#from his rain code playthrough

[clickbeetle]

the most apt description of every kodaka game

[austajunk]

Okay, on a second playthrough of Rain Code and I really got a better look at Martina's mindset in general.

I honestly forgot how genuinely power hungry and downright diabolical she is. It's honestly mesmerizing how into her power trip she is during Chapter Two's case. She's so confident, she even licks an open jar of poison just to make a point that it's expired.

Now the reason why I don't recall her power trip and destructive, cruel nature was because it was all wiped away as soon as Yomi ordered her executed for making him look bad. In a second, Martina's terrified and pathetic and in the same way as Seth Burroughs, her fate left unknown to the viewer until Chapter Four.

It makes me think about how police forces are pretty much conditioned and told to go buck wild, to show no mercy, to enact cruelty and subjugation on civilians until they get their way. They get off on it. It's a power trip. Anyone who tries to show restraint on the force is routinely harassed until they quit or find themselves in trouble.

And this is what I really like about Martina as a character. There just isn't any excuse for her. She wanted power and control. She enjoyed it. Being an Amaterasu Peacekeeper gave her a way to enact power over others. Kissing up to Yomi, who I'm pretty sure her "love" and "adoration" for was quite shallow, gave her power and control. And it's addicting. It feels good.

Until she realizes that it's an illusion and someone like Yomi is just using her till he's done with her. She thought she endeared herself to him so much that she wasn't disposable like everyone else in Kanai Ward. But it isn't true and Yomi can just quite literally smash her up into a cube without a problem.

The next time we see Martina, she has undergone a lot of change. A near-death painful execution scare definitely pry your eyes open with a wrench and make you take a look at just how cruel you have been as well as the system you propped up.

She's self-reflective enough to the point that she tells Makoto she will resign from the Peacekeepers even though he says she doesn't have to (which is great in itself because it's powerful that Makoto stepping aside to let her make that choice *herself*). Martina orders the arrest on Yomi, but it's more than just sweet payback. She puts forward the example that criminals are human beings and meant to be treated with equality, fairness and respect. And it makes Yomi scream and lose his goddamn mind.

But more than that, Martina knows she isn't done with atoning, quits the Peacekeepers, and is aiding in rebuilding Kanai Ward. She gains autonomy and lets power go to become a better person.

And I loved every second of this arc. My only wish is that there were more moments of it... like maybe we could have seen her when Makoto stopped her execution because that would have been at her lowest. But as it stands, I knew there was always a reason why I adored and LOVED Martina Electro as a character. I've always been attracted to stories of attack dog type characters growing past what they were and becoming something new.

Martina is wonderful because she was an honest-to-god shitty cop who got an earth-shattering awakening that reshaped her entire morality until she became someone who renounced her need for power and actually aided the society around her. Love to see it.

Not strictly important: I would also let her fucking kill me.

[m1ssed-m3ssages]

I'm listening to the Alice by heart soundtrack and I just want to comment on how fucking SHUAKE coded every song in this is. ESPECIALLY as a NG+ au. So here's my reasoning on every song.

West Of Words- this entire song reminds me of the popular HC that akechi would also remember the past playthroughs, and holy shit. So many of the lyrics match this. "There's a world we knew as we, before before, a story entered, a tiny key we turned, West of words" feels so accurate to it, but like the whole SONG is them. All of the different people of wonderland being the different palace leaders (specifically "there's a gold and silver song in the afternoon" being madarame) but I just. Yes. And Alfred being sick is so akechi and Akira both knowing what akechi has to do for the story to go correctly. UGHH.

Down The Hole- this one is a little harder to connect, but hear me out. Going "down the hole" is clearly Momentos, given they are going down, and it's a tunnel, and yada yada. But this song being the joy akechi and joker get from being in Momentos again and being able to fight there again? Then in their outfits just smiling together and dashing through Momentos, and it's only then, and they are "down the hole, and really on a roll"? YESS. And the other phantom thieves are so confused bc like this place is scary... And why tf do these two ppl already know it... Also ryuji saying "shoulda brought the cat" to Mona would be REALLY FUNNY. And "what happens if I can't get out of wonderland"? That's so marukis palace coded.

Still- akechi just wants to get through what's going to happen, because what else can they do? But Akira is just so... Happy to see him again, he kinda can't think about anything else for a bit. This song just being Akira trying to get akechi to slow down and appreciate what they have... UGHHHH. GOOODDDD. And the entire thing about not having enough time? And akechi's fate? And THATS why akechi is rushing?? UGHHHHH. And "walk with me still, linger on with me still." Akira saying this to akechi? And the bit following it where he's trying to reason with Akira that people already know who they are? AARRGGHHH.

Chillin' The Regrets- I'm imagining this song to be akechi getting back to his mercenary job, knowing he has to, and initially he's against it, but fuck, he forgot just how nice it felt to kill these jackasses, whether it's by shido's command or not. The entire song is him fighting between Robin Hood and Loki (his sense of self-improvement and his sense of desire). And the whole "just as sweet as rain"? To everyone else, this song is about the status affects. But Akira and akechi know what's happening in akechi's mind, whether he like it or not. GODDD.

The Key Is- the entire song being Akira talking to the phantom thieves (and indirectly to akechi who he secretly has on call during the meetings he cannot attend) and him being like "I WILL save you all, however long it takes, I won't let you suffer." Also "let them play their ghostly fraud, wound us in the name of God, to see us to dream within you" is 100% Akira hinting towards yaldaboath to akechi, but as just a general statement to everyone else. GOODDD THIS MUSICAL IS SO THEM.

Those Long Eyes- this song being someone like Kawasaki or sojiro (someone parental) talking to Akira when Akira is like "I feel like I'm losing this... Person I like." And the song is their response, but it's in like a flashback format that cuts back to akechi and Akira dancing together at jazz jinn while the parental person watches them from a booth and spying on them IK ITS A REACH BUT I LOVE AUS OKAY

Manage Your Flamingo- okay this one was hard to figure out ngl, but I'm going off of the line "why don't they ask why?" For most of it, but I'm imagining this is them at the bottom of Momentos, when they see the holy grail and listening to people praise it, or the same but with the phantom thieves wondering why the cognitions don't question the rulers of the palaces. And if this is in shido's palace then it's shido's cognition of akechi doing the "will God save, the queen?"

Sick To Death Of Aliceness- I imagine they encounter a part of a side palace where each thief experiences their innermost deepest fear. The one we see is Akira's, and it's all of the thieves 'realizing' that their leader is selfish, and at the head of it all (the hatter) is akechi. The "I'm sick to death" that Alfred screams at Alice at the end is 100% this fake akechi trying to prod at Akira's fear of losing akechi.

Brillig Braellig- Akira talking to shadow shido during that one part of his battle where it's just the two of them, and the backround singers are the people on the throne shido sits on, except now theyre separate and in the backround. End of note. But fr, this song being shadow!shido telling Akira how he planned on letting akechi essentially "sign up to die"? And the line "spine up you icky sickies, line up to die" is the crowd of people knowing what's going to happen to akechi, and Akira fighting all of them while fighting shido as well? MMMMM YESSS.

Some Things Fall Away.- Morgana, just now realizing just how much Akira truly cared for akechi post-shidos palace, trying to comfort him about the fact that akechi was going to die anyhow. Also the line "shadows pause at the window, meet their gaze- their grief is yours." Being Morgana knowing that Akira is overly sympathetic, and just... UGHTFJFJR. KILL MEEE. And on the "someone strays from the window on their way, their grief is yours." At the end it's Akira sitting with his legs crossed, a shadow sitting exactly the same, and on "the grief is yours" it flickers to akechi sitting across from him, in his casual outfit with that slutty sweater vest? YESS. GAWDDDDD.

Your Shell Of Grief- just from the name alone, I want you to guess what I'm gonna say. NOPE, it's not Akira grieving akechi, now it's the OPPOSITE! This happens post interrogation room, right after his meeting with shido. He goes into Momentos, and one of the shadows try to reason with him, and for the first time ever, he freezes. More shadows join in, and they are feeding off of his apathy. I imagine they put a status ailment on him (the one where I makes you sad I forgot what it's called). The entire thing is him essentially letting himself grief for once, before rememebering that the shadows want him to grieve forever, and he pushes against them (off screen though). And at some of the turtles parts it shows how akechi views the phantom thieves way of going about grief

Another Room In Your Head- omg, this is the one that made me start all of this. This feels VERY marukis palace coded, when Akira pulls akechi to the side when he somehow notices akechi's been even more quiet than usual, and akechi has a soft moment where he wonders what Akira did, and what he will do, after losing akechi. And it's them knowing they will have to go through all of this again, and they will grieve every time, because that time might be the one where it actually sticks around. This also gives me a reason to imagine them gently cupping eachothers cheeks and crying, before ryuji walks in and is like. "🧍‍♂️."

Isn't It A Trial?- imagine for a moment; what if the shadows don't forget what happened in the last playthrough? What if they remember? Now hear me out- this song, but it's shadow akechi talking to Akira about the actual akechi, and essentially calling akechi immature and a bad person, and that he isn't ready to face his actions as a mercenary now that he's an adult, and omg. Uhhrhrhfhfhf. I'll be so fr, this one was a little harder to assign.

Do You Think We think You're Alice?- Akira having to face kamoshida palace again, but somehow the shadows can smell the confidence coming off of joker, and they realize that- given if they still remember everything- this is the joker they remember killing them, and think they need to knock him down a few legs during the final fight. Again, a harder one to connect.

I've Shrunk Enough- if akechi came back during another NG+ at kamoshidas palace, and he's helping the thieves against the big boss, and it's just akechi being like "c'mon you nerds, you know you can do better, so do better." And essentially just hyping them up.

Afternoon- akira and akechi reflecting on how they feel about the thieves and... And eachother. At "like a sister," it shows sumire and futaba (the younger siblings) and at the "like a brother" it shows Akira and Kasumi (with her face blocked by a book on gymnastics). And the song is just them reminiscing, and akechi realizing that he maybe kind of cares for the thieves. Just a smidge.

Winter Blooms- the start of another NG+, but Akira knows that he will be okay, no matter if this is the last loop or not. "Nothing comes or goes without a shadow" and it's him thinking on everyone and their personas. "Let the sorrow go, it's half the battle" it shows all of the thieves bonding at Leblanc with whoever they are grievings ghost standing behind them as if they aren't invisible. "Down the hole you go to where you are" is Akira acknowledging Momentos in his every day, just holding a to-go coffee, and breathing in the spring air.

I hope this convinces you to listen to Alice by heart because when I tell you this musical is LIFE CHANGING. and it's so shuake coded. Please for the love of God someone listen to Alice by heart while trying to connect it to persona 5 and tell me what you come up with PLEASEWKWKEJDJ I NEED MORE PPL TO BE AUTISTIC OVER ABH × P5

[fog-clan]

In the info post it says you have like 5 generators up while playing, may I ask what they are/do? I wanna implement random generators into my game play and find myself blanking on what even to randomize so I'm curious what others do - sorry if this doesn't make sense, love your art :))

(It's a little long so I'm gonna put a break in here)

I don't have everything up right now, but i'll try my best to remember them all here: - I had a randomizer to randomize which cats were picked at the start, (Basil, Fallow, and Rain were selected). I also randomized what roles they got in the clan (lucky Rain was chosen as medcat considering his trait haha) - Every moon I randomize the number of cats that go on a patrol, who they will go with, and I randomize what kind of patrol they go on. (I unit the apprentices with their mentors if possible). Choice is not randomized from there though, these cats will ALWAYS proceed on patrols. - I randomize the deputy selection (I don't let the leader pick because I find a lot of the time they pick cats who like? just joined or haven't mentored yet. So I let the wheel decide between the "available" options- Coalthorn was the only one who could be picked so he bypassed this). Same with mentors. These are less generator based and more the settings I have for my playthrough if anyone is interested: - Mass Extinction events are turned on only if the clan exceeds 20 cats. - Cats can breed with cats who are not their mates. - No same-sex breeding, but they are more likely to adopt. - Cats can have kittens with an unknown second parent. - Cats cannot have romantic interactions with former mentors/apprentices. - First cousins cannot have romantic interactions. - All apprentices will graduate at 12 moons (I actually didn't realize I had this one on, but i fear it may be a bit late to change haha). - Cats with permanent conditions can decide if they'd like to retire or not. - The clan will not have mediators. And lastly, here are the rules the cats abide by in my playthrough: - "Defend your Clan, even with your life. You may have friendships with cats from other Clans, but your loyalty must remain to your Clan, as one day you may meet them in battle." Yes, they follow this 100%. - "Do not hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory." All cats always proceed on patrols, so they do trespass at times. This isn't upheld unless they are caught haha - "Elders, queens, sick or injured cats, and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders." I don't have the prey system in place for this run, but yes I would say they do this. - "Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to StarClan for its life." Yes, however cats are not expected to pray. - "A kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice." Yup! Even if it was possible, no cat under 6 moons would be apprenticed. - "Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name." Yes, this is expected. - "A cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice." Yes, as stated before this is a prerequisite. (Coal being an outlier). - "The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires, or is exiled." Yes, if both are killed/retired/exiled the medicine cat will decide via Starclan. - "A Gathering of all three Clans is held at the full moon during a truce that lasts for the night. There shall be no fighting among Clans at this time." Nope, news is exchanged through messengers if needed. The clans are fairly far apart and have no particular fondness. - "No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from a different Clan." Yes, this applies to apprentices as well. - "The word of the Clan leader is the warrior code." Nah, they follow the same rules as everyone else and the deputy and medicine cat(s) act as advisors. - "A warrior rejects the soft life of a pet." Yes, even if the life of a pet isn't super glamorous at this time. - "Medicine cats may not have a mate or kits, as they must be able to heal all cats equally." Yes, however it's not like they'll be exiled or anything.

[sdr2lovemail]

Request… Yomi hand selecting a Female reader to be his next Right Hand after Martina is “gone”

His New Right Hand! (Fem Reader)

Synopsis: Criminal scum deserve to die! Unless they could be of use to Yomi Hellsmile.

Notes: I'm working super hard to push my Rain Code propaganda through fanfics. Anyone seeing this post should play it or watch a playthrough. Especially any fans of murder mysteries! I love this game!

Requests are open!

You were a murderer, clean and simple. It didn’t matter if you were helping someone or not. You killed someone with your own hands. But what was strange was that you were not behind bars. The exact opposite. It was practically guaranteed you’d be dealt the death penalty the moment Yomi Hellsmile stepped onto the scene. Yet here you were now, peacekeeper uniform draped over your body, gun in hand, as you patrolled the city.

That night was burned deep in your memory. His face pulled in mock pity as he looked down at your cuffed figure. Martina Electro was behind him, holding up an umbrella to shield him from the rain. His cane clicked against the pavement as he got closer. “Now, what’s that look for? You’re looking at me like I’m going to kill you. If anything, it should be me thinking that.”

Your heartbeat was loud in your ears, and your throat was dry like a desert. The rain hits your face as you look up at the director. “It’s- It’s not like that! I…”

“Quiet.” Yomi’s voice called, cold and uncaring. “Criminals have no rights. Especially not the ones that try to excuse their crimes.” 

The end of his cane prods the top of your head. “However, I could almost praise you. You killed a man to protect someone you don’t even know. I can’t tell if I should call you brave or an absolute idiot.” 

A peacekeeper stepped up to him, tablet in hand. They salute the directors before speaking. “We’ve gathered all the information on the case. We also have an eyewitness who saw her commit the crime.”

Martina takes the file, offering it up with her free hand. “Here you are, Director Yomi.”

Taking it into his open palm, Yomi smiled at her. Though, it didn’t reach the rest of his face. “Oh, you’re just so diligent. But I would expect nothing less from my beloved right hand.” The way he purred out those words would’ve made you feel something if he were not your executioner. And it seemed like it made Martina feel something as her face became pink.

As he read the file, his eyes widened ever so slightly before his lips curled into a smirk. “Well, the victim was the criminal we’ve been searching for. This day seems to keep getting better!” Tossing the tablet back to the peacekeeper, Yomi lifts your chin with the end of his cane.

“And you were able to take him down.” Those steely grey eyes seemed to pierce through you. “Do you think your sense of justice is high? Seems like it is with the way you’re parading around the city like a crime-busting vigilante!” His tone raised as his cane struck the ground next to you.

Shaking, your eyes stay low to the ground. This wasn’t how you expected your life to end. Well, you were going to die anyway, you might as well try to stand your ground. “He was trying to hurt that woman. I was only trying to get him away from her. I didn’t mean to kill him-” 

This time, it was Martina interrupting your flow of speech. “You will not speak out of turn. It doesn’t matter what you were trying to do. The only thing that matters right now is your sentencing.”

Like you weren’t even there, Yomi comes behind Martina. He wraps his arms around her waist and rests his head against her shoulder. “A scummy criminal like you should take after Vice Director Martina here. Poised, elegant, powerful.”

“It’s an honor to hear such praise from you, Director Yomi.” Martina leaned into him, her face flushing darker in color. 

You felt awkward. It felt like you were intruding on an intimate moment. As you attempt to look away, Yomi’s cane returns to poke at your head. Stepping away from the woman, he smirks down at you with a crazed look.

“Justice is punishing every disgusting piece of filth that galivants around harming this city. Not even the cruelest of my torture methods are enough for murderers to atone. Every single one of you deserves to die for ruining my ward.” 

There were no words left in your head. Nothing can save you now. You believed you lived an honest life, but now it was about to be snuffed out. All because you tried to defend someone.

“However.”

A light shines through the dark—a dull, red light. From the streetlights, that same color glows around Yomi like a corrupt angel who had fallen from heaven.

“It seems you know that. Even though it cost someone's life, you came to her rescue. Despite not knowing this woman, despite knowing your hands will be stained for the rest of your unfortunate life. You know the real meaning of peace.” He looks at the peacekeepers stationed at either side of you. “Pick her up.”

They nod and loop their arms through yours, hoisting your body to meet his eyes.

“Situations like this really make my heart bleed.” His neck rolls, and he looks at you through his lashes. Yomi’s flowery words were a direct contrast to his expression. He looked at you like you were lesser than the mud caking his shoes. “Instead of me painting the streets with your fucking blood, you’re going to become a peacekeeper. This is how you will repent for your disgusting crimes.”

He leans in close, his eyes boring deep into yours. “But you’ll wish I just killed you once you undergo my training.” With a flick of his wrist, Yomi gestures to the peacekeepers. “Get this criminal trash out of my sight.”

Pulling you away from your reminiscing, your radio crackles to life. The voice of your director cuts through the pitter-patter of the rain.

“Come down to my office, now.” The radio cuts off, leaving you no time to respond. 

When you entered his office, Yomi stood behind his desk, gazing at the neon-lit city. You take notice of Martina’s absence. On the screen at the center of the wall was a live video feed of the river bank, stained dark with large plumes of smoke.

You walked further into the room, stopping at his desk and curtly bowing your head. “You called for me, Director Yomi?”

His voice calls out to you, sweet like honey. “Do you know why I asked you to come here?” He turned on his heel, looking to face you with that deceptive grin.

“No, I do not.” You replied, keeping your answers short, nervous to find out why.

He hums for a moment, his eyes closed as if he were daydreaming. “Hmm, how long has it been since I've graciously saved you from the filthy life of a common murderer? Two, three years?”

“It’s been two years.”

Yomi dragged a single gloved finger along the wood grain desk. He moves around to stand behind you. “Ah, that’s right. Two years of you knowing your place at Amaterasu.” His hands move and rest on your shoulders, thumbs rubbing gentle circles over your uniform.

“You know, I’m your hero. Your savior.” His hands trail down to your arms. “I’m the one that gave you a second chance at life. Now look at you. Someone that knows the meaning of justice in this city.” Yomi’s tone is soft like he only wants you to hear what he’s saying. He comes around to stand in front of you now, but not without letting his fingers trail against your hip.

While that wouldn’t be the way you would word it, Yomi pitied you enough not to sentence you then and there that night. In his own twisted way, he did give you a second chance.

This time, you bow a bit lower. “No one is more thankful for that than me. I don’t think I could ever pay you back properly.” 

Calculated fingers reach for your chin, lifting your head to meet his eyes. The light of the screen omits a glow against his skin. A gentle white glow. It almost made him look… safe.

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong,” Yomi smirked. He cupped your face with one hand, grabbing a wrist with the other. “I know the way you could show your gratitude.” He pressed his body closer to yours. “Become my right hand.”

It wasn’t an offer, it was a demand.

“Since I brought you in from your disgusting sewer rat life, I’ve been keeping an eye on you. I know better than anyone that you’re made to be by my side. To join me in bringing order to Kanai Ward!” There was an almost sinister glint in his eye.

“But,” You paused, trying to gather your thoughts at the sudden proposal. “But what about Vice Director Martina?”

Yomi’s head cocked to the side, the smile on his face stretching into something crueler. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”

Those few words sent a chill down your spine like the room got cold. What happened to Martina Electro? You didn’t have much time to dwell on it before he started to talk again. 

The hand on your wrist moved so both were now holding your face with gloved fingers. His breath fans against your skin from the proximity. There’s a sharp, minty fragrance.

“You’ll be all mine. No one will have you but me. Nice and pretty by my side. We’ll show the fucking scum that stains the streets the truth about order and peace!” Yomi pulls you into a tight embrace. His hands resting on your waist while his head rests against yours.

“My beloved right hand.” He lets out a chuckle, slowly swaying on the balls of his feet. “You’ll stay by my side, right?”

[real-raincode-takes]

but in all seriousness that is a genuine problem. in my opinion rain code is a game best experienced when you actually play it. obviously not everyone can pay 60 dollars for a switch game, and the non-switch release is over a year later, not everyone wants to wait that long. but the fact that so many people watch base-level playthroughs or just gain all their knowledge from shitposts or fandom is.. troubling? i get not being able to play the game, but you don’t NEED to be in the fandom. if you can’t play a game, find something else to focus your energy on rather than a game you literally have not properly consumed. true visual novels I think are fine to just watch or read, but a walking simulator like rain code really requires playing to fully understand. for instance, if you don’t play the side quests, and check in on each NPC every chapter, and check every profile, and walk around the city and truly appreciate its depth.. you aren’t going to understand makoto kagutsuchi. you need to understand kanai ward in order to sympathize with his love of it you could understand “oh he loves the city” from a surface level but you wouldn’t be able to truly feel for him and experience the game as intended unless you’ve actually experienced the city and what makes it lovable. that’s all just one example but I can give more. if anyone has the time to play raincode, but not the money, I can provide some 🏴‍☠️, because I really think not actually playing the game is highly detrimental to the experience and treating it like a linear wall of text to read basically just .. ruins rain code

.

[loremaster]

oh yeah. so i’ve been rewatching a playthrough of rain code with my partner, and this line from vivia’s second gumshoe gab really got me:

now, it’s implied that all the gumshoe gabs take place before chapter 1… so i wonder… given what happens in the story and to whom… has vivia changed his tune about this at all?

of course there’s a lot to read into with this scene, vivia’s being coy about the idea that he is immortal (which, I wondered the same thing as yuma for the same reason in the beginning), being his usual secretive self. it’s also clear he’s thought about this hypothetical a lot, what you would do if you lived forever, and how it’d all eventually lead back to craving death in the end

we now know that vivia is not immortal, he’s just extremely fixated on death for other (understandable) reasons. he is absolutely able to die and kinda… lives his life on that edge, however long it may end up being. but even though ghosts, spirits, and the afterlife have been part of his reality for his whole life… immortality has not

it sounds like it’s straight out of a story. a fantastical idea that could only be real in someone’s made-up world. romantic, not in a relationship sense but in a thoughtful, poetic sense. for vivia, someone who craves (eventual) death, the idea of craving a death you can never have, that yearning… of course it’s very romantic. it makes one’s heart flutter, the thought of feeling anything that strongly… forever.

to him at this point, it’s a fantasy. it’s a story. it’s fictional. an idea to mull around in his overactive head, yet another escape from reality.

but as we find out later… here? it’s absolutely real. it’s real and it’s everywhere and it’s everyone.

when does that fantastical yearning for death cease to become romantic and instead become horrifying?

it’s only been three years since the people of kanai ward were replaced with immortal doppelgängers, so we don’t really know for sure… will they still die of old age? of sickness? or, if left unchecked, will an imperfect homunculus go on to live forever?

they can die, sure. but not in the way that vivia is so intimately familiar with. the homunculi leave no ghosts behind, instead their bodies keep walking - forever, while their minds remain shut down. it’s unclear really but it seems as if their spirits are trapped within their bodies but unable to control them. to die without being able to move on to any sort of afterlife is the exact opposite of what vivia yearns for. his whole life, he’s been connected to this other world, to people who have moved on from his life to that world, and one day wishes to join them there. but being held in this interminable jail between either world must be hell to him. too terrifying to be called romantic… and yet

we still have to talk about yakou.

yeah that’s right, you all thought it, this is why you came here to read this post

of course with vivia being as secretive as he is, it’s hard to say definitively whether his feelings for yakou are romantic in the relationship sense… (i personally do believe so, i’m going to cling to whatever scraps of queerness i can get) but they absolutely for sure are in the poetic sense. yakou was able to help vivia back up from his lowest point and give him something - and someone - to live for. gave him a place to call home. sounds like it’s straight out of a story.

and yet after inspiring vivia to stop chasing death, he immediately resigns himself to his own as soon as he gets that letter, in order to reunite with his wife.

yakou, as an imperfect homunculus who has died (through his own machinations), is now trapped in that zombie hellscape. no ghost, no spirit, no rest for the dead. he is, at least according to vivia’s definition of it, Unable To Die. …sounds like it’s straight out of a story…

yakou’s body is just a shambling husk now. and even with a potential cure for zombified brain cells thanks to his wife… what next? that still doesn’t solve the immortality problem. he’s still gatekept from the everlasting peace and quiet of the afterlife. he’s still separated from his beloved. he’s still Unable To Die. and in his current state he’s even unable to form enough semblance of thought to yearn for his own death.

so vivia has to do the yearning for him.

how romantic.

[yakool-foolio]

(??? Route, 2nd Playthrough, up to Day 7)

Choices made:

Spare Eito

Reveal Takumi's Secret

We finally got to talk to Eito in gay baby jail, hooray! The whole interaction felt very reminiscent of Hajime visiting the tied up Nagito in DR2, both prisoners having full control over the conversation in order to attempt to sway the protagonist onto their side (and flirtatiously tease them while they're at it). The morbid fascination is already festering within Eito. He's desperate for answers, wondering why a monstrous human would spare the life of his holy executioner. When every other person would consider Eito to be a defect, a lunatic, a lost cause... Takumi saw him as an equal. Eito would hate to regard Takumi as the same, but it's clear they've both got their own reasons for keeping each other alive now despite their rage. There's something special between these two. They want each other so bad it makes them look STUPID!

The butterfly effect is fully in motion! With the surge of power connecting to both the students and invaders, the stakes rise even higher than before! And now we have a silent observer watching from afar. Is it another invader, or another third party similar to Eito? I've dealt with a mysterious cloaked figure in Rain Code before, this is practically common ground! With Takumi's foresight becoming more invalid, there's no doubt this route will take many unpredictable turns to contrast with the deja vu of past conversations.

In addition, religion takes centerstage in consistent theming as the story progresses. The first notable instance being the Supreme Commander dying before she could ascend to godhood among the commanders, then Eito swiftly followed by claiming to be chosen as the savior to exterminate humanity while crowned with a black halo, and now the voice of the first commander prayed to God before he changed into his dragon-like form. I've no doubt that religion will remain a key element of this game's story. This couldn't be more perfect timing since I've been excitedly developing a fallen angel DnD OC and an entire divine court system, so I'm currently in a religious imagery and symbolism era. How nice!

[bakafurai]

☆Welcome to the hyperfixation hellhole!☆

(shout out to one of my besties for the title lmao <3)

☆COMMISSIONS (closed) ☆ KO-FI (£5/$6 sketch request- open)

☆ Also on: Comicfury (lurking) & Twitter ☆ Strawpage site! ☆ Hidetoshi discord server! (open) ☆ Kenji discord server! (open) ☆ Strowill discord server! (open) ☆ Black Sapphire Cookie discord server! (open)

☆ Art tag: #robin draws things ☆ Reblog tag: #robin reblogs ☆ Text post tag: #robin talks ☆ OC tag: #my ocs

About me!

Hi! I'm Robin (agender, they/it/he), i'm currently 24 and uhhh my favourite colour is blue :3

Gay/Ace || Autism and ADHD, i'm also get very socially anxious frequently so if I don't respond to anything (or take a long time to) it's probably because of one or more of these things, sorry in advance!

☆ Fandoms I'm in!

☆ Persona (3, 4 & 5) - SEMI HYPERFIXATED, semi-active! >P3 Reversed Fates au (tag #reversed fates au) >kenji tag: #robin kenji posting >p3p playthrough tag: #robin plays p3p ☆Metaphor ReFantazio - SEMI HYPERFIXATED, semi-active! ☆Cookie Run Kingdom - CURRENTLY HYPERFIXATED, very active! ☆Pokemon - Semi-active, mostly draws art for it here and there ☆ Pretty cure/Precure - lurking but actively watches the anime ☆ Professor Layton - not currently active, but will like relevant posts here and there >PL sideblog, inactive: bluehattedapprentice ] ☆ Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, Ace Attorney, Mob Psycho 100, Honkai Star Rail, Kirby, Mario & Sonic the Hedgehog - lurking, but not currently active, will like posts here and there >Sonic the Hedgehog sideblog, sort of active: ultimatecoolform

☆ Other stuff that I like: (but i'm not really a part of and just quietly enjoy) ☆ Undertale, Deltarune, Gravity falls, Steven Universe, De Blob 1 & 2, Miitopia, Good Omens and then like... various anime that would extend this list greatly so I won't but feel free to ask me about it...

☆Comfort Characters!

☆Teddie/Kuma from Persona 4 ☆ Luke Triton from Professor Layton ☆ Mob/Kageyama Shigeo from Mob Psycho 100

☆Favourites that live rent free in my head:

*Note: comfort character also count to this list

☆ Joker (Persona 5) ☆ Kenji Tomochika & Hidetoshi Odagiri (Persona 3) ☆ Herlock Sholmes (the great ace attorney chronicles) ☆ Monoma Neito (My Hero Acadamia) ☆ Gengar and several other favourite pokemon, but mostly Gengar... (pokemon) ☆ Dimentio (Super Paper Mario) ☆ Daroach & King Dedede (Kirby) ☆ Leon Strohl (Metaphor ReFantazio) ☆ Custard Cookie III (my son) & Black Sapphire Cookie (Cookie Run Kingdom)

[kyndaris]

Overruled!

One of my white whales in gaming was Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Gambit. Much like The Great Ace Attorney duology, for many years after it was released, there was no localisation. Some attributed it to the fact that the first Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth sold poorly. Others said it was due to the difficulties of translating the subject matter for a Western audience. Despite this, there was a fan translation of the game. One that was painstakingly cobbled together by those in the fandom.

While I never did play through the fan translated version (it involved far too much shady downloading of online ROMs), I did watch snippets of a playthrough.

Alas, watching a game isn't the same as playing it. At least, when it comes to me.

The joy I would have normally derived from playing through an Ace Attorney game simply wasn't there for me. Besides, I had so many other games I needed to get through. And, upon stumbling upon the Danganronpa series, I could have fun with solving murders in an entirely new setting! More than that, I could also be involved in hackney-styled trials, and where, after a case is solved, the punishment for said crime is DEATH! All in gory pink blood.

My love affair, of course, with the Danganronpa series will have to wait, however, for another post (when I play and finish Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. I will get there! Eventually!).

So, imagine my surprise that shortly upon releasing the Apollo Justice trilogy, CAPCOM announced the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection for release in 2024!

Although, I suppose I should not have been surprised. They DID release the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles only a few years back despite the fact many feared it would never come to the West.

It was with glee that I grabbed hold of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection that I set about playing through it. I may have been behind on 2023 and 2024 game releases but Miles Edgeworth standalone games were a top priority! And even though I'd already played the first game in the collection, I would gladly do it again (Turnabout Ablaze notwithstanding)!

After all, given how I write up game impressions on the internet, it doesn't seem like proper journalism if I only play only one of the games.

The Ace Attorney Investigations games, as previously stated, stars Miles Edgeworth as the playable character. The first game sees the star prosecutor of Japanifornia getting involved in numerous murder cases in quick succession. The poor man is even knocked out a few times too. He's even falsely accused. Despite this, our favourite cravat-wearing-British-accented (and possibly gay or aroace) rival remains cool and calm in the face of danger (the only instance being when he was tied up during the kidnapping incident at Gatewater Land).

Many of the cases in the first game are quite quick, taking only a few hours to get through. And while each murder case Miles tangles with are intriguing in their own right (with some fairly strong writing in terms of characters and the build-up of deducing the murderer), there is also an overarching narrative of an international smuggling ring. One that Interpol is trying to track down, and which the whip-happy Franziska von Karma has been assigned (I honestly forget she's only 19 sometimes).

Speaking of which, I do like how Investigations provides some deeper insight in Franziska. As with many of the characters in the franchise, she has daddy issues. Something which is pointed out in Investigations 2 (honestly, the whole game that is Prosecutor's Gambit should be called Daddy Issues).

In the end, Miles, in the four days from his return trip overseas (which is a little absurd given the timeframe) manages to uncover the mastermind behind the smuggling ring. He also solves four murders, reunite with a young girl who used his cravat as a tissue seven years ago, and attend a Steel Samurai show at a foreign embassy!

Talk about a whirlwind number of days!

Of course, one does not simply talk about Investigations without complaining about the last episode: Turnabout Ablaze. Back in my younger days, playing it on the Nintendo DS, I remember being frustrated at how long this last case felt. Especially when Miles is able to quickly deduce Alba's involvement. But due to his status as ambassador and the rules around extraterritoriality, Miles and the team were hard-placed to have the ex-general arrested.

And I wasn't the only one! After discussing it with bleachpanda, even she had grown tired of the endless back and forth between Ambassador Alba and Miles. All the 'Hold It's' and interruptions from every single side character just to nail the man.

Still, I like to think it was all worth it in the end.

That said, I'm surprised people weren't arrested more and evidence scrounged up later. Especially in instances where there was sufficient suspicion cast on the likes of many of the murderers in the second game.

In contrast with the first Investigations, Prosecutor's Gambit was a much more personal case. No longer were Miles and the gang dealing with an international smuggling ring run by a foreign ambassador. True, there was Kay Faraday's backstory and trauma to dig through in the first game, but Prosecutor's Gambit also added further depth to Miles and his quest for the truth. The themes in Prosecutor's Gambit were far more complex and I loved the new additions to the cast including Judge Verity Gavelle and rookie prosecutor Eustace Winner.

What's more, Prosecutor's Gambit also showcased off the man Gregory Edgeworth was before his untimely death in the DL-6 incident.

Ever since the first game, we knew Miles had initially wanted to be a defence attorney, like his father before him. It was not until Gregory was killed in an elevator that he chose to become a prosecutor.

But who was Gregory Edgeworth?

Prosecutor's Gambit was able to showcase this and more as it delved into the final case Gregory was involved in before his untimely death. In so doing, it helped paint in the rough edges of who this pivotal figure was, the beliefs he carried, and how his legacy was continued by his son.

Gregory's relationship with Miles stood in stark contrast with that of Eustace and Excelsius. While a young Miles was never seen in the third case of the game, Gregory's thoughts were never far on his son (although, one did have to wonder who was looking after Miles while Gregory was investigating. Do NONE of these characters have loving mothers? I mean, who even knows what Phoenix's parents are like). Eustace, on the other hand, is considered an utter and complete failure by Excelsius, a controlling and abusive individual who has risen to the position of Chairman of the Committee for Prosecutorial Excellence.

It is shown in the game that Excelsius will do anything: manipulate evidence, 'disappear' inconvenient witnesses and people, and take advantage of the law simply to get ahead. His is the quintessential lawful evil.

When he is taken down in the fourth case of the game, before Eustace lands the finishing blow to him in the last case, it is oh so satisfying! Especially because it shows Eustace's own growth and ability to finally step out of his father's shadow and be his own person. More importantly, taking out Excelsius is like extracting the cancerous corruption sitting in the heart of the legal system.

However, despite the menacing nature of Excelsius, he is not the mastermind of the game. No. Rather that is Simeon Saint: victim and criminal in equal measure.

And this is why I like Prosecutor's Gambit so much.

The law is a necessary aspect of keeping society intact, and the people who comprise it, safe. But the law isn't perfect. People often fall through the gaps. High numbers of indigenous in custody, racial profiling of suspects, etc. Despite our best efforts, injustice remains in our world.

Worse, many people who were wronged, who were abused in the past, end up becoming abusers themselves. Thus, perpetuating an endless cycle of hurt and pain and trauma.

There are innumerous real world comparisons that could take the place of Simeon Saint. Heck, even Miles himself started off as an antagonist wholly focused on obtaining a 'guilty' verdict for any and all suspects regardless if they had committed the crime or not.

It is here where Prosecutor's Gambit shines as it casts a light on how legal systems can fail.

But, most importantly, it also sheds light on those very same servants of the law facing down the contradictions within the law itself and fixing them where possible. Humans err. As laws are written by humans, the next logical conclusion is that the law, too, can err.

By recognising where missteps have been taken, it is up to us, humans, to change the law and have it evolve with us. You see this all the time. Or, at least, you do in Western countries. New legislation is pushed through parliament quite regularly to reflect the changing landscape. Amendments and addendums are also added to clarify parts of legislation that may also be confusing.

Overall, while Ace Attorney Investigations Collection keeps the core gameplay loop very much the same, the few gimmicks that have been added (including Mind Chess and Little Thief simulations) help to bring a unique spin to the formula. As with most visual novels, however, it is the narrative and characters that shine in these games. And shine they did. From old staples like Larry to even new ones like Eustace and Verity.

In fact, I kinda want a new game starring Kay Faraday, if only for the developers to stretch their wings in an entirely new direction. Here's hoping there will be a few more games in the franchise!

And if not Kay, why not Athena? Or maybe a spinoff with Franziska?

As a side note, it felt so weird to have Shaun call Verity his mother given there's only a thirteen year age-gap. I mean, did she adopt him when she was fourteen? WHY DID THEY MAKE VERITY ONLY 26?!

[yourlocalmikankinnie]

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted, but I'd like to say that I've finished rain code (and by finished, I mean watched a full game playthrough that was maybe 35 hours long (I did not watch it all, I took breaks and continued the next day and so forth)) and will be writing for Rain Code characters (I will write for everyone except for the main bad guys (ex: Martina, Komi, Makoto, Seth, ECT) and the people on the express)

Rain Code in my opinion is truly wonderful. I didn't see Nothing coming at first, and Im not sure I had the best of hopes for it since it came from the makers of Danganronpa (as much as I like the game and characters, I have to admit it's very problematic) I enjoyed the game. I think the story plots are very interesting, and it's nice that we change it up from time to time. And the character designs are beautiful. Same with the models. It's almost unbelievable that we went from ultra despair girls to rain code, the animation and models is truly an improvement.

Anyways, long story short again, I will be writing for Rain Code characters when I feel my energy come back for writing! I'm excited for that day and I hope I'm able to get my motivation and will to write again! 💕

-Sayaka Kirumi

°˖✧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚✧˖°

[dangan-kagura]

Fan Favorite Characters I Never Did Like

So this is something that I’ve been wanting to share recently. A short list of characters that are popular enough to be called fan favorites that I never did like. I’ll try my best to share my opinions about these characters. I would’ve included images but I didn’t feel like it.

Bridget (Guilty Gear)

I seriously don’t know what it is about Bridget that gives Guilty Gear fans so much hype. I think back when I used to be into this series, Bridget struck me as just a minor fighting game character that has no importance to the main story. If anything, Bridget looked more like the kind of fighting game character that has little or no fans at all.

I’m assuming Bridget’s popularity has to do with him being a cross-dresser. In all honesty, I only found Bridget to be unattracted and stupid looking. I was also upset to see that my favorite characters (back when I used to play Guilty Gear) such as Millia don’t have as many fans as this dude. It seriously made no sense to me that this cross-dressing male nun was loved in the fandom.

You’re free to argue that Bridget’s cross-dressing is part of how Guilty Gear uses classic rock music references and let me explain why. On Sol Badguy’s belt is the word “FREE” and from what I’ve read, it’s a reference to that Queen song “I Want to Break Free” and as it turns out, the song’s music video has Freddie Mercury dressed as a woman. Now I know that Freddie Mercury was a homosexual, but I’m not saying Bridget is gay. But to say that Bridget’s cross-dressing was inspired after that song’s music video is probably something I would be in denial of, not just because I hate this character, but because lots of other anime games have cross-dressing males just like him. As a westerner, I really don’t see what it is the Japanese like about cross-dressing male anime characters, but it bothers me to see how popular some of them are.

It’s like this, Astolfo from Fate/Apocrypha is a popular character in the Fate series. I would’ve included him on this list, but I won’t since I don’t like the guy for the same reason I don’t like Bridget. It just feels ridiculous to me that these characters are loved just for being cross-dressing males. Then again, Astolfo ends up being a main character, but compared to Bridget, the nun doesn’t have any importance to the main story. I seriously can’t stand to see that smiling look on their faces. They just look like really stupid characters.

Now I know I’ve said this in a different post, but I’ll include it anyway. You’re free to call me a hypocrite for hating Bridget and Astolfo even though I like the Danganronpa cross-dressing male Chihiro Fujisaki. I’m gonna admit that out of the DR1 cast, Chihiro was someone I was interested in, but after learning about the twist of him being a male, I tried to keep my distance. But there came a point where I realized that I actually do like Chihiro. At least his reason for cross-dressing is a bit more emotional since bullying is involved, whereas Bridget’s reason is for stupidity and Astolfo is probably a homosexual. But maybe I just found Chihiro to be more attractive looking than these guys.

In the end, Bridget’s popularity is one reason I stopped playing Guilty Gear. I just couldn’t tolerate the fandom giving him more love than my favorites. And it bothers me that if I end up playing a different anime game with cross-dressing males, there’s a chance that they’ll end up being loved in their fandoms too. Like, I lost interest in wanting to see a playthrough of Rain Code because I didn’t like the chapter that involved the boys dressing up as girls. I mean, it could’ve been to call back on Chihiro, but to me, Bridget’s popularity is the first to come to mind and that’s not a good thing for me. Heck, even the cross-dressing outfit Link had in Breath of the Wild almost made me think of Bridget and I do my very best not to think about that.

Tharja (Fire Emblem)

Just to be clear, I’ve never played Fire Emblem Awakening, but I want to explain my opinion about Tharja.

I’ve read that the purpose of Tharja’s character is fanservice, such as having a very revealing outfit, a yandere personality and an obsession with Robin. While I admit that I like fanservice every now and then, Tharja’s dark personality was a turn-off for me.

Tharja came across to me as disturbing and creepy and I didn’t even want to play as her in Fire Emblem Warriors. Like, in that game, when you raise your bonds with Tharja, she’ll say something like, “It seems the hex I cast on you is starting to take effect.” She just wasn’t appealing to me and yet Fire Emblem fans seem to show a lot of love for her.

After seeing this video to understand her better, I had hoped to give Tharja another chance. But it didn’t make a difference. I generally think Tharja is a dark character who doesn’t care about the other characters or even care about going into battle. Even playing as Tharja in Fire Emblem Warriors didn’t change my mind. Aside from talking about curses and hexes during battles, she has a special skill that involves draining her health which doesn’t really come in handy for me. If my first save file for that game had the option to kill-off your members when they die in battle, I probably would’ve wanted to kill-off Tharja just so she’d shut up the next time I go to the camp. But I’m stuck with her, and playing a new game is gonna take forever.

As it turns out, Camilla is a character that was made for the same purpose as Tharja. Fanservice, yandere-like personality and an obsession with the protagonist. Compared to how I don’t like Tharja, I actually have a thing for Camilla. In my opinion, Camilla is a much more caring and seductive person and probably has a bigger bust size than Tharja. And while I’ll admit that I like Tharja’s long dark hair with bangs, I find Camilla to be far more attractive. But compared to Camilla’s obsession with Corrin, I generally didn’t like Tharja’s feelings for Robin. Like, I wouldn’t want to see her put a hex on them and get them to like her. And compared to how Tharja feels for Robin, she doesn’t care about anyone else, so I generally see her as an uncaring person.

I’ve read that there are Fire Emblem fans who do like Tharja for being a big breasted goth girl. Big breasts aside, I’m generally not big on gothic themes. But of course, there are gothic characters in Danganronpa that I do like, namely Kirumi Tojo and Celestia Ludenberg. They’re actually a lot nicer compared to how dark and negative Tharja can be. I personally headcanon Kirumi as a caring person, and while Celestia can be a liar who only cares about herself, at least she acts nice to everyone and is always putting on a smile. Tharja doesn’t smile unless it’s something related to Robin.

Strangely, even though I don’t like Tharja and don’t like seeing how Fire Emblem fans call her a fan favorite, I can’t say the same thing about Rhajat in Fire Emblem Fates. I don’t know why, but I don’t hate Rhajat as much as I don’t like Tharja. Maybe it’s because Rhajat isn’t as popular since she’s a recycled character. But apart from that, I never really liked Tharja and it does sometimes bother me to see fans love her.

Miu Iruma (Danganronpa)

Were you expecting Ibuki Mioda? Well, since I’ve already made a really long blog on why I don’t like Ibuki, I won’t be talking about her. Instead, I’ll be talking about a different Danganronpa character that the fandom loves that I don’t, and that’s Miu Iruma.

I’ll admit that when I first saw a playthrough of NDRV3, I did take interest in Miu. But after a while, I’ve come to accept Miu as one of my least favorite characters. Her aggressive behavior gave off the impression that she’s more of a bully than a sexy genius, like, it bothered me when she told Shuichi to get down on his knees and get the signboard like a dog and Shuichi was too weak to stand up to her.

When I got the opportunity to play V3, having to deal with Miu was just a pain in the butt. I felt uncomfortable having to get her Free Time Events, her Love Suite Event and dating her in the bonus mode, what with her constant use of slurs, extreme profanity and sexist remarks. She just wouldn’t shut up about her sex life. It even bothers me to see that Miu’s Love Suite Event on Youtube has more views than my favorite Love Suite Events. I generally don’t want to ship Miu with Shuichi.

Of course, Miu is not the only character in Danganronpa who says sexist stuff just to be annoying. I’m not talking about Teruteru, I’m talking about Toko Fukawa. Like Miu, I thought the sexist stuff Toko said was annoying, namely in chapter 4 where she teases Makoto when he tries to have a talk with Sakura. She just wouldn’t shut up even when I wished she would and it made me realize that the things Toko said reminded me of Miu. Strangely, unlike Miu, Toko doesn’t actually want to admit that she’s a tad sexual.

If it weren’t for Miu’s inventions being an important part of the second half of the story, I would’ve traded her life just to have Kaede or Kirumi back. But maybe I felt that way because being fed up with Miu’s bullshit made me realize how much I miss those two, that and seeing Miu having more fans than my favorite Danganronpa characters. And yes, I’m aware that Kodaka wrote Miu to be hated even though the fandom loves her. Toko I don’t hate so much, but like Miu, she can be annoying too.

Alisa Bosconovitch (Tekken)

I’m not sure if I would call Alisa a fan favorite, but I do want to share what I didn’t like about her when I first met her.

I think out of the Tekken 6 newcomers, Alisa was among my least favorites. I think one thing I didn’t like about her were her weapons. As a robot, she has chainsaws attached to her arms. To me, it felt like Alisa’s chainsaws were some sort of reference to the chainsaw guns in Gears of War. That’s literally the first thing that came to mind at the time. It felt like Alisa’s chainsaw arms were some selling point Tekken 6 had to try and make the game appealing to Gears of War fans since shooting games like that one were all the rage back in the late 2000s. I don’t know why this bothered me, but maybe it’s because I was literally picked on in school for having a PS3 and not an Xbox 360.

Things only got worse when Tekken 6 came out on console and I tried out the Scenario Campaign… and failed. The Alisa boss fight was a pain in the butt for me when I first played the game back in 2009. She’s incredibly strong, I mean, there’s no easy difficulty in the Scenario Campaign, so at the time it was kinda disappointing that I couldn’t figure out how to beat Alisa. As a result, I gave up playing and wanted to believe that the story mode's ending was non-canon. Since then, I had a hard time liking Alisa when Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and the CG movie Tekken: Blood Vengeance came out, with Alisa being one of the main characters in the movie.

But I’ve come to forgive Alisa nearly two years ago when I gave the Scenario Campaign another chance… and was successful this time. Obviously one thing I failed to notice was that the customization isn’t just any customization, the outfits actually have stats that increase your health, attack, defense etc. It proved to come in handy now.

With the release of Tekken 8, I don’t really hate Alisa so much anymore and felt comfortable playing the story mode with her. But compared to Tekken characters that are my favorites, I was never interested in Alisa, and when I do play Tekken, I don’t normally play as her.

In Conclusion

This is really all that’s on here. I was originally gonna include Maho from Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters, but I wouldn’t really call her a fan favorite, I just didn’t like her even though she’s one of the main characters (The real Neptunia fan favorite is Noire who I do like). But I guess after writing that long blog on why I don’t like Ibuki Mioda, I wanted to share why I don’t like these characters to see what people think. If you do like these characters, just try not to shove them in my face all the time.

[tobiasdrake]

Ranking Octopath Traveler 2 Characters on the Bestie Scale

I've been ruminating on this one. I didn't do a Fight Me Bruh for Octopath 2 because these are all powerful RPG characters so obviously I lose instantly to every single one of them and I didn't do a Bestie for Rain Code because I felt like half of the characters would just be regurgitating what I'd already expressed vividly about them and the other half would just be me going "Yo, that's a fascist," over and over.

But finally, here it is. I'm ranking the Octopath Traveler 2 cast from Most to Least Bestie.

Agnea Bristarni This should come as no surprise to anyone who was with me through my playthrough of Octopath 2. Agnea was my main character and that was a decision I did not regret for a second. She's vibrant, unapologetically kind, and wants good things for people - and entirely willing to do whatever it takes to get those good things. Beware the nice ones.

In a game where the villain's core philosophy is "Having to live is agony, and escaping that fate is a mercy," Agnea is the antithesis of their entire belief system. She fully, thoroughly enjoys life and tries to instill that same enjoyment in everyone she meets. She's a walking celebration of the sheer beauty and magnificence of existing in the world.

Top-tier bestie, bar none.

Ochette How can you not get along with Ochette? She's a happy-go-lucky child that brings you meat. Apart from her inability to comprehend complex societal issues (a product of her youth and inexperience), there is nothing wrong with her.

And even then, there are worse character flaws to have than "Maybe too forgiving." That's the kind of thing you write in the "greatest weakness" section of a job application to puff yourself up.

Temenos Mistral Gonna be honest, I was not expecting to like this guy when we first met him. I'm not very religious and he's literally an Inquisitor. That title is a red flag all on its own.

But as we got to know him, the relationship Temenos has with faith hit me very deeply. I was going to say "his" faith but in a sense, it isn't. Not really. Temenos works for the Sacred Flame church but he refuses to internalize their dogma, insisting that even the heavens themselves are not above scrutiny.

For as standoffish and full of himself as he is, Temenos is a lonely guy. It's hard not to be when you're a high-ranking church employee whose system of belief borders on heresy. But he values his friendships far more than he's willing to admit, and he and I see eye to eye far more than I anticipated.

Throné Anguis Throné deserves friends. She's had to live a hard life for so long that she's barely even had the opportunity to figure out who she even wants to be in this world. Where other characters stories are all about expressing who they fundamentally are as a person, Throné's story ends with her attaining, for the first time in her life, the ability to go off somewhere and do the same.

We don't really know who Throné is because by the time the final credits roll, she hasn't had a chance to live yet. She's hatching from her chrysalis when we leave her.

What she needs right now are good friends who will give her space to find herself without pressure and maybe help her discover new things along the way. And also help her avoid the myriad social cults looking for isolated and naive people that they can scoop up and indoctrinate. Though she does already have some experience with that.

Hikari Ku Okay, I'm going to need to qualify the fuck out of this placement because Hikari is the nicest and sweetest guy ever. So I need to clarify that I think Hikari and I would get along fine. I have absolutely no beef with him as a person. I just don't think we would hang out very much, or have much to talk about when we did.

First, because of the logistics of the thing. Hikari is the fucking king of a nation. A nation in chaos following civil war, violent upheaval, and a complete cultural overhaul from imperialistic ways that have served their country for decades. This man is going to be intensely busy for the rest of his life. When he's not fending off assassination attempts by people dissatisfied with the sweeping changes he's trying to introduce.

But also because, for all his strong moral fiber and rigid integrity, he's not very fun to be around. His personality begins and ends at his duty to his people. His Crossed Paths events with Agnea demonstrate this well; He's a good man with a good heart and strong convictions, but a boring date.

Castti Florenz Castti's in a similar boat to Hikari. She's very nice. She has good ideas and good beliefs. But she works herself to death so much that I doubt we'd ever see each other outside of official apothecary work. She also travels a lot as part of her profession, so more often then not she wouldn't even be in the same part of the country as me.

I would love to have Castti as my doctor. She's motivated, compassionate, and eager to take on whatever is ailing you. But unless I signed on with Eir's Apothecaries myself, it would be logistically difficult to even become her friend in the first place.

But if I pulled it off, I think Castti would be a nice friend to have, but perhaps an overbearing one. Castti tends to take on a maternal quality in her relationships with others. She's not a member of the group; She's Team Mom. That's nice of her, but I've been a grown-ass man for a while now. That's not what I'm looking for in a friendship.

Partitio Yellowil It's hard not to love Partitio. He's a well-meaning guy with strong values that I agree with: That poverty is a terrible evil, and we should work to eradicate it. Unfortunately, he's a bit naive insofar as his ability to recognize capitalism's complicity in that evil. He sees commerce as the cure for poverty, which is. Like. Oh, you dear, sweet, naive soul.

He's got one foot in the door of recognizing the value of socializing vital programs. He supports labor rights and has even led collective action himself. The main thrust of his conflict with the Roque was over Roque wanting to privatize the steam engine versus Partitio wanting to share it for collective good. Like. He's right on the cusp of getting it a lot of the time.

His willingness to forgive is nice. His eagerness to put the people who created the problems back into power because "As long as they report up to me, it will be fine!" is incredibly foolish. I think Partitio is a good guy who means well and I wish I could place him higher, but I also think we would wind up bickering pretty heavily over economics any time we hung out.

For most people, a disagreement over politics isn't necessarily a dealbreaker. But Partitio's economic philosophy is more or less his entire personality so if we don't see eye to eye on it then we're going to get into fights. I love the guy, I just would have a hard time being around him for an extended period of time.

Osvald V. Vanstein I didn't like Osvald's story more or less from the moment I started it. "Hard man embarks on revenge quest because his woman/women were murdered" is a story that I'm just so over. Osvald the Story was bland for me. But Osvald the Character was. Like. He's fine. Serviceable in the role of Vengeful Hard Man, sure.

But then I got to the end of it. Where he's reunited with his daughter and discovers that his love for her is, in fact, the greatest magic in the world. And then, high on this revelation, he promptly dumps her on the nearest female-shaped person so he can go do anything else but raise his child.

That left me cold. Even if Elena doesn't remember him because Magic, he has a responsibility to her. Instead, he pawns her off on his research assistant without even asking the poor kid what she wants. The man she thought was her father tried to sacrifice her for magic, her true father rescued and defended her, and then he's out of her life before she even knows what happened.

Osvald is a neglectful workaholic who abandoned his child moments after reclaiming ownership of her. Everyone in my household has parental issues. He would not be welcome here.

[vulpiximisa]

Finally finished the game 

I’m mostly disappointed in the fact that I had pretty much predicted most of the major plot twists. Which again isn’t bad because it just means they left enough hints for anyone to be able to draw that conclusion. 

Oh, the Pink Blood though, that’s absolute genius. Not sure what that’s like to anyone that had not played DR, but it was so on the nose. I loved it. 

As for the Yuma past reveal, I’ve already said I wasn’t a big fan of the Specialist Boy reveal. But at the same time, I kind of hoped that there were some hints dropped about it during the game. I had the same problem with Hinata/Izuru but given that he was supposed to be reset, it was passable that Hinata wouldn’t randomly exert super skills. Yuma on the other hand, even though his memories were wiped, I feel like he never displayed any super critical thinking skills that went beyond a normal person’s, like none that would qualify being a supposedly most genius brain in the WDO. Not sure if because the cases were too simple or because of Shinigami’s “help” or that the ML we’re just not a good way to show it. (Having  muscle memory from holding a gun didn’t really count)

Was discussing the majority of the finale with my sis who was watching my playthrough and we both kind of agreed that even though Info Dump from the Villain is Not Fun, the constant QTRs were also not really fun in terms of gaining new information. I get that it was supposed to feel really fast paced but there wasn’t much room to think or any of the reveals weren’t mind blowing. 

Also discussing with sis, and hate to compare it to other games, but the MLs are just Not Fun. There never really felt like there was a triumphant moment, because even though you get the cool It Was You finger point moment, it doesn’t feel Good because it’s not even Real and Then They Die. I get it in terms of lore but gameplay wise I do not look forward to them. 

Not sure if because the last game I played was TotK but I honestly really wanted a scene of the Nocturnal crew to burst in through the Labyrinth to tell Yuma he wasn’t alone. Makes absolutely no sense, but I’m a sucker for that kinda stuff. 

It only made sense for Shinigami to be the one to have to knock some sense into him but I didn’t think it held a lot of weight. Her time with him always felt borrowed so her saying She Is With Him didn’t amount to much for me because they had a pact. Not saying that they were strictly business but it just felt like she wasn’t going to be there with him forever. (Not like the Kinomoto Sakura and Kero duet song called Zutto Zutto Zutto) Got just a little sad thinking about what would happen to her. Made me think of Death Note where the only way a Shinigami dies is if they fall in love. Not to say her bond to Yuma is romantic, even with the kiss, but I know that she has an attachment to him. 

Was hoping to get a “bad ending” by choosing to stay but I guess it turned out to be the right ending. Will go back and see what the other choice brings. I also have to get the rest of the Gabs, which I missed most of them in chapter 3 somehow. 

A little disappointed finishing the game didn’t unlock any new content like art or music gallery. I know since DR were ports and had lower graphics that they could cram all this extra stuff, while Rain Codes graphics were really good so I guess there was no room for anything else. 

Did solving the extra cases in Kanai Ward do anything at all? I was afraid I chose the wrong answers for some of them (the kid getting ghosted away, not telling the guy waiting for his dead gf) so I don’t know if there was any impact on the ending at all. 

Anyway, I don’t know how much I’ve craving content of the other characters because I don’t think I was going to get the DLCs if Yuma isn’t in it. 

[mobius-m-mobius]

Random question! What are your five favorite YouTube channels?

Hey there, thank you for the ask!! Random questions are so fun and I'd love to have a better answer for you than this but unfortunately my use of Youtube is primarily streaming music or checking for misc Owen related uploads 😅

Never seen an influencer in my life lol and don't actually subscribe to any channels either but there are a couple I do check out from time to time!

Free time's at a minimum and I don't get around to playing video games like I used to so NicoB's Let's Play content has always been really fun to watch, his Danganronpa playthroughs gave me life years ago and while I haven't checked in for a while I was just about to start his Master Detective Archives: Rain Code run even though I own the game lol. Plot sounded fantastic but minutes in the mascot character gave me a headache so his voiceovers should be a big improvement 😊

The other is by a Thai backpacker named Sunny who has a really awesome travel channel updating several times a week. His content is super genuine with regards to the good and bad of every experience (plus no product sponsorships or placements), English subs are always available, and overall he's just a chill, kind person with a lot of respect and interest for the local culture so it's easy to follow his travels and learn a lot too!

[psychopomp-namine]

// first playthrough, day 22 thoughts (not specific to day 22, I'm just marking how far I'm in to put my thoughts into context)

I'm so danganronpa-brained because eito to me is like. I just know what kind of role and character he'd play in a danganronpa game, and I know thl isn't danganronpa so it's a tiny bit unfair of me to make such comparisons (but also, I don't think it's unreasonable given that thl itself is being playfully cheeky about how it isn't danganronpa but is self-aware about being a game that's almost like a spiritual successor to danganronpa in terms of tone and the "killing game" setting — yes I am aware rain code is the spiritual successor to the actual detective game part of dr). and yet. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

he's been so kind and he has so many cheesy friendship speeches that I'm like ???

are my kodaka character senses tingling for nothing? something has to be wrong with him right

also. lmao. of course these are his class weapon names

on the other hand, we have darumi. who is specifically a character whose role is to point out the danganronpa-ness of thl. and she could have come across as annoying but she's charming and funny to me because the rest of the cast just ignores her or just kinda accepts that this is just her special little interest, this is what she likes, and that's just how she is. she isn't even harming anyone. she's rather cooperative from the get go and kinda sweet in her own way (when she knocks on takumi's door to prank him with killing game nonsense and goes "you've been darumi'd!" to cheer him up, because that's what would cheer her up... is that not thoughtful for a character like her? I thought that was sweet of her lol). also maybe it's because I'm listening to jp audio too. idk how her en voice is like, but her jp voice nailed her character 100%