

“Well, technically, that last one wasn’t fair because-”

“All or nothing, how about that?” you proposed the freshly generated idea to him, seeing how a new spark immediately lit up in his eyes, “And this time around, without excuses. And if I win, you have to admit defeat and crown me as the true game master.”

Greed and a thrill for challenges lined his face, and he leaned in a little, curling his lips into a mischievous smirk.

“Agreed.”

Guess who won that round?

“Hm, look at that,” you placed the controller down on the couch, crossing your arms over your chest and turning your head to him to see that he was still blankly staring at the television, still puzzled and non-believing of the leaderboard displayed on the screen, with your name being just one space above his, “I think somebody’s about to pass their crown onto the true legend.”

Youngjae slowly turned to face you, and in reality, his face wasn’t even as sour as you’d imagined it to be. It was the complete opposite, to be honest - with a tingle of joy somewhere there, with some curiosity to how this happened in the first place.. With his features soft and fond, as if he felt proud of you.

“Why’d you have to be better then me at my own game?” his voice, now soft and intrigued, mirrored his facial features completely.

“Because victories aren’t always healthy for you, they can easily get to your head,” you reached over and tapped his temple a few times playfully, your lips curling into a smile slowly but steadily, “Now, I demand the crown.”

Youngjae swiftly scooped up the game case, opening it and playfully putting it on the top of your head while humming the intro to Warrior. Though not the crown you’d initially desired, it made you laugh a lot, and instead of listening to more of his shenanigans you discarded of the case and leaned in quickly, using the fact that he was rather close now to steal a kiss.

“Don’t be sour, okay?” you asked him kindly, to which he chuckled and leaned in again to kiss you once more. Controllers long forgotten, your hand cupped his cheek, and you felt him making efforts to tug you closer, eventually managing to comfortably settle you in his lap without breaking the kiss, making it out to be a little congratulation of your victory, a sign that he was happy too.

“How could I be?” he asked as he pulled away, his voice all of a sudden getting a whole lot quieter, as if he was a little shy to admit the next bit, “You’re so cute when you’re competitive, and each of your wins makes me feel a little prouder.”

“Really?” you wanted to roll your eyes at him but couldn’t, since the atmosphere had taken a sudden sweet turn and you weren’t about to ruin it, “Didn’t sound that way when you were drawing excuses for every time you-”

“It ain’t easy for me to admit defeat, okay?” he cut you off before you could re-cap any of the previous gameplay, still not being to wipe that mischievous smile off of his face, “But you’re good at this. And I’m glad I finally have some thrilling competition.”

[toomanysweaters-moved]

As an addition to my main headcanon post about Lightner!Noelle, I decided to make a more complete list of songs she can play; as opposed to what I thought would be available from a gameplay perspective.

The same rules for the songs from the main post apply to all the ones listed here, so they’re given a Christmas-y sound to them regardless of what motifs are used, for reasons I don’t feel the need to explain.

And for clarification, she just sort of... “knows” these songs while in the Dark World. She knows their names, and her hands can play them if given an instrument, but she doesn’t retain the knowledge when she leaves.

Song of Cheer- 

Made up of motifs from Snowdin Town & Enemy Approaching.

Doesn’t do much in regards to combat, but rather, can conjure up a wrapped Holiday present if Noelle had one in mind; this is how she gets the gifts she uses for her “gift” ability.

Noelle’s favorite song, and you can often catching her playing it during safe sections in-between combat if she’s thought of a gift.

Song of Idiots-

Made up of motifs from Your Best Friend & Finale.

If used in the presence of enemies, summons a ‘dummy flower’ (an accurate but fake recreation of Flowey) to the battlefield, that just yells “Idiots!” over and over at then enemies, drawing all of their attacks for a round (it goes down in three hits). 

As useful as it could be, Noelle doesn’t like using it because, one, she thinks it’s really rude... and two, she thinks the flower is creepy.

Song of Spooks-

Made up of motifs from Dummy, Spider Dance, & Forlorn.

Dresses the the entire party of in Halloween costumes, ranging from (bedsheet) ghosts to spiders to vampires to.... oddly enough, Mew Mew from MMKC. Each member now as the ACT option to “scare” any enemy, which will cause them to flee. Except if used by the party member dressed up as Mew Mew, in which case the enemies just laugh.

Costume distribution among the party is completely random, as is what costumes appear assuming there are only three party members. All that’s guaranteed is that there are no duplicate costumes. Can’t have a whole party of Mew Mews, sadly.

Noelle wants to save this song for Halloween.

Song of Chaos-

Made up of motifs from Dogsong & Temmie Village.

Calls down a rainstorm... raining cats and dogs. Sometimes only has the Dogsong motif and only rains dogs, sometimes only has the Temmie motif and only rains “cats” (Temmies), Noelle can’t find any rhyme or reason to it. The storm of animals can “help” in combat, either swarming enemies or in the least distracting them... but the same could happen to the party.

Probably what caused the Switch Trailer.

Song of Determination-

Made up of motifs from Battle against a True Hero & Stronger Monsters.

On the surface, it appears to just be an improved version of the “Song of Tenacity” (found in the original HC post), in that it greatly increases the movement speed & INV frames of the SOUL on the bullet board. 

On further inspection, however, the song makes each party’s member’s SOUL as powerful as Kris’s; meaning, in gameplay terms, if enemies want to split their attacks they have to attack those party members individually rather than them all just targeting Kris’s SOUL.

The effects end promptly at the end of combat, and Noelle finds that the song doesn’t seem to do anything outside of it... so, whether or not someone under the effect of this song could overwrite a SAVE file is not currently nor may ever be known.

Song of Carelessness/Care-

Actually two individual songs that have a chance of playing when Noelle attempts to play what she “hears in her head”: one, the “Song of Carelessness”, is made up of motifs from Sans & STMPWYFS. The other, the “Song of Care”, is made up of motifs solely from Megalovania. When she tries to play, the first has a 95% chance of playing, while the latter only has a 5% chance of playing.

The Song of Carelessness, which plays much more often than not, summons Sans Undertale to the battlefield... lounging in a lawn chair, sleeping. He does absolutely nothing for five seconds before tossing a useless trash item into Kris’s inventory and disappearing.

The Song of Care ALSO summons Sans Undertale to the battlefield; only this time, he immediately does his full “strongest attack” (I.E. the first attack from his genocide fight) upon the enemies, destroying them. He looks a bit confused for a moment, before shrugging and disappearing.

Noelle has written this song off as useless after the first time she used it and Sans tossed a empty ketchup bottle into Kris’s inventory. She has no idea it has a 5% chance of utterly destroying opponents.

Song of Memories-

Made up of motifs from Undertale, Friendship, & Don’t Forget.

It... sounds nice, but doesn’t seem to do anything in or out of combat. Aside from boosting party morale, but that’s just because it’s a good song. There’s no apparent mechanical effect when it’s used.

According to Noelle, she says it feels like “somethings missing”... which is very confusing to her considering every other song just came to her naturally as soon as she entered the Dark World.

Oddly, the only song in her repertoire that has any Deltarune-specific motifs... though, of course, she as a character wouldn’t know that.

[tumblunni]

Brainstorming about my yokai watch ocs: Dimmy and Gorgeous Ambassador, the most cutest family

* My Dimmy's name is Blythe and they are nonbinary. Gorgeous Ambassador is male and i dont have a name for him yet. I was thinking maybe try and make up a dub name for kageusuo (anime exclusive pre evolution) that sounds like it could have been his nickname as a human? Cos his story is that he used to be a wandering mercenary in ye olde ninja times, i feel like itd be fitting.

* Blythe is the main partner of my protagonist in my yokai watch lp, basically the jibanyan of the anime of my heart. Their personality is mostly similar to the Dimmy in the anime, but i feel like theyre maybe older and more powerful than the average Dimmy? Like a weak low evolution yokai thats stayed unevolved for centuries and is actually more skilled and world weary than you'd assume. Protag just got lucky that she bumped into this one super magikarp, lol! Also i like to draw them looking more teenage age by just taking the regular Dimmy design and making the tail extra super long. They stand roughly twice as tall as the protagonist and can wrap around her shoulders like a scarf :3 Blythe is however totally unaware of their super powerful mega skill and is very self depreciating and low confidence. But Mallory totally sees them as a cool older sibling mentor figure and is always trying to figure out ways to make their tol squiggle friend feel included and valued :3

* the way Gorgeous Ambassador comes into the picture is that he was actually the same sort of figure to Blythe! Back in the ninja era Blythe was partners with another human, but he passed away in tragic circumstances and it led to their current depressed self. However he actually reincarnated as a yokai and has been trying to find his lil sibling ever since! I feel like he was a failure samurai who tried to protect people but was so weak he never could. And he was always broke and starving and begging to do any sort of miscellaneous jobs for anyone or even let them punch him in the stomach for a few coins. And he had just as much self confidence issues as Blythe but he coped with it by becoming a compulsive liar instead, always boasting and trying to sell himself as some legendary hero to keep from facing the truth. Since Blythe was a cute lil babby yokai at the time, they always believed their human master's tall tales and looked up to him, which made him feel really guilty and try harder to work on becoming someone this kid could be genuinely proud of.

* Blythe was first born as a household spirit. Cos i was thinking about what Dimmy would be before it became a ninja, since the medallium description says it 'got a job as a ninja to put its powers to use', so like it isnt really a ninja yokai but just a yokai thats a ninja? I guess?? I figured that the idea of being an invisible shadow supporter fit with household spirits/domovoi/zakishi warishi (probably mispelled that) and the various other similar creatures in mythologies all over the world. Just the idea that theres some sort of being that protects your house and if you give it offerings and take good care of the place it will protect you and your family. So yeah its my headcanon that thats how Dimmys are born, and that theres probably many variants wearing different outfits inspired by whatever type of humans they guarded. Tho yeh ninja is a job that works really well with their abilities so it makes sense itd be the primary representative of the species in the games.

* Human-dude-who-would-become-gorgeous-ambassador first met Blythe when one of his various failed attempts to get a job happened to cross paths with the family Blythe was guarding. This family didnt believe in such old suspicions and never gave offerings to their household spirit, so it stayed small and weak and was almost fading away. Baby blythe didnt know why their humans didnt love them, even though they tried so hard to bring good luck and clean the fireplace and stuff. So they felt a sense of kinship with this poor failure samurai who was begging for food on their doorstep. The humans of the household spat in his face and turned him away empty handed, but the tiny yokai snuck some rice from the pantry and gave it to him. They were surprised that he was able to see them, and he gave them the first thank you they'd ever had!

* Addendum note: i feel like gorgeous samurai was cursed with being able to see yokai from a young age and its part of whay made him so determined to become strong enough to protect people. Perhaps his biological family was killed by an evil yokai and nobody ever believed what he saw? And he wandered japan trying to save other people and always failing and being blamed for what happened, since nobody could see the real culprit. This reputation of being a liar when he wasnt = he ended up actually lying about how he was totally fine and not sad and also great and not hating himself. Its not really something he can control anymore, its like a stress response and it keeps getting him in trouble but he cant stop. "Yes sure i can save the day, i'm awesome!" only makes things worse when he inevitably loses again, whic only makes his self confidence worse and traps him further in the lies...

* so anyway, he became friends with this lil babby yokai and kept coming back to visit them and tell more tall tales of his grand adventures. And eventually he managed to help Blythe come out of their shell a little and agree to leave this house where they were only fading away. Haunting him instead, the lil shadow soon flourished back to full health from being loved for the first time. And their new big bro would always give them the biggest share of all the food even when he was starving, and always wasted his money buying things for them, and knitted them lil scarfs and just HE WAS A GOODEST BIG BRO! They also made a great team, and he was finally able to fight evil yokai with a yokai of his own helping him out. Things were good for a few years!

* Eventually though, they faced a foe too strong for them to defeat. (Not sure yet who it is, cos it could be cool if they faced it again in the present day for a rematch?) Blythe's human friend ran into a burning building to save the people being attacked by this yokai, but because he was already gravely injured he didnt manage to make it out in time. And blythe was just a tiny bab who wasnt strong enough to carry his unconcious body to safety. So their last memories of him are of crying and begging him to wake up as the house fell apart all around them, and eventually the flames swallowed him up. the tiny yokai just ran and ran away from their shame, and never saw an ashy figure rising from the ruins and calling their name...

* eventually after years of struggling alone and lacking meaning in life, Blythe had a chance meeting with our protagonist and thus begins my yokai watch 1 lets play! At the same time their yokaified big bro is still out there searching for them, and maybe one day theyll meet again...

* also i wanna go with the pre-evo the anime added of Gorgeous Ambassador evolving from a sad depressed vampire lookin dude. Even if the whole circumstances here are vastly different! But we dont really have any info on what kageusuo's powers or stats would be, so i guess i'm free to mess around with that? I like the idea of it being vampiric just cos i feel it looks like that. But instead of drinking blood maybe its a hunger for shadows? Which is actually beneficial to humans and makes them less overshadowed aka the opposite of Dimmy's power. So if you ever feel that you're radiating charisma with perhaps a slightly lighter shadow, maybe youve been inspirited by this guy! And then the evolution into Gorgeous Ambassador doesnt actually change anything at all, except just looking more fashionable and confident (which is absolutely a lie). His power already made people more fabulous while being unable to affect himself, he just worked a bit harder on himself to try and catch up with everyone else. Self care vampire!

* oh and in this interpretation the way that kageusuo would be integrated into the gameplay is that Gorgeous Ambassador would get a new ability that lets him switch forms in battle, rather than it being a separate yokai. (Tho would still have a separate entry in the medallium just for conveinience of being able to view both character models whenever you want) Stuff that causes low confidence would make him poof between forms, and itd just be something like more attack based vs defense based, or maybe having two separate personality stats so its like his AI is slightly more versatile than the usual frustratingness of most yokai? Srsly im still so annoyed at so many yokai that have two mutually exclusive moves and the ai is stupid about using them at the wrong time to cancel each other out. Like how Dimmy can be given the AI personality to focus on attacking and thus take advantage of its auto-skill to be good at dodging aka a glass cannon. BUT also one of its skills gives that same status to an ally instead, which by definition takes it away from itself cos 'dont target this other guy' means there arent many other options. So you cpuld alternatively play dimmy as a supporter who exclusively protects others with that ability BUT the annoying part is that even when you set an AI profile to one particular move it still only makes it LIKELY to do that and not guaranteed. So every now and again your attacking dimmy will cancel its own buff to protect an enemy, or your supporting dimmy will forget to support abd instead buff itself despite not having the attack stat build to take advantage of it. Plus you cant have both and switch between modes mid battle, so thatd be REALLY useful if one yokai actually could do that, and also could change stats to fit! Im not sure how to give it a trigger condition thatd let you sorta change at will but also not be 100% easy and overpowered. I was thinking tying it to his confidence could mean missed attacks turn him into kageusuo and critical hits turn into gorgeous? But thatd be TOO uncontrollable...

* oh actually i think maybe i'll nickname him Amber! Just cos my brain just mispronounced gorgeous ambassador and It Kinda Works??? Also its a kind of name that sounds very pretty but also has connotations of gentle shyness, i think. Matches the duality of his fake boastfulness vs his true self doubt.

* Oh and i also thought of maybe having Blythe evolve into Casanono, even though you cant do that in canon. I feel like turning into a pretty humanoid would be a good way to symbolize their growing confidence ans casanono/casanuva has a big nonbinary aesthetic in my opinion. Plus of course the fact casanono is a variabt of a confident yokai thats actyally shy. Originally older brother dude was gonna be a casanuva to match, until i heard about Gorgerous Ambassador and decided it fits him better (especially with that new anime form!) So now im thinking maybe have Blythe be both casanono and casanuva at once, similar to their bro's form switching? But itd be more like casanuva is a rare super saiyan esque powerup when they experience rare moments of confidence. Im pretty much just doing this because SADLY casanono is a joke character who is literally mechanically forced to be useless in battle. Its ability makes it harder to catch yokai which ia already goddamn difficult, and it wastes a skill slot too. As opposed to Dimmy who has a similar personality of always being ignored and depressed but its abilities are actually beneficial. Itd suck to go from Blythe being my mvp to being unable to use them at all, so this would be a way to still always draw them as casanono in comics to match their actual personality, but using casanuva in battle cos.. Well.. Yeah its the functional one of the two. Level-5 if youre listening please make casanono useable in future games!! Casanuva is absolutely the worst one personality wise so it sucks that the game agrees with his ego that he's great and also punches his depressed counterpart into the bin of ignoreness DESPITE BEING SUPER SYMPATHETIC AND RELATEABLE AND ALSO CUTER COLOURSCHEME

Anyway thats all the thoughts i have so far. Except oh also itd be funny if throughout the whole story blythe keeps talking about their dead brother as if he was the super best most serious hero and then when the protagobists actually meet him he's this gaudy dork XD